Scarlets’ mastery of core skills secures title as table-toppers Munster run low on fuel

Head coach Wayne Pivac praised Scarlets’ attacking style after they secured the Guinness Pro12 title with a stunning 46-22 success against Munster at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

First-half tries from Liam Williams, Steff Evans, Gareth Davies and Tadhg Beirne put Scarlets in the driving seat against the table toppers, leading 29-10 at half-time.

The Llanelli outfit hammered home their dominance with two more tries from replacement DTH van der Merwe and James Davies in the final 11 minutes. Injured captain Ken Owens joined stand-in skipper John Barclay, pictured, at the trophy presentation as Scarlets were crowned champions for the first time since 2004.

Although heavy rain before kick-off was a concern, Pivac was delighted with Scarlets’ level of performance.

He said: “It was very pleasing. It’s something the boys want to do. They want to play the style of rugby that we’re playing. It’s been successful for us.

“Probably the thing that was a little annoying was when the rain came down so heavily this morning. We were hoping that it would stop before kick-off time, and it did. Very pleased with the boys, the way they nailed those skills under pressure in those conditions. ”

Pivac feels that working on core skills has helped to develop a winning formula at Parc y Scarlets, and while Munster wingers Andrew Conway and Keith Earls did get through for late consolation tries, he said the Welsh region’s defence was as impressive as its attack. “We work on a lot of basic skills. We’ve got some players that have got a lot of X-factor, but it’s giving them the ball going forward,” added the New Zealander.

This was the second Pro12 final defeat for Munster in three seasons and their fourth successive loss at the Aviva Stadium. They looked tired at the end of a campaign tinged with sadness following the death of coach Anthony Foley in October.

Their South African director of rugby Rassie Erasmus was magnanimous in defeat.

He said: “You can see they are a team that really believe in one another, that understand one another. If you are a little bit off your game, they punish you, so no excuses.”