SCARLETS SALVAGE WELSH PRIDE
Pivac’s men the only bright spot in a poor weekend for Welsh regions:
WAYNE Pivac would have been forgiven for thinking he had seen this before on Saturday evening as 14-man Benetton threatened a major upset at Parc y Scarlets – just as they had done at the same venue eight months earlier.
For sure, relief rather than elation was the overriding feeling around the ground following a home performance that failed to hit the heights of the previous week’s win against Leinster.
The Scarlets lacked the bite and energy of that game and it allowed a vastly-improved Benetton to control the match for chunky periods.
When the home side did go through the phases they looked potent, notably for the first-half tries of Gareth Davies and Kieron Fonotia, his first in Scarlets colours.
But when the Italians, who had been reduced to 14 men following the 26th-minute dismissal of lock Irne Herbst, struck with a quickfire double straight after the restart, the Scarlets’ unbeaten home run in the competition, stretching back more than two years, looked in severe danger.
Ultimately, tries from Johnny McNicholl, Ed Kennedy and Tom Prydie secured a maximum five-point haul and a 38-29 win.
But this was a night where the Scarlets were some way below their best.
A CASE OF DEJA VU
Last December, in a Champions Cup tie in Llanelli, the Scarlets shot out of the blocks, Benetton had a forward dismissed for dangerous play, the Italians bossed large chunks of the match and it needed a last-gasp show from the home side to steal the spoils. Sound familiar? Saturday’s match followed an almost identical course with the big debate surrounding the dismissal of Benetton second row Irne Herbst.
Herbst was penalised by referee Lloyd Linton for a dangerous clearout as the visitors pressed inside the home 22.
Television replays showed the South African leading with his forearm and catching Scarlets tight-head Samson Lee, who was on the floor, flush in the face.
Premier Sports pundit Shane Williams said Herbst could have no complaints about the red card decision and, in his post-match press conference, Pivac revealed that coaches had received a warning about those kind of incidents prior to the match.
He said: “The referees and coaches got a reminder from Greg Garner, the head of referees, that anything around the head and neck area, if it is a forearm or elbow, the law states you are going to get a red card. “Technically that was the right decision.”
BACK-ROW CRISIS LOOMS
Already without Aaron Shingler (knee), Will Boyde (shoulder), Josh Macleod (shoulder) and Uzair Cassiem (calf ), the Scarlets lost James Davies to a knee injury early in the first half.
“It wasn’t in contact,” revealed Pivac.
“We are not quite sure what it is, we will get a report on that, but it is not always a good sign when someone goes off with a knee injury when there is no contact.”
If the influential Wales openside is facing a spell on the sidelines, it leaves Pivac with limited options in terms of his back-row combination ahead of their next assignment, against Connacht in Galway.
Cassiem is close to a return, but Boyde is still around a month away from his comeback from the shoulder surgery he underwent during the summer, which leaves Dan Davis, who turns 20 on Monday, as the next cab on the rank.
Shaun Evans, who played for the A team in Belfast on Friday night, is another candidate, while Pivac could consider Lewis Rawlins, who also featured in the 45-15 victory over Ulster A.
BLADE LOOKS SHARP AS A RAZOR
Kiwi Blade Thomson arrived in Llanelli on the back of a Super Rugby campaign with the Hurricanes so the suggestion was he might take a bit of time to get up and running.
There’s been no such worries on that front with the back-rower delivering an outstanding man-of-thematch display against Benetton.
The ‘Blade Runner’ showcased his athleticism with a blistering break and offload to set up Gareth Davies’ second try and produced another in the second half to take play up to the Benetton line. Thomson also put in some physical hits in defence and with so much experience absent from the Scarlets’ back row at present, he has quickly turned into a key figure.
The 27-year-old qualifies for Scotland. Don’t be surprised if he is already turning heads north of the border.
BENCH MAKES AN IMPACT
Pivac will have been delighted with the impact of his second-half replacements.
Firstly, he hauled off fly-half Dan Jones, who had a tough evening, bringing on Sam Hildalgo-Clyne, who is a nine but can slot in at 10.
The Scotland international didn’t look out of place in the pivot position, with his cross-field kick setting up Tom Prydie’s score.
Paul Asquith and Wyn Jones also made their mark as the Scarlets finally took a grip on the game in the final quarter.
Asquith produced a scything midfield break from inside his own half which led to a score for his Aussie compatriot Ed Kennedy.
As for Jones, in his first appearance of the season following a calf injury, he gave the Scarlets some real goforward in the closing exchanges.
With Rob Evans nursing a shoulder injury, Pivac will be grateful to have another Wales international back to full fitness.
BENETTON AS PLAY-OFF CONTENDERS
In fairness to Kieron Crowley’s side, last season they fell on the wrong side of some thrillers which meant they finished in fifth place in the Conference B standings, just shy of Ulster and a Champions Cup play-off spot.
This term they have already picked up two wins and could easily have had another, despite Crowley making six changes to his starting line-up for the trip to Llanelli.
The Italians have always boasted a formidable pack containing direct, abrasive carriers.
But in Tommaso Allan they possess a clever Test fly-half, while Monty Ioane and Ratuva Tavuyara are genuine threats out wide.
Pivac, certainly, is in no doubt about how the men from northern Italy have improved in recent seasons.
“Kieron is doing a great job,” he said.
“He has turned that club around. “No longer are they the easy-beats of the competition.
“I found myself inside applauding some of their tries tonight, they were that good.”