Mark McCall reckons Llanelli Scarlets, Ulster's next Heineken Cup opponents, are "probably playing the best rugby in Europe at the moment."

The two Celtic sides, who lead the way in Pool 5, clash at Stradey Park (kick-off 7.30pm) on Friday night and Ulster's chances of making the quarter-finals for the first time since 1999 could hinge on the result.

After watching his charges dismantle Toulouse 30-3 last Saturday, Ulster coach McCall's attention quickly turns to the Scarlets, who impressed him greatly with their 32-25 round one win at London Irish.

He said: "Llanelli are probably playing the best rugby in Europe at the moment. They have been brilliant in the Magners League and scoring tries for fun. To go to London Irish and be 32-6 up with 20 minutes to go was pretty remarkable.

"It is going to a tough ask for us but we have travelled well in the last 18 months and apart from Tommy Bowe's injury which is hugely frustrating, we have got a pretty clean bill of health. We will go over to Wales looking for a win."

Ireland winger Bowe aggravated the hamstring injury which forced him to miss Ulster's previous two games, just 24 minutes into the first half against Toulouse.

The Monaghan man is staring at a six-week lay-off, which means he will be missing for Ireland's Autumn internationals next month.

McCall took great pleasure from Ulster's first half performance against the French giants - they were 27 points ahead at the break - but is mindful that Saturday's success is only one step on the way to qualification.

The former Ireland centre added: "The first 40 minutes were as good as anything I've seen from us this year but we were frustrated to not have got the fourth try - we had some chances but couldn't convert them.

"Still, we've got four points on the board and now we're facing a massive game against the Scarlets. The important thing, with a home game first up, was that we couldn't afford to slip up and we didn't.

"We have got three games coming up (in the Heineken Cup) before Christmas and we have got to get as many points as possible. That's the way we're approaching it.

"I'm not sure how many victories will be required to qualify because I think that everyone can beat each other in our group."