Solid Scarlets Secure Victory Over Arch Rivals Ospreys

There is no greater rivalry that that between the Scarlets and the Ospreys. The sun shone down as a packed Parc y Scarlets welcomed the Ospreys to town, including former Scarlet Aled Davies in their line-up.
An injury niggle saw last week’s man of the match, Jonathan Davies left out of the starting XV which saw Keiron Fonotia return to face his old region.
Will Boyde makes a welcome return from injury to start in the back row for the first time this season, whilst Josh Macleod is named on the bench.
The game started in typical derby fashion as both teams, despite some clever handling from both sides, neither failed to make any real impression on the game.
A knock-on in the Scarlets’ 22, saw the visitors secure a scrum in a good attacking position, but they failed to cross the gain-line and the Scarlets were soon back in possession.
Opting to kick for the corner, rather than attempt the three points offered the Ospreys another chance to attack but Leigh Halfpenny was there to save the day.
Turn-over ball saw the Scarlets run out of defence, securing a penalty that finally put them in the Ospreys’ half.
A break from Fonotia on the wing released Johnny McNicholl, who stretched his legs to race over the whitewash. Despite checking for possible obstruction, referee Nigel Owens, refereeing the Scarlets for the 28th time awarded the try. Leigh Halfpenny added the simple conversion to give the Scarlets an early 7 points to 0 advantage.
Despite being a try down, the Ospreys certainly put the Scarlets under a huge amount of pressure defensively, as they continued attacking before an error sees the ball kicked out on the full, offering Cory Allen the opportunity to break through and race to the line. Sam Davies added the conversion to draw the game level – 7 points all.
George North crossed the whitewash in the corner shortly after, however, it appeared on the replays that Tom Prydie had saved the day for the Scarlets. A thunderous booing followed when Owens announced his decision to award the try, and probably didn’t help Sam Davies as he failed with the tricky conversion attempt as the Ospreys took the lead for the first time by 7 points to 12.
The Scarlets secured a penalty right at the end of the first half through the boot of Leigh Halfpenny to narrow the Ospreys’ lead at the interval to 10 points to 12.
The Scarlets started the second half full of intent and appeared to have been rewarded early on as Hadleigh Parkes crossed the line, however the TMO deemed that there was a knock-on earlier in the move and the try was disallowed.
The Scarlets did re-take the lead though on the 50-minute mark thanks to some sterling work from the forwards in the scum. Halfpenny’s kick saw the home team take the lead by a point – 13 points to 12.
Nigel Owens was again greeted by a thunderous booing as a deliberate knock-on from Ospreys Wing, Luke Morgan should not only have been a yellow card offence, but there was a case for a penalty try. However, Owens decided that the knock on wasn’t deliberate!
The Scarlets finally broke down the Ospreys’ defence to cross for their second try with Rhys Patchell bursting through to touchdown. Halfpenny added the conversion to put the home team ahead by 20 points to 12.
Despite being very lucky to be on the pitch, the Ospreys again narrowed the Scarlets’ lead following a break from Captain, Justin Tiperic that saw Morgan cross for the visitor’s third try as the Ospreys’ narrowed the Scarlets’ lead to 20 points to 17.
The Scarlets enjoyed the vast majority of both the possession and territory during the second half, but really let themselves down in finishing off the try scoring moves to the frustration of the Parc y Scarlets faithful.
A high tackle on Sam Hidalgo-Clyne again saw the Ospreys very fortunate to still be at full quota and it appeared that Owens had left his cards at home. However, with a matter of minutes remaining, and ‘Hymns and Arias’ ringing through the stadium, the Scarlets were camped on the Ospreys’ try line, hoping to deny their near neighbours of a losing bonus point.
With a final push at the scrum the Scarlets attempted a score right at the death, but with the clock already on the 80, a knock-on from the Ospreys brought the game to an end, with the Scarlets not only maintaining their very impressive home record in the League, but also keeping hold of the Evening Post Trophy as they ran out victorious by 20 points to 17.
With the first block of League fixtures done and dusted, the Scarlets find themselves with four wins out of six and in second place in Conference B.
Next week sees the start of this season’s Champions Cup campaign with last season’s finalists, Racing 92 visiting Parc y Scarlets next Saturday….kick off is at 5.30pm