Scarlets Start the Season With A Victory Over Connacht

The World Cup may be in full swing but finally action returned to Parc y Scarlets with the start of this season’s Pro14.
Centre, Steff Hughes captained the side which also included internationals Rob Evans, Samson Lee and Steff Evans that were omitted from the World Cup Squad. Head Coach, Brad Mooar, speaking before the game said ‘We are all excited to get started against a very good Connacht side, who have enjoyed a successful pre-season of results. There are two sides with really good intent, it should be a great game of rugby.’
Fortunately, the expected heavy rain held off initially as Connacht were offered an early attacking line-out after securing a penalty at the scrum. A break from Tom Daly in mid-field saw the visitors head towards the Scarlets’ 22, but despite building up the phases, they were unable to penetrate the Scarlets’ defensive wall, as the hosts drove them backwards.
A break from Ryan Conbeer was halted by a no-arms tackle, however, to the boos of the crowd, referee Stuart Berry decided that a penalty would suffice, and Dan Jones opted to kick for the corner.
Securing the line-out offered the men in red the opportunity to drive forward towards the try-line, but the ball was lost in contact and despite clearing the lines, Connacht were unable to find touch and the Scarlets were soon back, deep in the Connacht 22. Despite getting the ball over the try line, they were unable to dab the ball down for the first score.
A penalty offered the visitors an attacking line-out in the Scarlets’ 22, however the home side secured the ball in the breakdown and the Scarlets were able to attack from the scrum and play was soon back in the visitor’s 22.
Patience saw the men in red build up the phases before great ball retention from Paul Asquith saw him off-load to Steff Evans who dived over in the corner. Dan Jones was unable to add the extras as the hosts opened up an early 5 points to 0 lead.
The Scarlets continued their attack as the rain began to fall in Parc y Scarlets, but despite the possession, the Connacht defense kept the hosts in their own half before a penalty offered an attacking line-out just outside the 22.
As the clock ticked towards the end of the half Jonny McNicholl set the Parc alight as he broke through the Connacht midfield. The ball was recycled well before a superb dummy from Steff Hughes allowed his mid-field partner, Paul Asquith to dive over under the posts. Dan Jones added the simple conversion to increase the hosts’ lead to 12 points to 0.
Connacht were able to get on the scoreboard before the end of the half after the Scarlets were pinged, and Conor Fitzgerald slotted over a simple kick to give a half time score of 12 points to 3.
The start of the second half saw the Scarlets deep in the Connacht 22 and an early opportunity to extend the lead as Connacht were pinged and Centre, Tom Daly shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. Dan Jones slotted over the simple penalty, right in front of the posts to extend the hosts’ lead to 15 points to 3.
A penalty from the scrum and a huge boot downfield offered Connacht an attacking line-out deep in the Scarlets’ 22. With Berry playing advantage, the visitors again opted to kick for the corner, however, they over-threw the line-out and Kieran Hardy was able to relieve the pressure, but play remained in the 22.
Despite losing the line-out, the ball was lost forward offering the visitors an attacking scrum. Again the Scarlets were pinged, and the decision was to kick for the corner once more.
As conditions worsened, Connacht secured the line-out and drove towards the try-line, but another penalty notched up against the men in red and again the decision was made to kick for the corner.
Sustained pressure from the visitors eventually got them their reward with Eoghan Masterson driving over from range. Fitzgerald added the easy conversion to bring the score-line to 15 points to 10.
But a Dan Jones again put the Scarlets two scores ahead as he slotted over a simple penalty attempt on the hour mark to extend the Scarlets’ lead to 18 points to 10.
With the ball resembling a bar of soap, both sides opted for the aerial battle in an attempt to force the errors. A knock-on offered the Scarlets an attacking scrum in the Connacht 22 and a subsequent penalty offered Dan Jones the chance to more or less seal the victory, but he did a ‘Biggar’ and missed a simple attempt, right in front of the posts.
Again, the game became a kicking battle, with play centred on half-way as neither side was really able to take a foothold in the final few minutes. A dangerous tackle on Steff Hughes offered the hosts a last chance to get points on the board with an attacking line-out in the Connacht 22, but conditions were playing a huge part in the ball handling skills.
A handling error from the visitors finally gave the Scarlets the opportunity to kick the ball off the Parc as they secured their first League victory of the season in horrendous conditions by 18 points to 10.
Next Friday, the Scarlets travel to Scotland to play a Glasgow Warriors team who were shocked out in South Africa after the Cheetahs managed to score seven tries against them in an emphatic victory. Kick-off is at 19.35pm