John’s joy as Llanelli are too hot for old rivals

LLANELLI ........................... 46 SWANSEA ........................... 26

LLANELLI head coach Phil John was happy with his side’s victory over arch-rivals Swansea but insists there’s still much to work on.

Llanelli played Swansea off the park, and there were two outstanding performances from Wales U20s stars Luca Giannini and Josh Phillips.

“I thought the effort the boys put in during the first 20 minutes of the game was excellent,” said John.

“It got us three tries early, and we built on that. We dipped a bit just before half-time but the messages we gave to the players in the changing rooms they took on board, came out, and it was a great effort from them in the second half again.

“There’s still loads to work on and there were a lot of things we were unhappy with out there, but it is difficult to be too unhappy when you’ve scored 46 points.”

The hosts started the game strongly, claiming the opening try when captain Llew Phillipstaylor powered over from short range off the back of a wellworked driving lineout.

Llanelli held the upper hand physically and were soon celebrating their second try when No. 8 Nathan Hart forced his way over the line.

Impressive outside-half Josh Phillips added the extras on both occasions.

The home side were 21-0 up after a mere 20 minutes, and their third try was the pick of the bunch after a tremendous kick and chase from wing Rhys Harris.

To their credit, Swansea refused to throw in the towel and trailed by just seven points at the interval after tries from tight-head Richard Murphy and Wales U20s wing Harri Houston.

Llanelli regrouped at the interval and began the second half in the same manner they had started the first, with Harrison Button gathering a kick downfield from Phillips to secure the bonus point.

Owen Thomas hit back for the Whites before replacement scrum-half Luke Davies ran in from 45 metres out for Llanelli.

Garan Williams crossed for Swansea before centre Jack Price put the icing on the cake for the hosts with an excellent individual try.

LLANELLI  Tries: L Phillipstaylor, N Hart, R Harris, O Thomas, L Davies, J Price. Cons: J Phillips (5). Pens: J Phillips (2).

SWANSEA  Tries: R Murphy, H Houston, O Thomas, G Williams. Cons: D Edwards (3).