SCARLETS RETURN HOME TO A DISAPPOINTING DRAW

By Helen ‘Helzbach’ Davies

 

After almost a whole month on the road,the Scarlets were unable to start December with a win against a strong Leinster team.

A win would have taken the Scarlets to the top of the Magners League, but the Irish Province finished strongly to share the points in a match which either team could be disappointed not to have won.

There was no snow in Llanelli, despite the majority of the rest of the country being under a blanket of the white stuff, but wind, rain, sleet and freezing temperatures made the conditions difficult for the players.

This match proved that Scarlets fans never forget and are not a very forgiving bunch either, with boos ringing round the stadium when it was announced that due to the adverse weather conditions, local referee Nigel Owens would be taking charge. It seems that despite his formal apology, THAT forward pass will be remembered by the Scarlets faithful for a very long time.

It was almost a dream start with Morgan Stoddart getting fingertips on the ball to touch down for a try, a micro second after those of Leinster’s Shane Horgan. The Scarlets didn’t have to wait long to get points on the board though, with Rhys Preistland giving the home team a 3 point lead after just 5 minutes.

The Scarlets then kept the ball in hand, and went on the attack, trying to increase their lead, but the strong Leinster defence, resulted in the Welsh side passing from wing to wing without moving forward. A lucky kick forward from the Leinster team gave them a great attacking position when they were awarded a scrum v, but the Scarlets were able to show their superior scrummaging by winning the ball and clearing the line.

Despite a cracking tackle from popular scrum half Tavis Knoyle; the Leinster team were soon able to find a gap in the Scarlets defensive line to score the first try of the evening through centre Eoin O’Malley, despite the Scarlets playing the majority of the rugby. Jonathan Sexton, who had a nightmare with his boot, missed the conversion.

With weather conditions worsening and sleet falling on Parc y Scarlets, Tavis Knoyle demonstrated his attacking skills, bursting through the defence and galloping almost to the line, only to see his efforts wasted when the ball was knocked on following the line out.

Irish International Jonathan Sexton then missed his second kick, but Rhys Priestland ensured the Scarlets took the lead again, with his successful kick from inside his own half, taking him past the 500 point mark for the Scarlets.

Wing Joe Ajuwa continued the Scarlets attack, but was penalised for not allowing his opponent to get up before the tackle, a decision that the crowd did not agree with and in spite of the freezing temperatures, things reached boiling point on the pitch just before half time. A dangerous high tackle on Dan Newton, which should have been a straight red card, resulted in Sean O’Brien being very fortunate to stay on the pitch.

Nigel Owens gathered the 30 players around him for a talking to, before Rhys Priestland brought his and the team’s points total to 9, giving a half time score of 9 points to 5.

The Scarlets started the second half strongly, with the forwards driving forward and going through the phases. Unfortunately, the home team were unable to increase their score before having to prove themselves equally adept in defence. Leinster’s kicking woes continued when Sexton missed yet another kick following the Scarlets being deemed offside.

The Irish team saw Rhys Ruddock sin-binned for an illegal shoulder charge, after shouts from the crowd saw referee Owens consult with his touch judge. This offered yet another kicking opportunity for Rhys Priestland, who increased the Scarlets’ lead to 12 points to 5.

Suddenly, Parc y Scarlets became optimistic for a good win, putting the men in red top of the table. Scarlets’ Welsh Internationals Stephen Jones, and current club and country captain, Matthew Rees, who had turned down the opportunity for a rest period following the Autumn Internationals, came off the bench to help drive the nail into Leinster’s coffin.

It didn’t take long for the Scarlets to stretch their lead, and seemingly seal the victory when Gareth Maul crossed in the corner following some superb passing. Priestland missed the conversion, but the Scarlets still had a healthy 12 point lead, 17 points to 5, and it looked certain that the home team were going to maintain their unbeaten home record (apart that is, for the Ospreys match, which many supporters have chosen to forget!!)

However, Leinster had other ideas and it was not long before Sexton was again offered the chance to bridge the gap between the two teams, but again he was unsuccessful with his kick.

Following a kick down field, the visitors were lumbered into touch, offering the Scarlets a promising field position, but despite their man advantage, it was Leinster who stepped up a gear and finished the stronger. It left the Scarlets defence panicking, but fortunately, Stephen Jones managed to calm things down, even if it was only temporarily.

The Scarlets made more replacements which left supporters wandering at the end of the match, whether the use of the bench, on this occasion, had been a factor in the way things materialised during the final 10 minutes.

After putting the Scarlets defence under intense pressure with patient play, working through the phases, McFadden crossed for a try in the corner, to bring the visitor’s tally to 10 points and the score line to, 17 point to 10. Fortunately for the Scarlets, Sexton again missed the conversion, proving to be consistent in his kicking on the night, but  Rhys Priestland also missed with a kick from inside his own half, that would have left the Leinster team needing to score twice to win. This was following crossing by the Leinster team that was picked up by Nigel Owens, giving him his first cheer of the night!

With just 5 minutes left on the clock, it wasn’t quite the heart in mouth ending that supporters have become accustomed to, but that soon changed when Shane Horgan raced over to score an 79th minute try (following a forward pass??), leaving Sexton with the pressure conversion to draw the game. Typically, he managed to get that kick, aided by the try scorer grounding the ball as close to the posts as he could.

The vast majority of the 5,142 in attendance were once again back in familiar territory, seeing a good lead gone, and victory being snatched away. The Scarlets managed to keep their discipline as giving away a penalty would have cost them the game, and were fortunate that Leinster knocked the ball on a split second before it was offered to Sexton for a drop kick at goal.

Worryingly, F
iji captain, Deacon Manu was stretchered off into injury time, adding to the suspected broken elbow suffered by fellow tight-head prop Pete Edwards earlier in the match. This could cause major front row difficulties for the team over the next few weeks, especially with the limited squad available to the Scarlets, particularly with the European Cup restarting next week before important Festive Season derbies against the Ospreys and the Dragons.

With the stadium clock reading 90 minutes, Leinster were offered a final chance to cause heart break to the home fans, when they were awarded a scrum on the Scarlets 22 following a knock on from Ben Morgan.

Sexton was in position ready to aim for the winning drop goal, with his kick being the difference between a draw and a Leinster win. Play continued forward for a few seconds before Sexton ended his awful match by dropping the ball before aiming his drop kick at goal.

It was such a disappointing ending to a game that the Scarlets should have won, even if they were helped considerably by Jonathan Sexton, but ending up being fortunate to draw. This draw puts the Scarlets level on point with Munster, but they have played a game extra and the Irish Province have won more games this season.

Scarlets take on Benetton Treviso next Saturday, December 11th, in the third round of the Heineken Cup where they hope to put behind them an awful second round of the competition and get back once again to winning ways. Kick off is at 3.00pm