Superb Second Half Secures Bonus Point for Young Scarlets

It was Ulster that got the points on the board first, with Tommy Bowe racing up on the wing before passing to Johnny McCloskey who crossed over unopposed. Scrum Half, John Cooney added the conversion to give the visitors an early lead 0 points to 7.
The Scarlets hit back immediately, working through the phases with Ryan Elias powering forward as Ulster’s defence was tested. Steff Hughes was involved in the attack several times as the men in red continued to press for the try before securing a penalty. Dan Jones’ successful kick opened the scoring for the home team – 3 points to 7.
A superb covering tackle from Tom Williams on Tommy Bowe halted the former Osprey in his tracks as he speeded down the touch line. Unfortunately, the ball was lost forward in the tackle offering Ulster the opportunity to attack once more.
An attacking line-out in the Scarlets’ 22 saw the visitors test the Scarlets’ defence again but great work at the breakdown saw the Scarlets re-gain possession to relieve the pressure before facing another wave of Ulster attack.
A superb kick from Ulster saw play move back to deep inside the Scarlets’ 22. After securing the line-out, the Scarlets ran the ball from behind their try line before kicking the possession back to Ulster who fell foul of the turnover King, James Davies, who secured a penalty to put the Scarlets back in the Ulster half and on the attack. Unfortunately, the home team were pinged again, but Ulster failed to find touch with their kick, offering the home team another opportunity to attack.
Nick Timoney appeared to have scored Ulster’s second try, however lengthy debate with the TMO ruled that the try be disallowed due to Tommy Bowe obstructing Jonathan Evans at the ruck, and play went back for a Scarlets penalty.
With just 5 minutes remaining of a first half that had been dominated in the main by Ulster, the visitors were once more in the Scarlets half and on the attack. However, the score remained 3 points to 7 at the break.
It was the home team that started the second half effectively using the rolling maul as they inched closer to the whitewash before releasing the backs. Ulster’s defence held firm until a knock-on at the tackle gave the Scarlets an attacking scrum, 10 metres out.
Crash ball from Tadhg Beirne set up the Scarlets’ attack before the ball was recycled to Steff Hughes who off loaded to Ioan Nicholas who just managed to squeeze over in the corner to give the Scarlets their first try of the evening. A superb conversion from Dan Jones, With the curtain-raiser done and dusted and Wales coming off second best against a dominant Ireland team by 37 points to 27, Wales versus Ireland take two saw Parc y Scarlets welcome Ulster for Round 16 of the Guinness Pro14.
Scarlets supporters can take some comfort in defeat in that all the Welsh points came from Scarlets players with Aaron Shingler scoring his debut try for Wales, and both Steff Evans and Gareth Davies scoring their second of the tournament.
The big rugby news of the day thus far though came from Scotland where Scarlets’ own John Barclay, Captain of Scotland will surely be raising a wee dram tonight following Scotland’s emphatic victory against England, winning by 22 points to 13 to claim the Calcutta Cup and putting in a serious dent in England’s hope of an historic third consecutive Championship.
kicking from the touchline, added the extras to give the Scarlets the lead for the first time – 10 points to 7.
Ulster drew the game level with a penalty from John Cooney to bring the score to 10 points all before the home team set up an excellent attacking position deep in the Ulster 22. Unfortunately, despite the intent, the lack of experience in decision making was evident at times as the Scarlets failed to make use of overlaps that would have resulted in try-scoring opportunities.
Full Back, Tom Williams was close to scoring try number two, however the TMO judged that there wasn’t sufficient downward pressure on the ball and it was no try. Dan Jones slotted over another penalty for the home team to give them the lead once more – 13 points to 10.
An amazing break from replacement Wing, Ryan Conbeer, saw the youngster, who made his Pro14 debut, cut inside to cross unopposed under the posts. Dan Jones added the extras to put the Scarlets further ahead by 20 points to 10.
Another penalty saw the Scarlets demonstrate their increased confidence as they opted to kick for the corner rather than take the easy 3 points.
The effective use of the rolling maul once more saw the Scarlets edge closer to the line before a chip over the top from Dan Jones found Paul Asquith who crossed the whitewash. Jones again added the conversion to give the Scarlets the lead by 27 points to 10.
A matter of seconds later Ryan Conbeer believed he had crossed for his brace, however the TMO deemed that there was a knock-on from the line-out and the try was disallowed, much to the anger of those that had braved the freezing temperatures to support the young Scarlets.
With 10 minutes remaining, Ulster finally managed to get their hands on the ball, a rare occurrence in the second half, but the Scarlets, through Ioan Nicholas, hoofed the ball downfield for Asquith to chase. Unfortunately, the touchline came between him and scoring the bonus point try.
A huge scrum from the Scarlets following an Ulster knock-on resulted in an important penalty for the home team. They opted to kick for the corner in the quest for the bonus point, but unfortunately the line-out was deemed not straight.
However, pressure at the scrum, coupled with the quick thinking of Tadhg Beirne saw him tackle the Ulster number 8, Deysel, over the line, grounding the ball to claim the bonus point try, earning the Irishman yet another man of the match award.
Dan Jones added the conversion to further increase the Scarlets’ lead to 34 points to 10, bringing his personal tally to 14 points, as the Scarlets’ domination in the second half continued with Ulster unable to get on the score board.
A huge effort from the young Scarlets saw the game end with the home team securing all five points on offer, opening up a sizeable gap at the top of Conference B. Leinster remain at the top, but this win puts the Scarlets just 3 points behind in second on 54 points. They have an 8-point advantage over Edinburgh in 3rd place and are now 13 points ahead of Ulster.
Next Saturday, the Scarlets hope to make it another home win when they take on Leinster for the second time during this Six Nations period, kick-off is at 3.15pm.