BLUES SECURE DOUBLE AS SCARLETS REMAIN IN THIRD

By Helen ‘Helzbach’ Davies

Following last week’s heroics that resulted in superb victory against the Ospreys in the Liberty Stadium, the Scarlets were back in the Park this week for a second derby game, this time against their Capital City neighbours, the Cardiff Blues.

Currently in 9th in the Pro12 table, the Blues, along with the Ospreys still have a very slim chance of playing in the top tier of Europe next year, but would depend hugely on results elsewhere. The Scarlets on the other hand seem to have cemented their place in the top 4 with their destiny very much being in their own hands. With Ulster beating table toppers Connacht last night and an all-Irish derby completing the line-up for this weekend’s fixtures, there’s a chance that the Scarlets could end up in second place if they secure a victory today. The aim all season has been a top 4 play-off spot, however a top 2 would ultimately mean a home tie in Fortress Parc y Scarlets, and then, who knows…….?

The Scarlets were offered an early opportunity for points on the boards with a penalty in the opening minutes putting them deep in the opposition 22, however the Blues were able to re-gain possession and secure a penalty of their own as the game continued in a typical derby fashion with neither side really putting their stamp on procedures.

A clever kick from Gareth Anscombe saw Rhys Patchell chase but was beaten in the footrace by Gareth Davies who unfortunately carried the ball over his own line, offering the Blues a Scrum V.

Despite strong defense from the Scarlets, the Blues took an early lead with Anscombe successful in his attempt from right in front of the posts – 0 points to 3.

Poor defensive work from the home team saw Scrum Half Lloyd Williams cross for the first try of the afternoon. Anscombe added the conversion to give his team a 10-point lead.

Lovely hands from the Scarlets resulted in them back in the Blues half, with Jake Ball sprinting down the wing! A successful penalty from Outside Half Dan Jones finally put points on the board for the men in red – 3 points to 10.

He repeated the feat the minutes with a trickier attempt to keep the Scarlets in touch – 6 points to 10.

Heroic tackling from the Scarlets kept the Blue out for a period, however Wing Tom James squeezed over in the corner, even though in slow motion it was doubtful whether he had grounded the ball over the line or not. Anscombe missed the conversion from the touch line as the Blues extended their lead to 6 points to 15.

The Scarlets continued their domination at the scrum from last week against the Ospreys, securing a penalty that was duly kicked by Jones to put the Scarlets back within 6 points – 9 points to 15.

With the end of the half looming, the Blues were again on the attack in the Scarlets 22 in a half that in many aspects they had dominated, out-scoring the Scarlets by 2 tries to 0 and certainly having the majority of the possession.

An easy penalty attempt for Anscombe, right in front of the posts saw the visitors further increase their lead to double that of their West Walian neighbours….9 points to 18 as the half drew to a close.

The Scarlets started the second half with a fourth successful penalty from Dan Jones to bring them back within 6 points, 12 points to 18.

A silly penalty at the breakdown offered Anscombe an easy opportunity to add to his tally and he made no mistake in his effort to increase the Blues’ lead to 12 points to 21. However, replacement Outside Half Aled Thomas was given a chance to continue the 100% penalty kicking record straight away. His successful kick brought the Scarlets back to 15 points to 21.

The Blues were again hopeful of restoring a 9-point lead seconds later with future Scarlet Rhys Patchell taking over the kicking duties. It was to the delight of the Scarlets faithful that he didn’t quite have the legs for the kick, though this will undoubtedly not be the case next season!

Despite being in possession for an extended period, sloppy passing along with careless kicks were the Scarlets’ downfall as their play was very lateral. The Blues ensured their punished the home team for not taking full advantage of their opportunities and a neat side-step from Anscombe saw him cross under the posts for the Blues’ third try. His own conversion saw the visitors extend their lead to 15 points to 28 as the feel-good factor from beating the Ospreys last week slipped further and further away, particularly as it seemed likely that the Blues would not only record the double but gain a try bonus point in the process.

With fresh legs on, it was hoped that something would spur the Scarlets into action. A break from Scrum Half Aled Davies was halted by a high tackle and opting to kick for the corner finally saw the home team closer to the Blues’ try line than they had been all game.  Powerful work from the forwards finally saw the Scarlets score their first try of the afternoon, even though it took 70 minutes to do so with John Barclay touching down. Aled Thomas added the conversion to bring the score back to within 6 points, 22 points to 28.

Finally, the crowd got behind the team as they themselves finally started playing rugby, in a game similar to the England v Wales Six Nations encounter.

The Scarlets were awarded another penalty and had the added advantage of ending the game with a man advantage as former Scarlet Josh Turnbull was yellow-carded with just over 5 minutes remaining of the game.

Again the Scarlets opted to kick for the corner, however on this occasion the Blues were awarded a penalty to relieve the attacking pressure.

However, the Scarlets ensured they tested the nerves of the fans to the bitter end, playing phase after phase as they inched their way over the gain line and finally back into the Blues half, but still with a long way to go to the try line!

Unfortunately, the Blues were able to use the touch line as an extra defender, keep possession and ensure that the Scarlets had to settle for a losing bonus point that sees them remain in 3rd place in the Pro12 league table.

Next up the Scarlets face Glasgow in possibly the final home game of the season on April 16th. Kick off has been changed to 3.15pm.