Beaten, but Kelly’s men are a step closer to final spot

SCARLETS A are still firmly in the driving seat to reach the inaugural Celtic Cup final despite a 40-29 defeat at Munster A.

Richard Kelly’s side sit top of the Welsh group with 14 points with one round of matches to play and now need maximum points from Saturday’s clash with Dragons A to be sure.

Shaun Evans, Rhys Fawcett, Morgan Williams and Welsh international wing Steff Evans all went over for the Scarlets to at least bag a bonus point in defeat.

“The bonus point puts us in a reasonably good position but now we must ensure we get the victory against the Dragons,” said Kelly.

“Our discipline let us down at times and we made it hard for ourselves, but I also thought the players were resilient and fought like they have throughout the competition.

“I think it has done a lot of good for our youngsters.”

The winner of the Welsh group will then face either Leinster A or Munster A in the final.

Those two are level on 24 points at the top of the Irish group ahead of a winner-takes-all clash between them at the weekend.

Should the Scarlets A slip up against Dragons A, Cardiff Blues A could take advantage having played themselves back into Richard Kelly. contention with a 26-12 win over Connacht Eagles in Galway.

Aled Summerhill, Liam Belcher, Tom James and Cam Lewis all scored and it means the Blues have 13 points ahead of their clash with the Ospreys’ development side.

The Ospreys, on 10 points, are not mathematically out of it either.

However, their hopes took a blow with a heavy 39-19 defeat to Ulster A at the Brewery Field.

Dragons A, though, on six points, are now definitely out of contention after a 48-29 defeat by Leinster A at Ystrad Mynach.