SCARLETS LEAVE IT LATE FOR WIN
THE Scarlets squeezed through for a late victory after being given a mighty scare by their Italian visitors in an error-strewn encounter. It took a penalty from outside-half Angus O’Brien three minutes from time to secure the win and spare the hosts’ blushes.
A few minutes earlier, Zebre had taken the lead for the first time and a major shock seemed on the cards in this Guinness PRO14 clash.
It would have been just their third away win in Wales since they joined the competition back in 2012.
But when they offended at a ruck some 30 metres out in front of their posts, O’Brien kept his nerve to land the match-winning kick.
There will be much relief in the Scarlets camp at this second league victory of the season.
It takes them up to third in Conference B, level on points with Cardiff Blues, who are away to Edinburgh on Monday evening.
However, there’s no disguising that it was a pretty unconvincing display from Glenn Delaney’s team, one which became increasingly blighted by mistakes and penalty offences.
With defeats to Munster, Glasgow and Edinburgh, plus narrow victories over the two Italian sides, it’s been a real stuttering start to their campaign.
Things had begun promisingly enough for them against Zebre, as they opened the scoring on six minutes with a well-worked try for wing
Ryan Conbeer who was put over by long passes from O’Brien and Johnny McNicholl off a lineout maul.
There was another nicely created score to follow just before the halfhour mark, when scrum-half Dane Blacker ran on to an infield cross kick from Paul Asquith and rounded the last man to touch down.
It brought to mind a try by another Scarlets’ No 9 - Gareth Davies against England at Twickenham at the 2015 World Cup – with Asquith taking on the Lloyd Williams role.
Man of the Match Jac Morgan also crossed, with the young flanker leaving five defenders in his wake on a rampaging 25-metre burst to the line, but the score was ruled out for a forward pass in the build-up.
Leading 15-6 at the break, the hosts saw their lead chipped away by the boot of Rizzi as the game became more and more messy.
Then winger Pierre Bruno intercepted a McNicholl pass to run in from 40 metres, with Rizzi’s 73rd minute penalty putting the Italians ahead, only for O’Brien to save the day.
SCARLETS: Johnny McNicholl; Ryan Conbeer, Steff Hughes (capt), Paul Asquith, Steff Evans; Angus O’Brien, Dane Blacker; Rob Evans, Marc Jones, Javan Sebastian, Jac Price, Morgan Jones, Uzair Cassiem, Jac Morgan, Sione Kalamafoni. Replacements: Taylor Davies, Kemsley Mathias, Werner Kruger, Danny Drake, Ed Kennedy, Will Homer, Sam Costelow, Tyler Morgan.
Junior Laloifi; Pierre Bruno, Giulio Bisegni (capt), Tommaso Boni, Giovanni D’Onofrio; Antonio Rizzi, Joshua Renton; Paolo Buonfiglio, Marco Manfredi, Eduardo Bello, Leonard Krumov, Ian Nagle, Nardo Casolari, Antoine Koffi, Lorenzo Masselli. Replacements: Oliviero Fabiani, Andrea Lovotti, Matteo Nocera, Gabriele Venditti, Massimo Ceciliani, Nicolo Casilio, Enrico Lucchin, Michelangelo Biondelli.
ZEBRE:
REFEREE:
Sean Gallagher (IRFU)