CHARACTER SHINES ADVENTURE STARTS
THE Scarlets showed remarkable resolve to hold on for a brilliant win away to Bath in their opening Champions Cup fixture on Saturday.
Glenn Delaney’s side held on to their lead despite spending the last eight minutes of the match camped on their own line as the home side threw everything at them.
But their defence held firm to end their 150th European match with victory and kick off their Champions Cup campaign in perfect fashion.
The result was all the remarkable given that the region were missing five Wales internationals from their backline, while they also lost more internationals early in the first half.
Throw in the fact that their preparation had been affected by players self-isolating and the scale of the victory – brought about by clinical tries from Gareth Davies and Kieran Hardy – cannot be overstated.
Bath had started dangerously, with a scything break from Ruaridh MCConnochie gifting the hosts their first attempt at some points after just two minutes.
Ben Spencer made no mistake from the tee after Leigh Halfpenny had strayed offside while trying to scramble in defence.
To their credit, the Scarlets hit back quickly, creating a try out of little just seven minutes later.
The Bath defence failed to read the threat as the Scarlets went blind from a ruck, with Joe Cokanasiga biting in on Halfpenny as he fed Steff Evans.
The winger stepped inside the backfield cover before feeding Davies to score on his 200th appearance for the region.
If that try was special, then the hosts’ response 10 minutes later was even better.
Jonathan Joseph, Anthony Watson, Zach Mercer and Sam Underhill all got involved in a flowing move that saw Mcconnochie sent over in the corner.
Beyond the stunning tries, much of the first half revolved around the battle of the breakdown and injury concerns.
On the latter, three Welsh internationals all failed head injury assessments in the first 40 minutes, with Bath’s Taulupe Faletau and the Scarlets pair of Jake Ball and Samson Lee departing early.
As for the breakdown, Underhill showed his Test pedigree with some trademark turnovers, but the Welsh side more than matched the England star through 20-year-old Jac Morgan and a host of choke tackles.
His interventions gifted the Scarlets some attacking territory, with Evans looking dangerous as ever down the left.
The second half started with the visitors working some attacking position from the boot of Evans and the effectiveness of their choke tackle. However, they could only come away with a Halfpenny penalty from an attacking scrum five metres out. Ten minutes later it was Bath’s turn to try their luck from a similar attacking platform. Whereas the Scarlets couldn’t find a way to power through from close range, Bath only needed a couple of heavy-duty carries before Will Stuart forced his way over the line.
It looked as though indiscipline was going to cost the Scarlets as the hosts piled on the pressure.
But the Scarlets held firm in defence and retook the lead with some more magic from nothing.
Dan Jones found a gap against the grain, feeding Rob Evans, who showed hands as soft as silk to put Hardy over.
That kicked Delaney’s men into gear and they threatened to pull away, with a break from Hardy nearly resulting in another try, only for the scoring pass to miss Evans. A Halfpenny penalty with a few minutes left on the clock looked to have got the job done, only for Bath to regather the kick-off and launch one last attack.
However, despite a number of assaults on the line – and TMO consultations – the Scarlets rearguard held firm to secure victory, with a superb Morgan Jones tackle on Spencer proving the final act of the game. “That match had something for everyone,” said head coach Delaney. “We had a chance to score just before those final minutes and then the commitment and effort at the end
was massive.
“We were under so much pressure, that was about character.
“For me, it was epitomised by Gareth Davies. The boys wanted to play for him on his 200th and it was really special the way they finished it off to get the job done for him.
“Those final minutes were all about commitment and heart. There were bits about the defence in the first half I wasn’t so happy with.
“I was frustrated we weren’t as aggressive as we would have liked, but that character comes through in the big moments.
“These are big-game players. We are learning as a group what it is like to be in this contest and that was a big European game for us.
“It is a big step forward, we will enjoy it and get ready for Toulon next week.”
Delaney added: “In the second half I thought we moved the ball a little wider on the edge.
“We never got that going in the first half and we were pretty harsh on ourselves at half-time.
“That try in the middle of the field,
Rob Evans’s pass to put Kieran away was outstanding. That is the game we wanted to play. We wanted to move Bath around.
“We knew we couldn’t go at Bath square because they are big and physical and are good players.
“We had to move them around. We saw a bit of the Scarlets way coming out and the DNA of the club.”