UNRELENTING SCARLETS NARROWLY MISS TOPPLING TABLE TOPPERS MUNSTER

UNRELENTING SCARLETS NARROWLY MISS TOPPLING TABLE TOPPERS MUNSTER

 

By Helen ‘Helzbach’ Davies

 

 

  A committed and unrelenting Scarlets team secured a losing bonus point and came away from Musgrave Park just a point behind  a strong Munster team that had beaten Australia mid-week.

 

The team played with pride for the jersey, but unfortunately were not quite as clinical as the Munstermen, and it was a game we could and are disappointed not to have won.

With Welsh referee James Jones taking charge, the away side started off strongly, keeping hold of possession, but unfortunately not gaining the inches to creep over the gain line thanks to the strong Munster defence.

It was Rhys Priestland who had the first opportunity to put points on the board, but despite the first half wind advantage, was unable to kick the ball through the posts.

The men in their away ‘Tinplate’ blue continued to hold on to the ball and played some good creative rugby. Scarlets number 8, Ben Morgan was disappointed to be denied a try, which on further examination seemed to be the wrong decision from referee Jones.

Unfortunately, Priestland again missed a chance at goal, but he put in a superb performance at number 10, strong in defence, and finding holes in the Munster defence on several occasions.

Despite playing all the rugby, the Welsh side were unable to convert their pressure into points, proving extremely frustrating for the watching fans.

Following last week’s try scorer, Lee Williams leaving the field with a shoulder injury and Scrum Half Martin Roberts sin-binned for an offence which seemed accidental, it was the turn of Munster’s Paul Warwick to miss a kick at goal.

In a half where James Jones almost constantly had his whistle in his mouth, it was third time lucky for Priestland who finally secured the first points of the match, putting the Welshmen in the lead. This was soon cancelled out by Warwick who equalled the score just 5 minutes later.

Errors began to creep into the Scarlets’ game and sloppy defence turned desperate with Munster camped on the Scarlets’ try line, but with the away team penalised for offside, Munster doubled their score to take the lead for the first time.

The Scarlets were soon back on the attack, working hard to inch forward and somehow breaking through the solid defensive wall ahead of them.

Priestland kicked another penalty towards the end of the first half to level the scores, though the Scarlets deserved to be in the lead, as they were playing all the rugby.

It was frustrating to watch, and even more frustrating moments later when Paul Warwick touched down under the posts following poor defence from the Scarlets. This brought the score to 13 points to 6 to the home team and certainly did not reflect what was happening on the pitch.

Despite leaving in the try, the Scarlets continued attacking the effective flat defence from Munster, but their lateral play resulted in them gaining inches rather than metres. However, just on the half time, Priestland managed to find a hole in the defensive wall and broke through, passing to captain Jonathan Edwards, who scored under the posts, ensuring it was all square at 13 all at half time.

Munster came out for the second half with all guns blazing and a Scarlets team, who are renowned for their attacking rugby, were forced to show how much their defensive play has improved from last season. They were rewarded with a penalty for their efforts which put them once again into the lead, 16 points to 13.

Munster scored the first try of the second half, despite being down to 14 men, when Tuitupou broke through the Scarlets defence to score under the posts. Sloppy tackling once again saw Barry Murphy scoring a third soft try for the Irish team soon after and it seemed the ghosts of Irish performances past and the Leicester game had come back to haunt us!

The visitors dug deep and showed great character to go on the attack once again, finding gaps in the Munster defence and were rewarded when Jonathan Edwards crossed for his, and the team’s second try of the afternoon to bring the deficit to just four points.

With new found confidence, the Scarlets continued on the attack, driving on through the forwards, and securing another penalty for Priestland to bring the team within a point, 27 points to 26.

Munster again went on the attack, but it became rather frantic, even though they were able to secure good field position. Following a line out, close to the Scarlets’ try line, replacement Scrum Half Tavis Knoyle, dropped the ball, resulting in a five metre scrum to the home team and putting the visitors under considerable pressure. Immense tackling from Rhys Priestland was instrumental in the Scarlets successfully clearing, but the Munstermen continued recycling the ball well, working their way through the phases, and ever closer to the try line.

Morgan Stoddart was unlucky not to score a winning try for the Scarlets after a well worked move saw them running out of defence, deep in their own 22, but he didn’t quite have the legs to run the extra 5 metres that would have seen him cross the line for a rare, historic win on Irish soil.

As a fan, losing by just a point, when a game could and should have been won, can be hard, but it was a proud performance from the Llanelli boys, who are the Region that everone is talking about, and  showing this season how much they have matured and how well they are playing as an unit.

In the league table, the Scarlets continue to sit in second spot, but following their win, Munster have increased their lead to 7 points.

Next weekend, the Scarlets are once again on the road, when they travel to Italy to take on new Head Coach Rowland Phillip’s Airioni, hoping to do the double over the new Italian team.