SCARLETS SUFFER DOUBLE TROUBLE
A LACKLUSTRE Scarlets side went down to Cardiff Blues on a bitterly cold Friday night at Parc y Scarlets.
It was the West Wales region’s second defeat to the Blues in a matter of weeks, after they had lost 29-20 at Cardiff City Stadium in early January.
The hosts blew a good position in the seventh minute, but it was to be their first and last meaningful entry into the Blues’ 22 in the entire first half.
And they were made to pay moments later when Jarrod Evans, who will have given the Scarlets sleepless nights after he carved them apart in Cardiff, was the catalyst once again.
Some pushing and shoving around halfway saw referee Adam Jones ping the hosts, with Evans booting them into field position. A passage or two later, he was holding off Gareth Davies and throwing a patient offload to Matthew Morgan.
With the Scarlets defence ball watching, Morgan surged under the posts for the opening score on 15 minutes. Fly-half Evans converted.
Captain Cory Hill left the field after 20 minutes with what looked like a leg injury but it did not deter the visitors, with his second-row partner Seb Davies looking particularly physical both in attack and defence.
The Scarlets struggled to get any field position and the Blues ground out a penalty in the shadow of the home team’s posts but, in truth, they will have wanted more after minutes of dominance.
New Blues boss Dai Young, who was caught in traffic after a serious crash on the M4 and missed much of the first half, arrived just in time to watch Evans kick his side into a 10-0 lead.
That’s the way it stayed until the break, with the Scarlets looking alarmingly passive.
Glenn Delaney’s side started the second half in more encouraging fashion but still looked a little toothless as they went through 23 phases in the visitors’ 22 but had to settle for three points from the boot of Leigh Halfpenny.
Play was then stopped in the 52nd minute when Scarlets No. 8 Sione Kalamafoni was left sprawled on the floor after attempting to tackle Dmitri Arhip.
He left the field unaided but did not return.
When the game restarted, Josh Adams thundered after an Evans upand-under before clattering Angus O’brien, who spilled the ball. Halfpenny scrambled to secure it but Jake Ball gave away a penalty under immense pressure and Evans clipped over another three points.
In the meantime, Wales internationals Tomos Williams and Wyn Jones left the fray with injuries.
O’brien thought he’d scored moments later but it was called back after Johnny Mcnicholl was adjudged to have obstructed Blues full-back Morgan and the chance went begging.
The kick soon worked, though. In the 67th minute, Steff Hughes, on for Jonathan Davies, showed good patience with defenders in his face to dink the ball in behind Hallam Amos. Blade Thomson raced on to it and scored, with Halfpenny’s conversion making it a three-point game.
But the hosts were unable to mount a comeback, with the Blues reasserting some control. Replacement scrum-half Kieran Hardy was shown a late yellow card for a deliberate knock-on but it did little to affect the result.
The Blues closed the game out with ease, completing a double over the Scarlets in the process.