LOUSI SEES RED IN SCARLETS SETBACK
THE Scarlets were left to rue poor discipline as a late comeback amounted to nothing in Glasgow. A red card for Sam Lousi just after the break summed up their performance in the first hour of the match, with several needless penalties putting Glasgow on top.
However, the final quarter saw Glenn Delaney’s finally men come alive, but it ultimately was nowhere near enough as a comeback proved too little, too late.
You would be hard-pressed to find many rugby fans who would have described the first half at Scotstoun in positive terms.
Both teams seemed a little nervy after opening-day defeats last weekend, while the new breakdown interpretations meant that both attacks struggled to string even a few phases together before conceding a penalty.
As a result, much of the first half was spent walking back and forth between lineouts brought about by breakdown penalties.
That caginess suited the hosts, who slowly managed to get a hold of territory as the Scarlets continued to give away infringements. Slowly, those penalties went from being in the Glasgow half to being in their own.
Adam Hastings missed the first attempt at goal, but finally broke the deadlock with the second – slotting over a penalty after 29 minutes.
Two minutes later, Hastings was gifted another opportunity off the tee, but his effort from halfway dropped just short of the posts.
However, the hosts weren’t done applying the scoreboard pressure and it wouldn’t be long before they pushed further ahead.
A weak tackle attempt from young Tom Rogers on the Scarlets right wing allowed his opposite number Ratu Tagive easy access to the Scarlets’ 22.
After that initial break, there was a sense of inevitability with the hosts’ attack, with Oli Kebble eventually forcing his way over from close range.
Having landed nine from nine last week, Leigh Halfpenny could only push his one effort of the first half wide.
If the first half was bad, then the second half could hardly have started any worse.
Within a matter of minutes, the Scarlets were down to 14 men.
Lousi’s tackle on Tagive caught the winger high and the second row could have few complaints about the red card that followed.
Up against it now, the Scarlets were immediately under the kosh, with Ryan Wilson extending the hosts’ lead with a try on 46 minutes.
Ten minutes later, Hastings extended the gap to 20 points with a penalty and that appeared to be that.
Seemingly set to go without registering a try in their third straight match, the Scarlets did at least break that duck and cross the whitewash.
On his 150th appearance, it was prop Samson Lee who went over after a show-and-go that gave Delaney’s men a semblance of hope.
From there, the Scarlets came alive and threw everything at the hosts – who went down to 13 men themselves after quickfire yellow cards for Richie Gray and Nick Grigg.
That sparked a manic final 10 minutes where the Scarlets plugged away against the home defence, but at crucial moments their set-piece and game management let them down.
Steff Evans, bereft of a Wales recall last week, nearly conjured a try from nothing, but the winger could only spill the ball over the line under pressure – summing up the region’s efforts on the night.