Second-half fightback gives Quins derby success

WITH Carmarthen Quins already guaranteed a knockout place in the WRU Premiership Cup, and Llanelli having nothing other than pride to play for, this turned into a psychological battle before the two teams renew their rivalry in the league on December 16.

Having failed to pick up a win in their previous nine outings, the visitors were keen to break their duck in their latest attempt.

And they went into the interval 15-5 ahead after having first use of the strong wind.

Back-row man Gethin Davies opened the scoring for the home side in the 11th minute, but after that the Llanelli pack got stuck in.

There was an equalising try from prop Alex Jefferies 10 minutes later and then two more from livewire hooker Morgan Macrae in a fiveminute purple patch just before the break.

They put Llanelli in charge on the scoreboard at least and took them to the brink of a bonus point. Alas, for Llanelli head coach Paul Fisher, there were no more points in the second half as the Quins used the conditions to their advantage.

“It has been a frustrating campaign for us,” said Fisher. “We’ve played well in patches in games and could have won a number of them with a bit more luck.”

The Quins started the second half with a bang and tries from fly-half

Steff Marshall and back-row man Lewys Millin, both of which were converted by Leon Randall, sent them into a 19-15 lead.

And there was a bonus-point try for the Quins at the death from Tyler Murvai to complete their second-half fightback.

CARMARTHEN QUINS  Tries: G Davies, S Marshall, L Millin, T Murvai. Cons: L Randall (3).

LLANELLI  Tries: M Macrae (2), A Jefferies.