DRAGONS BREATHE FIRE IN UPSET BUT SCARLETS CAN STILL SNATCH CUP SPOT
THE Dragons caused a major upset on Judgement Day, beating the Scarlets in a dramatic encounter at the Principality Stadium.
Wayne Pivac’s side started the day one point behind Edinburgh and two behind Benetton as they attempted to squeeze into fourth spot in Conference B and the Champions Cup play-off.
But the Dragons caused a major upset leaving the Scarlets facing a nervous wait. The West Walians were handed a lifeline, however, with Edinburgh losing 34-10 to Glasgow. That means the Scarlets will now face the Ospreys in a play-off at the Liberty Stadium on the weekend of May 18 with a Champions Cup spot up for grabs.
It was the Dragons who struck first earlier in the day.
The smoke from all the pre-match pyrotechnics was still lingering under the roof when Josh Lewis kicked the Dragons into a 3-0 lead after he was on the receiving end of a noarms tackle from opposite number Dan Jones.
A mixture of poor handling and indiscipline saw the Scarlets surrender more field position to the hosts shortly after Lewis doubled his tally with a simpler penalty than his first.
In the 16th minute, the Dragons’ good start came to an end when referee Ben Whitehouse yellow-carded Wales star Hallam Amos – playing his final game for the region before his move to the Cardiff Blues – for a deliberate knock-on.
Jones booted the ball down into Dragons territory and some patient build-up followed by some slick hands from Hadleigh Parkes released Ioan Nicholas, who wriggled his way over for the game’s first try.
Leigh Halfpenny converted to put his side in front with 19 minutes on the clock.
Minutes later, Ross Moriarty was penalised for a high tackle on Wales team-mate Parkes and Jones kicked to the corner as the Scarlets, in search of a bonus point, turned down an easy shot at goal.
The gamble paid off as Johnny McNicholl beat Jordan Williams to the corner to score the Scarlets’ second try, but Halfpenny hit the upright with the conversion.
Amos was back on the field but could do little to stop the Scarlets scoring their third of the afternoon around the half-hour mark.
Dragons full-back Williams first lost possession to put his side under pressure and then booted the ball out on the full after it had been carried back into the 22.
The Scarlets kept it relatively tight, Will Boyde providing some powerful running, before Gareth Davies sniped down the short side and powered his way over in the 29th minute. Again, though, Halfpenny’s radar was off.
Ceri Jones’ side poked and prodded but couldn’t make any further inroads in the first half and they trailed 17-6 at the break.
But the Dragons thought they’d started the second half perfectly when Josh Lewis glided through a gaping hole in the Scarlets defence. His loose pass was hacked on by Ross Moriarty, who raced after the ball and appeared to regather it after it ricocheted off the post before grounding.
However, after consulting TMO Tim Hayes, it became apparent that the No. 8 fumbled the ball before slamming it down over the line. Referee Whitehouse deemed he hadn’t regained control after fumbling it and disallowed the try.
But they didn’t have to wait long. A scrum penalty earned them good field position and then another Scarlets infringement saw Elliot Dee take a quick tap five metres out. He was stopped but the ball was recycled and fed to second row Matthew Screech, who barged his way over.
Lewis knocked over the conversion and David Bulbring was yellowcarded for stopping Dee in an offside position.
Minutes later, Moriarty launched a counter-attack from his own half after Halfpenny had cleared Lewis’ penalty that fell short.
Some neat hands down the near side from Amos and Aaron Wainwright saw the men of Gwent make serious inroads before the winger sent Jack Dixon over. The score saw the Dragons take the lead as Lewis converted to make it 20-17 and they weren’t done there.
The Scarlets looked to regroup but things got worse when Dragons flyhalf Lewis read their set-piece move and intercepted his opposite number’s pass to race under the sticks, stunning the visitors. The conversion opened up a 10-point gap.
Rhys Patchell was called for immediately as the Scarlets rolled up their sleeves to reassert some control.
They ground out a score from Wales centre Jonathan Davies almost immediately but Halfpenny missed his third conversion of the day.
It set the final quarter up perfectly, with the game finely poised at 27-22 after a remarkable start to the second half.
And the Scarlets, who had been well and truly served a wake-up call, were back on top. Boyde surged up the middle of the field courtesy of a neat offload from Steve Cummins.
McNicholl arced his run beautifully off Parkes’ pass and again he beat Williams to the corner. This time Halfpenny converted to put the Scarlets back in front, with the bonus point they craved.
Dragons indiscipline appeared to be undermining their efforts to cause a major upset as the Wales full-back knocked over a simple penalty soon after. But the hosts were not done just yet. Ken Owens was penalised at the breakdown and the Dragons booted it to the corner.
They probed from side to side and eventually lock Screech thundered his way over for his second try of the afternoon.
Referee Whitehouse wanted to check the grounding with his TMO and after a bizarrely long delay awarded the try.
Replacement fly-half Jason Tovey, who had to wait a good six or seven minutes, held his nerve to slot a testing conversion, around 15 metres in from the touchline, and give his side the lead with just two minutes remaining. The Scarlets regathered their own kick-off but Rhys Patchell’s drop-goal was wide. DRAGONS Jordan Williams; Zane Kirchner, Adam Warren, Jack Dixon, Hallam Amos; Josh Lewis, Rhodri Williams; Ryan Bevington, Elliot Dee (capt), Lloyd Fairbrother; Joe Davies, Matthew Screech; Lewis Evans, Aaron Wainwright, Ross Moriarty.
REPS: Richard Hibbard, Brok Harris, Leon Brown, Max Williams, Taine Basham, Tavis Knoyle, Jason Tovey, Jared Rosser. YELLOW CARD: Hallam Amos SCARLETS Leigh Halfpenny; Johnny McNicholl, Jonathan Davies, Hadleigh Parkes, Ioan Nicholas; Dan Jones, Gareth Davies; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens (capt), Samson Lee; David Bulbring, Steve Cummins; Will Boyde, Josh Macleod, Uzair Cassiem.
REPS: Marc Jones, Phil Price, Werner Kruger, Blade Thomson, Josh Helps, Kieran Hardy, Rhys Patchell, Kieron Fonotia. YELLOW CARD: David Bulbring.