BRAVEHEART SCARLETS END LOSING STREAK AGAINST EDINBURGH

BRAVEHEART SCARLETS END LOSING STREAK AGAINST EDINBURGH

By Helen’ Helzbach’ Davies

  

 

Once again the Scarlets had to endure damp, dismal conditions as they took to the field for their second league encounter in less than a week and the first Magners League Thursday night fixture to be played at Parc y Scarlets.

It was hoped by the Scarlet faithful that a victory against Edinburgh would bring to an end the losing streak and go some way to making up for the heart breaking loss last week.

 

As an added bonus, Wing sensation George North made a welcome return following an injury received during the Autumn Internationals to add to the air of expectancy that encompassed Parc y Scarlets.

Young Scrum Half, Gareth Davies set the game alight from the kick off with a scintillating run up field which almost resulted in an early try for the men in red and it was the Scarlets that got the first points on the board with Dan Newton successfully kicking a penalty after just 2 minutes on the clock, giving them a 3 point to 0 lead.

Edinburgh attempted a counter attack following the restart, but North kept a calm head to assist Dan Evans, who cleared the line.

Gareth Davies again demonstrated his attacking skills with another run upfield, crossing the line to score what the general consensus of supporters agreed was an excellent opening try.

Unfortunately, the TMO had other ideas and decided that the ball had been held up, offering the Scarlets a scrum v.

The home team were very unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty try, their second in 2 weeks, following some powerful scrummaging that saw Edinburgh penalised three times as they were unable to cope with the pressure of the Scarlets’ forwards.

With the weather conditions worsening, the Scarlets continued to attack the Scottish team, working through the phases, but handling was difficult and as has become the ‘norm’, refereeing decisions prompted the usual singing and shouts of ‘Scarlets’ turning into a frustrated chorus of ‘what a load of rubbish!!!!’

The home team increased their lead with 20 minutes on the clock, and it was indeed a whole team effort, as they worked the ball skilfully upfield with George North receiving the final pass and working his way over the line to the delight of the majority of the 5,857 crowd.

Despite the conditions, this was not just rugby; this was Scarlets rugby at its very best!

Unfortunately, Dan Newton was unsuccessful with his conversion from a difficult angle and the score remained 8 points to 0.

As confidence grew, the Scarlets continued attacking their Scottish visitors with each player demonstrating their eagerness to keep the ball in hand, purposely building up the phases in the hope of increasing the lead.

As ‘Sosban Fach’ filled the stadium, the Scarlets were offered a good attacking lineout in Edinburgh’s 22, but again the ball began to resemble a ball of soap and Edinburgh took full advantage of their advantage to secure a penalty that was successfully kicked by Outside Half, David Blair, to bring the score to 8 points to 3.

With just 5 points in the score, this was definitely not a true reflection of the game as the Scarlets were by far the better team, playing all the rugby and attacking at all times.

Hooker, Rhys Lawrence, making his first start for the region ensured that mistakes had been learned and there was a vast improvement in the lineout this week.

Following the interception of touch judge, Phil Fear, who had spotted an infringement from the visitors, the Scarlets were offered another good attacking position, with the forwards driving forward from the lineout before George North continued the attack before being dangerously high tackled.

Edinburgh’s Frazer McKenzie was sin binned for the offence, to the delight of the crowd who for once saw justice served.

The Scarlets now had 5 minutes either side of the half to take advantage of the extra man and it was Gareth Davies yet again who almost crossed the whitewash.

Edinburgh were extremely fortunate not to be playing with 13 men as it was Netani Talei’s dangerous high tackle on Scrum Half Davies that saved the try from being scored, however, referee Dudley Phillips didn’t seem to have spotted the offence.

Edinburgh did attempt a last gasp attack but found the Scarlets’ defensive line difficult to penetrate and most of their attack was played in their own half.

Aaron Shingler raised the hopes of a score before the half time, to give a more realistic score line, with a great break upfield, but unfortunately it was not to be.

The second half began in a similar fashion to the first half, with the home team showing their intent right from the kick off and the Scarlets faithful hoping that this half would see all the rugby played resulting in points being scored instead of missed opportunities.

Wing Joe Ajuwa got the crowd going right away with a strong, threatening run, shrugging off tackles as he powered his way into the Edinburgh half.

However, it was Edinburgh that were offered the first scoring opportunities of the half, but the long range penalty was short.

Again the Scarlets attacked from the restart, but for once, the handling error came from Regan King, who had a quiet match by his standards.

With Edinburgh back to their full quota, they seemed to find confidence from the fact that they had managed to stop any points being scored whilst the Scarlets had a man advantage and were awarded another penalty soon after following a bizarre decision to penalise Johnathan Edwards.

It was to the delight of the crowd that Blair’s kick sailed wide of the posts.

The game became a rather
scrappy affair, with kicks being exchanged and not many phases being built up.

The Scarlets did win the field position, however, it was Edinburgh that were in possession and the game fast became as dismal as the weather, with mistakes creeping in from both sides and it seemed that the pitch had been shrunk as neither side entered the opposition’s 22.

It took a whole quarter of an hour before Dan Newton was offered a chance to increase the Scarlets’ lead following Edinburgh being deemed offside and he made no mistake, bringing the score to 11 points to 3.

For possibly the first time in the game, Edinburgh managed to attack with conviction, gaining the hard yards and working through the phases, but it all came to nothing as they were penalised.

An excellent kick from Dan Evans saw the Scarlets back in the Edinburgh half and despite strong pressure from the home team, replacement Prop, Simon Gardiner was penalised for taking out a player without the ball.

There were cheers from the crowd soon after as Edinburgh were deemed to have thrown the ball into the lineout not straight!

Dan Newton was offered another penalty attempt shortly after, however his promising kick fell disappointingly short despite looking like it was straight through the posts to the crowd!

Again, the Scarlets attacked the Edinburgh defensive line, and easily worked their way into the opposition half, however, this promising move couldn’t be completed with George North frustrated with himself as he couldn’t gather his pass.

He was successful in gathering the high ball minutes later, working his way through tackles and keeping the ball in hand, culminating in Joe Ajuwa unlucky in seeing his kick forward finding touch.

With 10 minutes on the clock, and just 8 points in the game, it became a tense ending to the game, however, the Scarlets this week had the luxury of a 2 score advantage. Fortunately, Edinburgh never looked like scoring a try and it was almost a miracle that they were still in the game at all.

With the seconds ticking away, the Scarlets kept hold of both possession and field position, correctly playing the clock and not putting pressure on their defensive game.

Unfortunately, a promising first half performance had turned into a bit of a damp squid in the second half, but despite the performance, the Scarlets had secured that all important win, and a first double over the team from the Scottish capital.

Head of Rugby, Nigel Davies stated after the game that he was pleased that the set piece play had improved following the hard work and focus that had been put in all week.

He was also pleased with the defensive game which had meant that no tries had been scored against the team for the last two games and that the boys had kept their composure to ensure a massive win that sees the Scarlets leap back into second in the League, but having played a game more than other teams below them.

There was special praise for George North and also man of the match Gareth Davies who Nigel feels has considerable potential.

Next week, the Scarlets are on their travels once again as they travel to Ireland to take on Leinster in Dublin on Friday 4^th March 2011, kick off 7.35pm.