Scarlets Draw Again!

By Helen ‘Helzbach’ Davies

After the heroics of the previous weekends and not only a win and a draw in the opening rounds of this year’s Heineken Cup but also, solid performances, it was back to League action as the Scarlets travelled to Italy to take on Zebre.

Typically the ‘whipping boys’ of the League, the Italians were in a confident mood after recording their first ever victory since joining the League, however, victory for the men in red was never in any doubt….was it?

It took just 4 minutes for the Scarlets to open the scoring with a penalty from Steve Shingler giving them a 3 point to 0 advantage. He had the opportunity to double his point tally soon after but saw his attempt sail wide of the posts.

However, it was the Italians that scored the first try of the night with International Centre Gonzalo Garcia crossing for a well-finished try that was converted by Tommaso Ioannone to give the home team a 7 point to 3 lead.

Ioannone further increased his side’s lead soon after with a penalty that saw Zebre 10 points to 3 ahead, but fortunately, the Scarlets hit back with a try of their own.

Winning turn over ball, Scrum Half Gareth Davies broke through the home side defence to cross for a try under the posts. Shingler added the conversion that saw the teams locked on 10 points each.

Zebre certainly finished the half the stronger as errors crept into the Scarlets’ play, but fortunately the defence held firm and the score remained at 10 all at half time.

The second half hardly started with a bang! Having proved that Zebre were not going to be an easy opponent to beat, Coach Simon Easterby took full advantage of a strong bench in attempt to secure victory.

Despite this, it was the Italians that regained the lead with Ioannone successful with a second penalty to give them a vital 3 point lead – 13 points to 10.

Fortunately replacement Outside Half Rhys Priestland levelled the score with 72 minutes played, 13 points all, and once again ensured the tense, nail biting finish that Scarlets supporters are familiar with!

Following a charge down, the Scarlets were penalised, offering replacement Luciano Orquero the chance to snatch victory for his team. To the delight of the home supporters, he managed to give Zebre a 16 points to 13 advantage as his kick bounced off the upright and somehow found its way over the cross bar.

As the seconds ticked on, hope of securing anything more than a losing bonus point faded fast until the very last minute of play as Zebre were penalised for holding on.

With nerves of steel, Priestland managed to block out the noise of the crowd and the importance of the kick and fortunately saw the final kick of the game sail through the posts to equalise the scores – 16 all.

Once again, it was a game that could have and should have been won, despite the strong opposition. However, those all-important extra points from the draws could well prove to be extremely important in the long term.

With the Autumn Internationals almost upon us, the Scarlets welcome Ulster to Parc y Scarlets on Saturday evening, kick off, 6.30pm. Despite 8 players being unavailable due to the international duties, the Welsh Region hope to finally get their League Campaign back to winning ways. They are currently 7th, sandwiched between the Dragons and the Blues!