Scarlets fell into our trap - Mulvihill
JOHN MULVIHILL reckons the Scarlets played into the Cardiff Blues’ hands as they became the first side to win a PRO14 fixture in Llanelli for more than two years.
The Scarlets had over 70 per cent possession and territory but were outscored four tries to one by a ruthless Blues outfit.
A brace of tries from Ray Lee-lo plus a try apiece from Gareth Anscombe and Lloyd Williams were enough to see off Wayne Pivac’s side. All the Scarlets could muster was a firsthalf score from Johnny McNicholl.
“The team that got two scores in front was always going to win that game because the conditions were really tough,” said Mulvihill.
“We put a lot of pressure on them in defence so they had to chase the game. They made a lot of loose passes and we worked on that all week. They are the top offloading team in the competition but we set the trap and they went into it.
“They are a team that uses 70m on the field but they used a lot of one-up runners against us. If you want to run straight at a Cardiff Blues player they’ll accommodate you with a shoulder and that’s what happened to the Scarlets.”
The Blues came out of the blocks firing with Anscombe landing a tricky penalty from 30 metres on the angle to give them an early lead.
Lee-lo then charged into the Scarlets 22 before offloading to Williams who passed inside to Blaine Scully.
The former Leicester wing was tackled by Jonathan Davies but successfully managed to offload to Williams who touched down for the opening try.
Referee Nigel Owens wasn’t convinced with Scully’s foot being perilously close to the touch line but upon referral to the TMO the try was awarded with the replays showing Scully’s legs were in the air when he offloaded the ball.
The Scarlets hit back immediately with a loose box kick from Williams gathered by Will Boyde, whose neat back-door offload sent McNicholl clear to bring the hosts right back into the game.
Pivac’s side lay siege to the Blues line as the first- half drew to a close but could not find a way of breaking down a resolute Cardiff defence and trailed 10-5 at the interval.
Cardiff made the Scarlets pay for their wastefulness with Halaholo making a clean break into the home side’s 22 before offloading to Lee-lo who put the visitors further ahead.
Anscombe landed the conversion from out wide to give his side a 12-point lead.
The incumbent Wales playmaker extended their lead with yet another penalty after the Scarlets were caught offside.
With the Scarlets chasing