Rhys Priestland kicked 17 points and controlled the game to lead the Scarlets to a 22-14 victory over local rivals the Ospreys.
The Scarlets dominated possession and territory in the early stages in front of a packed house at the Parc y Scarlets and Rhys Priestland, back marshalling the side at fly-half, kicked the Llanelli outfit into a 6-0 lead after quarter of an hour.
Dan Biggar did eventually register three points for the visitors on the half hour mark but this only served to spark the home side into action again and moments later they scored the opening try of the game through prop Rhys Thomas, who barrelled over from a yard out.
Priestland added the conversion and another penalty late on to give the Scarlets a comfortable looking 16-3 lead at the interval.
The visitors looked a completely different team after the break though. Scott Johnson's team talk had an immediate impact as his troops held on to the ball better and Biggar reduced the deficit with two early penalties.
Once they were back within range, the Ospreys visibly grew in confidence and, after spending some time in the opposition twenty-two, they made the most of an overlap on the right hand side and full-back Barry Davies slid over in the corner to make it 16-14.
Just as the Swansea-based side looked to be in the ascendancy though, Priestland steadied the ship with two crucial penalties for the Scarlets, who weathered a few storms late on to come away with a well-deserved victory.
The scorers:
For Scarlets:
Tries: Thomas
Cons: Priestland
Pens: Priestland 5
For Ospreys:
Try: BJ Davies
Pens: Biggar 3
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jon Davies, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Rob McCusker, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Lou Reed, 3 Rhys Thomas, 2 Matthew Rees (c), 1 Rhodri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Phil John, 18 Deacon Manu, 19 Sione Timani, 20 Johnathan Edwards, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Stephen Jones, 23 Iongi Viliame.
Ospreys: 15 Barry Davies, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Joe Bearman, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Tom Smith, 5 Jonathan Thomas, 4 Ryan Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Mefin Davies, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 James King, 20 George Stowers, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Matthew Morgan, 23 Hanno Dirksen.
Comments
makemehappy says...
@jimbosim - I can't agree with the referee favouring the Ospreys. I thought the Scarlets really had the rub of the green. I thought every scrum for the first 60 minutes should have resulted in a clear Ospreys penalty, for example. The scrum is a pivotal part of the game, and sadly this has been forgotten or ignored.
I do agree with your other observations however.
Certainly the more entertaining side won the game!
Posted 14:59 29th December 2011
ThinkingGame says...
Lamont was offside. He was in line with the whole Scarlets defensive line, but all of them were in front of the back foot. Jon Davies moved in to tackle the man, crossing would have been a harsh call. If Bowe had scored with the pop pass he dropped the score would have reflected the contest more accurately, but the Scarlets deserved the win.
Posted 12:17 29th December 2011
jimbosim says...
"makemehappy" - I understand where you are coming from and agree with your view on the scrums, the scrums are such a mess at present - there are wispers of losing it, although i dont think it will go that far?
There is a simular issue with the contact area, which was ruined when they outlawed rucking?
With regards to the game, the Ospreys had the edge in the scrum, which lets face it is always going to be the case with Adam playing, Sean Lamont was not off side when he made that amazing tackle, The Ospreys were wondering offside in thier defence and the Barry Davies try was a forward pass with evidence of crossing in the line - so technically was not a try and to be honesty the Scarlets were nowhere near thier best.
My point is in Balance the Scarlets won the game and were the better side, if anything the Ospreys had the run of the ref?
Posted 22:16 28th December 2011
makemehappy says...
@jimbosim - I really don't think its that simple. The Ospreys were certainly clueless, and Priestland looked light years ahead of Biggar. I can't agree that the best team won though, as the Scarlets were destroyed in the scrum, but the ref decided to stop refereeing it. If he had, then the Ospreys would have won through boring brute force.
I am far from a fan of the current Ospreys set up, and much prefer watching the Scarlets play. Surely you cannot say that the Ospreys shouldn't have had a penalty try via the scrum and several other penalties too.
The scrum is causing great embarassment to the game at the moment, and the rule makers need to address these issues urgently!
Posted 10:38 28th December 2011
jimbosim says...
Its simple really, the best team won. No point blaming anybody. Judging by in coming fixtures looks like the Ospreys will be out of the top 4 by spring and it will be up to the Blues and Scarlets to take on the Irish in the playoffs. Sorry Ospreys but with no big guns this season, you have nothing in the reserve tank?
Posted 21:39 27th December 2011
Maubec says...
Perhaps it's because there's two Samoans in the Ospreys team... Mr Owens already had a poor game (not to say something else...) during South Africa/Samoa's game in RWC, giving a penalty to South Africa after a dangerous break from Lemi...
Posted 10:41 27th December 2011
makemehappy says...
The scrum has now become a joke! Hardly any referees want or can referee it properly. The Ospreys were poor (awful in the first half, and OK in the second). The fact remains that they should have been awarded a penalty try and several more scrum related penalties, having destroyed the Scarlets.
Mr Owens had a poor game. This is perhaps best examplified by the penalty against Shane Williams with just over a minute to go. No-one from the Scarlets wanted the ball, and they were more than happy to let Shane wonder around with the ball and count the clock down. Mr Owens was having non of this, and awarded a penalty. It must be great being a dictator!
Posted 17:29 26th December 2011