A MIXTURE OF BOOS AND BLUES LEAVES PIVAC WITH PROBLEMS
THINGS are different down west.
For the past two seasons, the Scarlets have been Wales’s premier region, representing Llanelli with distinction in not only the league but also Europe.
For the most part, all their fans have known for two years is relative success, with a PRO12 title and Champions Cup semi-final to celebrate.
But Parc y Scarlets is far from a happy place right now.
A 27-month run of home victories in the Guinness PRO14 was emphatically smashed to pieces by Cardiff Blues, the final score 34-5.
This horror comes after defeat to the Ospreys last week, and the region have now slipped below Benetton in the league, out of the play-off spots. It has not been a merry Christmas for the region.
And the frustration was palpable as boos rang out around the ground when Nigel Owens blew the full-time whistle on Saturday, though many had already left as fans flooded through the exits following Rey LeeLo’s second try five minutes from time.
Last season they were among the four best teams in Europe.
They are a long way from that right now.
So where is it all going wrong this twerm?
It would be remiss of anyone to address the Scarlets’ woes and not acknowledge their injury problems.
Leigh Halfpenny was named in the side but didn’t make kick-off after concussion symptoms returned in training this week.
Centre Kieron Fonotia (elbow) lasted 34 minutes, James Davies, playing his second game since September, made way at half-time and Will Boyde went off early in the second period.
As well as that, Wales stars Rhys Patchell and Jake Ball are also out of action, and you’re still only scratching the surface.
But there was still enough quality in the side who started against the Blues to cause trouble.
Or at least, there should have been enough quality.
Wayne Pivac’s decision to double down on his selection of Hadleigh Parkes at fly-half following the Ospreys defeat was a surprise and that must now surely be shelved.
As Cardiff Blues boss John Mulvihill alluded to afterwards, Parkes is a fine player but with him at fly-half instead of his usual inside centre spot, it shortened the Scarlets’ game up.
They were far more direct than we’re used to seeing from them, but the visitors just lapped that up.
The Scarlets had 71% possession and 75% territory and lost by 29 points without asking many difficult questions.
Most concerns over the Scarlets centred around the injured forwards and summer departures, but the pack held up their end of the bargain as their backline misfired.
Dan Jones came on when Fonotia was forced off but his confidence looks shot, perhaps because there has been no faith shown in him in the last fortnight.
Pivac pointed out that he had concerns over how the No. 10 channel had been defended, but there weren’t many concerns about that when Jones was guiding the Scarlets to famous European victories over Bath away and Toulon at home last season.
There were cheers when the crowd noticed Jones getting his tracksuit off as the fans let Pivac know what they thought of his selection.
On a similar theme, there is the curious case of Steff Evans.
The winger was left out on the field after the warm-ups to do fitness with the other unused players, as is customary these days, and cut a frustrated figure as he marched back to the dressing room shortly before kick-off after his sprints.
His face was expressionless, a look that said it all.
When asked if Evans, a Wales international, was ever in contention to be called into the squad after Halfpenny’s withdrawal, Pivac shot down the suggestion immediately, suggesting he needed to work on his game without the ball.
Evans has his issues in defence but they have always been forgiven because he makes things happen in attack.
He’s a spark and yet suddenly he’s now deemed to be too much of a liability.
Where his future lies is anyone’s guess — rumours are circling that he’s on the move this summer with the Blues a possible destination — but he and Jones would have every right to be knocking on their boss’s door at the moment.
To compound matters, Gareth Davies kicked poorly at times and was ponderous in the red zone, which suggested the Scarlets were short on ideas.
To the Blues’ credit, their defence was relentless and they flew off the
line, preventing the ball getting to the wide channels and to Johnny McNicholl, who was the only real source of imagination.
Though I don’t buy into the notion that Pivac’s early appointment as incoming Wales coach has anything to do with their current predicament, it is going to be a sideshow for the rest of the season, especially if results don’t turn around.
If the Scarlets are winning, nobody will question the mindset of the players, nobody will question if the coach has one foot out the door.
But those are the things being talked about right now.
The effort is there. You don’t get those kind of territory and possession stats if players aren’t committed to the cause, but the Scarlets have lost their way.
And as the fans turned away in the final minutes, it was obvious that some had begun to lose faith in their team.
As Lee-Lo celebrated the score that sealed it, one fan in front of the coaches’ box turned around and simply glared at Pivac and his assistants.
He didn’t shout anything in their direction.
He didn’t need to.