Super Scarlets put on a show to slay the Dragons
SCARLETS’ skipper, Ken Owens, celebrated his 250th appearance for the region with a convincing bonus point win but the Welsh side will have to wait until this afternoon to know whether the five points gained will be enough to see them to a PRO14 semi-final.
In today’s game in Limerick, Munster will need two points against Connacht to pip Scarlets for a daunting semi-final trip to the holders, Leinster.
Scarlets’ head coach, Glenn Delaney, said of Owens: “It’s quite phenomenal as there are very few players in the modern game that will ever hit that mark.
“He deserves to hit 250 because of the sacrifices he has made along the way. He has put himself in the best shape to do it.”
“We were very thankful for the platform the forwards provided and although it became an arm-wrestle, we found the solutions to build real momentum in the second half.”
Owens and his pack dominated proceedings throughout as a lightweight Dragons front five couldn’t compete with the power of the visitors in the set scrum and the efficiency of their driving lineout.
There were impressive performances from lock Lewis Rawlins and No.8 Sione Kalamafoni and, apart from Aaron Wainwright, Dragons had no-one to compete in the absence of the rested Ross Moriarty and their departed former captain, Cory Hill.
Kieran Hardy and Dan Jones controlled matters at half-back and the only disappointment for the Scarlets was the lack of fluency in their centre play which prevented their dangerous wings seeing more possession.
Dragons could take heart from lively performances from Nick Tompkins and Jarred Rosser but unless they can secure more muscle in their front five, their progress will be limited.
Playing with the advantage of a stiff breeze, Sam Davies gave Dragons the lead with an early penalty but the visitors soon responded with the first try.
On three occasions, Scarlets opted for driving lineouts in preference to taking the points and eventually their decisions were rewarded when tighthead Samson Lee forced his way over from close range.
Within three minutes, Dragons were back in front when a neat round of passing enabled Taine Basham to provide Rosser with an unopposed run-in.
The lead was again shortlived for, following another unstoppable lineout drive, Hardy and Dan Jones combined cleverly for Steff Evans to race over.
Dragons’ pack were now firmly under the cosh and after receiving a general warning for repeated infringements, they conceded a third try when James Davies finished off a driving lineout.
The hosts looked firmly under the cosh but just before half-time, Basham took advantage of a lineout take from Wainwright to plunge over and leave his side only 19-15 adrift at the interval.
After the interval, Harrison Keddie was yellow carded for a deliberate offside before opposing No.8, Kalamafoni, had a try ruled out for an infringement.
This allowed Keddie to return with no damage done to the scoreboard but almost immediately a clever kick through from Dan Jones saw Johnny McNicholl collect and score.
Jones kicked a penalty before another well-judged kick from him set up a try for Tom Rogers with Dane Blacker’s sixth emphasising Scarlets’ superiority.
Dragons looked set to finish the second half scoreless but Adam Warren (left) scored their third try in the dying moments.
Dragons’ head coach, Dean Ryan said: “We had eight under 23s out there so I was pleased we were still in it after 50 minutes.
“We got dusted in the scrums and drives but it’s the experience we needed and I was pleased we were comfortable on the ball.”