Scarlets Cling on to Steal Ospreys Victory Right at the Death

Now that the big man in red has paid his annual visit, the stage is set for the men in red to take main stage for the first of the annual Festive Derbies and first is up is the one that stirs the imaginations of supporters both sides of Loughour Bridge with the Scarlets hosting the Ospreys at Parc y Scarlets.
Traditionally this fixture has always been a close-run, emotional encounter and despite this season is actually a top versus bottom encounter, in reality, form will go out of the window.
With just two wins in the league thus far this season, the Ospreys have had a challenging season, however, back-to-back wins over Northampton in the Champions’ Cup has helped to put their season back on track,and a victory against the defending Pro12 Champions would certainly be a huge boost, particularly as the Scarlets won the away fixture back in early October.
The Scarlets too have challenges of their own.The victories over Benetton Rugby has very much kept their European dreams alive and aside from 3 derby matches in a period of 10 days, the subsequent weeks see an away fixture at Bath, followed by Toulon at home to overcome in order to progress through to the knock-out stages. This stage of
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the season will require clever tactical team management from Wayne Pivac & co before the start of the Six Nations.
Despite a bright start to the day, unfortunately, the deteriorating conditions were not ideal for the typical running style of rugby that is usually associated with the Scarlets.
`With several individual battles always a sub-plot in these fixtures, particularly with the Internationals so close, the one battle that supporters would have been keeping a close eye on was the one between Ospreys bound Scott Williams and Scarlets bound Keiron Fonotia in the Centre, however the late withdrawal of Fonotia saw Ashley Beck take his place.
Just as the game kicked off, conditions suddenly worsened and despite a positive start from the Scarlets, the ball was lost forward. The home team, however, won an early tactical battle in the scrum that offered Halfpenny an early penalty opportunity, but the kick sailed wide of the posts. Uncharacteristically, he missed a second attempt minutes later in a game where these misses could end up being very important.
Unbelievably he missed a third penalty as the Ospreys strayed off-side, right in front of the posts and with almost 14 minutes played, the Scarlets could have been 9 points up, rather than the score remaining point-less.
A fourth penalty in an usually kickable position was kicked to the corner with the forwards taking on the responsibility of attacking the Ospreys’ defensive line as a thunderous chanting of ‘Scarlets’ filled Parc y Scarlets.
From a scrum deep in the Ospreys’ 22, Gareth Davies dummies the pick up and the ball is worked to Steff Evans who dives over in the corner for the first try of the evening. Again, Halfpenny was wide with his conversion attempt to add the extras, though it was from a far trickier position on the touchline.
`eA second try went begging for the Scarlets as Gareth Davies charged down a Sam Davies kick. Johnny McNicholl demonstrated his pace, but unfortunately Hadleigh Parkes was unable to control the ball to score a certain try.
Despite an extended period of attack from the Ospreys, play was very lateral and they struggled to make any real penetration through the Scarlets’ defensive wall as unfortunately conditions ruled the game.
With just minutes remaining of the first half, a tackle mid-air saw Steff Evans shown the red card for a dangerous tackle, though a yellow would have been sufficient as both players were looking at the ball and there was no intent. Sam Davies was successful in his first penalty attempt of the game to give a half time score of 5 points to 3 as the Scarlets were faced with a similar predicament they faced in last season’s semi final at Leinster, playing a half of rugby with a man less (but hopefully the same result).
A Scarlets attack from deep at the start of the second half offered the Scarlets a hope of attack, but again the weather conditions proved to be the winner with Tadhg Beirne fumbling the ball.
After just 10 minutes play of the second half, the Ospreys took the lead for the first time after being awarded a penalty at the scrum. Sam Davies slotted over the kick to put his team ahead by a point – 5 points to 6.
With the drizzle still falling on Parc y Scarlets, frustrations mounted as referee Ian Davies’ decision making and interpretation of the game offered the Scarlets little chance to attack the Ospreys before a turn-over from Justin Tiparic offers the visitors the chance to further extend their lead. Again, Sam Davies is successful with his attempt and the Ospreys’ lead is extended to 5 points to 9.
Withjust over 10 minutes remaining of the game, the Scarlets management rang the changes in the hope that the replacements would add a freshness to the side. In particular, Aled Davies, who is leaving the Scarlets at the end of the season to join the Ospreys would be eager to impress his future employers.
The boos roared around Parc y Scarlets as decision against decision went against the Scarlets, as the Ospreys lived off-side and got away with a deliberate knock-on that could well have ended up as a penalty try for the home team.
With just minutes of the game remaining, the Scarlets are offered a last chance saloon as they have a scrum deep in the Ospreys’ 22. The crowd was deafening as another penalty sees the home team just inches from the try line as the clock goes passed the 80 minute mark.
Somehow, the Scarlets managed to keep hold of the ball,before a releasing replacement Josh Macleod who dived over in the corner to steal the win from the Ospreys right at the death! Halfpenny kicked his first successful kick of the game to add the extras and give the Scarlets the win by 12 points to 9.