Scarlets suffer European whitewash at hands of the Saints

By Helen ‘Helzbach’ Davies

Following last week’s thrashing at the hands of Racing 92 out in Paris, the Scarlets welcome Northampton to Parc y Scarlets for the final round of the pool stages of this year’s Champions’ Cup. Disappointingly, the Scarlets are looking for their first win, as they currently lie bottom of Pool 3 with just 2 losing bonus points. The Saints still mathematically have a chance of progressing to the knock-out stages, however they would require a bonus point win and other results going in their favour.

Psychologically it was the Saints who had the upper hand at the start of the game with their forwards demonstrating their power in the scrum to gain a penalty that offered them an attacking position in the Scarlets 22. However, the Scarlets’ defense held firm and they looked dangerous when in possession as they progressed deeper into the Northampton half.

A penalty decision saw them kicking for the corner, rather than taking the 3 points and despite the Scarlets forwards taking the ball on, Northampton were soon back in control with Centre Harry Mallinder breaking through and winning the footrace to cross under the posts. Stephen Myler added the conversion to give the visitors an early 7 point to 0 lead.

As the heavy rain teemed down on Parc y Scarlets, making handling conditions tricky, the Scarlets attempted some running rugby, however it was the Saints that took control once more resulting in George Pisi squeezing over in the corner for Northampton’s second try. Myler’s conversion was just wide, however their lead increased to 12 points to 0 as the Scarlets’ European misery seemed to continue.

A break in mid-field from Full Back Collins after a messy Northampton line-out saw the Scarlets on the attack and despite the worsening conditions managed to keep ball in hand.

Scarlets’ first points on the evening came from the boot of Aled Thomas whose successful penalty brought the score-line to 3 points to 12. This remained the score at the end of the first half.

Despite a scrappy start to the second half, Northampton wasted no time in using their forward momentum to further increase their score with Number 8 Sam Dickinson’s try leaving the visitors just needing to score one more try to put themselves in a strong position to qualify for the Quarter Finals, providing other results tomorrow go their way. With the conversion wide of the posts, the Saints remained in control with a 3 point to 17 advantage.

Things got worse for the Scarlets following the TMO interception which resulted in Maselino Paulino spending 10 minutes in the sin bin. As is the norm it seems these days, referee Pascal Gauzere endured the wrath of the Parc y Scarlets faithful as a questionable off-side decision saw Northampton rewarded with a line-out on the Scarlets’ line. Great defending from the home side saw them secure a penalty to relieve the pressure, however a knock-on saw the Saints back in control.

It was former Scarlet George North, familiar with crossing the whitewash in Parc y Scarlets, that secured the bonus point for his new team. Unfamiliarly, his try scoring in Wales isn’t usually accompanied by a thunderous booing! Again the conversion was missed, but with just over 20 minutes remaining the Saints lead of 22 points to 3 made it difficult to see the Scarlets being able to take anything positive from yet another European encounter.

A break from Full Back Collins looked promising for the home team, however another handling error saw the Saints back in control once more as once again the team’s discipline became their downfall.

A dangerous shoulder charge from Courtney Lawes that was a blatant yellow card brought the crowd to life once more as referee Gauzere decided it was just a penalty. Again the line-out let the Scarlets down and the Scarlets struggled to look like a team who can realistically compete in this particular European tournament.

The Scarlets finally crossed the try line in the final minutes of the game, but the ball was held up. Encouragingly, a yellow card for Lee Dickson gave the men in red a man advantage as they gave their all to crossing the whitewash. Strangely, the reaction of the crowd was such that you’d think the Scarlets were competing for the winning try rather than just pride.

As the game reached its final minutes the Scarlets opted for the scrum in their quest for their illusive try as the home supporters won their own battle in their attempt to drown out ‘When the Saints Go Marching On’ from ringing around the stadium. It took almost a whole 80 minutes for the Scarlets to finally cross the try line and it took a lengthy debate between referee and TMO before Rhodri Jones was named as try scorer. Aled Thomas’ last kick of the game added a successful conversion to give a final score of 10 points to 22.

Next weekend it’s back to the Pro 12 as the Scarlets travel to Ireland, hoping to do a double over Connacht to remain top of the table.