Scarlets Slay Dragons

By Helen ‘Helzbach’ Davies

Following the disappointment of last week’s draw in Murrayfield against Edinburgh after dominating the first half, this week sees the first Welsh Derby match of the season as the Scarlets welcome the Dragons for this West v East encounter.

The home team demonstrated their intention to play open rugby right from the start with Full Back Liam Williams running from inside his own 22. A charge down from Emyr Phillips saw the Hooker catch and sprint towards the line but unfortunately his passing game let him down and thwarted what would have been a dream start.

It was however the visitors that put the first points on the board, with Outside Half Jason Tovey successful with his easy attempt from in front of the posts to give them an early 3 point to 0 advantage.

Within seconds, the Scarlets were deep in the Dragons 22 and inching every closer to the white wash as they worked through the phases. The reward for this was an easy kick for Rhys Priestland to level the score at 3 points all.

He repeated the feat almost immediately, though this time from a far trickier position to give the Scarlets the lead – 6 points to 3.

Wing Harry Robinson demonstrated his pace as he stormed downfield following his intercepting of the ball; however Dragons Scrum Half Jonathan Evans managed to stop him in his tracks with some nifty footwork of his own. Taking full advantage of the Dragons kicking away possession, Liam Williams put Centre Gareth Owen in a try scoring position. Grounding the ball under the posts made the conversion easy for Priestland as he notched up his third successful kick in a matter of minutes to further increase the home team’s lead to 13 points to 3.

A rather uneventful passage of play followed with play centred very much around the half way line and neither team making any real impetus on the game. Liam ‘Sanjay’ was offered the opportunity at a long range penalty from inside his own half but was just short despite being on target.

Williams was centre of attention seconds later as he was taken out by Dragons Wing Hallam Amos whilst mid-air catching a high ball in what can only be described as a very dangerous tackle. Amazingly, despite watching coverage several times and the call for at the very least a yellow card, referee George Clancey from Ireland decided to end the half with nothing more than a few words with each captain.

The Scarlets certainly began with second half with intent, possibly hoping to eradicate the demons of past second half performances that have cost them wins this season. Within seconds the home team was camped in the Dragons 22, moving ever closer to the white wash, testing the Dragons defence.

Fortunately for the visitors, they had a helping hand from their sixteenth player and the pressure was relieved. A promising break from Priestland put him into an almost certain try-scoring position, but his dummy pass even fool his own team mates as possession once again passed back to the Dragons.

The Scarlets further increased their lead to 16 points to 3 with another easy Priestland penalty, their reward for not only their sustained pressure on the Dragons defence, but also the Dragons players finally being penalised for off-side!

Superb hands and quick passing saw the home team on the attack again, playing the style of exciting rugby that was once a weekly sight in the old Stradey Park but has been sadly missing from the modern game.

The Dragons scored their first points of the half with just over 60 minutes on the clock as Tovey kicked his second penalty following some farcical refereeing decisions at the scrum. However, Kristian Phillips demonstrated both his pace and inch-perfect kicking as he crossed over for the home side’s second try of the afternoon. Priestland again added the conversion to give the Scarlets a 23 point to 6 advantage, a lead that on this occasion would hopefully be enough to seal the game.

The Dragons had obviously been reminded during training of the Scarlets record of building up a margin and then losing or drawing the games in the last few minutes as they attempted to claw their deficit. A strong forward effort saw Richie Rees being driven over for the Dragon’s first try of the game with only a matter of a few minutes remaining in the game. The added conversion cut the points difference to just 10 – 23 points to 13.

Rhys Priestland’s replacement Steve Shingler ensured the home team’s 100% kicking record was maintained as he slotted over an easy penalty to give his side a 26 point to 13 advantage as the stadium clock reached the 80 minutes.

Fortunately the majority of the 7,132 crowd left happy as the Scarlets finally hung on for the win. Next Friday the Scarlets travel to Munster in the next round of the Guinness Pro 12 League.