PATCHELL HANDS WALES A REMINDER
RHYS Patchell made a last-ditch case for inclusion in Warren Gatland’s Six Nations squad as he helped fire the Scarlets to an unlikely victory over Cardiff.
The 28-year-old has been plagued by injuries over the course of the past few seasons, but he was imperious at the Arms Park.
His running game ran Cardiff ragged, and his break from deep in the first half paved the way for Jonathan Davies to score.
“I think that was Patch’s best game for a while,” said Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel.
“What I liked about Patch’s performance is he took the line on which is something we’ve encouraged him to do more.
“He’s a big man so he needs to be running at the line, and I think he did that today.
“He made the line break when Johnny kicked over the top for Jonathan Davies’s try.”
With Gareth Anscombe currently sidelined there is a vacancy at flyhalf, and given Patchell’s versatility the Scarlets man may sneak into the Six Nations squad.
He was the starting No. 10 in Gatland’s final match as Wales coach in the 2019 Rugby World Cup bronze medal match against New Zealand but has not started a game for the national team since, making just two replacement appearances under Wayne Pivac.
Patchell was capped 19 times during Gatland’s first reign.
Cardiff ’s hopes of reaching the United Rugby Championship playoffs suffered a major setback with their defeat.
The Scarlets played some scintillating attacking rugby but were also forced to dig deep in defence as Cardiff threw the kitchen sink at them.
Cardiff had the edge in the tight but the Scarlets defence kept them at bay.
The Scarlets hit Cardiff with a period of sustained pressure early on which forced the hosts into conceding a penalty. Some quick thinking from Dane Blacker, who took a quick tap, caught the home side napping, with the lively scrum-half touching down for the opening try.
Cardiff were soon reduced to 14 men when lock Lopeti Timani received a yellow card for making direct contact with the head of Joe Roberts. It was hard to justify Joy Neville’s decision given the Australia international had hit the young centre’s head with force.
The Scarlets made the most of their numerical advantage, with Tongan lock Sam Lousi having a field day with his offloading game. He was involved in the Scarlets’ second try as he combined with Vaea Fifita, who offloaded out of contact, with Leigh Halfpenny and Aaron Shingler putting Johnny Mcnicholl over at the corner.
The visitors had the bit between their teeth and an explosive carry from Carwyn Tuipulotu put them on the front foot.
After the ball was quickly recycled, Patchell raced clear before setting Mcnicholl clear.
The Wales wing kicked speculatively upfield and the ball bounced wickedly to fall into the grateful hands of Davies, who touched down for the try.
Halfpenny converted from the touchline, but Cardiff hit straight back with a period of sustained pressure. The Cardiff scrum had the Scarlets on toast which allowed Taulupe Faletau to power over from close range for their first try.
Jarrod Evans added the extras, meaning the Scarlets held a 19-10 lead at the interval.
The Scarlets began the second half strongly, Halfpenny extending their lead to 12 points with a penalty after Cardiff were penalised at the scrum.
But they were forced to dig deep when loosehead prop Steffan Thomas was shown yellow for a high tackle on Thomas Young.
Cardiff proceeded to lay siege to the Scarlets line and the visitors couldn’t withstand their ball carriers, with Rhys Carre powering over for a try which Evans converted.
But Halfpenny made it a two-score game again as he nailed another successful penalty attempt.
Cardiff got back to within two points after a perfectly-weighted cross-kick from Ben Thomas allowed Josh Adams to score in the corner.
Halfpenny kicked a further penalty for the visitors, but they were forced to dig deep after Aaron Shingler was sent to the sin-bin for a stamp.
But Cardiff failed to break their resistance as Peel’s side held out for a significant victory.