SIX OF THE BEST FOR SCARLETS IN CONVINCING WIN
ADOMINANT first-half from the Scarlets set them on their way to a crucial bonus-point victory over Benetton at Parc y Scarlets. After three straight defeats, victory was crucial for Glenn Delaney’s men as they continue to push for Champions Cup qualification.
A brace from the superlative Jac Morgan, as well as scores from Sam Costelow, Dane Blacker, Sione Kalamafoni and Paul Asquith set them up for a comfortable victory over an illdisciplined Benetton.
It was a first half of seemingly endless pressure from the hosts.
Benetton may have opened the scoring with an Tomasso Allan penalty early on, but the rest of the half saw the Scarlets camped in the away side’s 22.
Having not lost four league matches in a row since 2016, the Scarlets set about putting things right after eight minutes – when Morgan hammered his way through a couple of tackle attempts.
Delaney’s side were straight back in search of a second try, constantly applying pressure through a series of repeat scrums.
Ryan Elias thought he had scored the second, only for his effort to be chalked off after video replays showed Leonardo Sarto did tremendously well to hold the Wales hooker up.
But the Scarlets’ constant battering at the Benetton rearguard eventually took its toll as the match entered its second quarter,
The relentless penalties conceded by the Italian outfit resulted in hooker Tomas Baravalle and tight-head prop Tiziano Pasquali being sent to the sinbin in quick succession.
Now up against 13 men, the Scarlets rattled their way to a quick-fire bonus point with three tries in six minutes.
First, Costelow scythed through the shortened Benetton defence to reach out – unfortunately injuring himself in the process.
That injury ultimately ended his afternoon a little later on, but not before the Scarlets had scored their third.
Minutes after Costelow had crossed, Morgan crossed for a fine try - taking the ball out wide, riding a tackle near the touchline before some cutting through two tackles to finish a wonderful individual score.
As something of a collector’s item, both tries were converted by Wales winger Steff Evans – who took over temporary kicking responsibilities after Costelow’s injury. He wouldn’t convert the bonus-point try – with Dan Jones on to replace Costelow by then, with the replacement fly-half immediately playing a big part in the fourth try.
His grubber kick was flicked forward by the boot of Johnny McNicholl, with scrum-half Blacker there to dive upon the loose ball.
Trailing by 23 points at half-time, the Italians sought to remedy a few of their ills and came out fired up.
Sarto, without the gloves he had worn in the first-half, was on the end of another decent move – stepping inside Evans to cross untouched.
Following that, Benetton never really threatened a comeback, with the Scarlets looking comfortable for large periods without showing too much efficiency in the red zone – a facet of the game that will still concern Delaney.
However, a late flurry from the hosts saw them finish with a flourish.
Jones added a penalty with 15 minutes left, before Kalamafoni dived over after a nice carry in midfield from Tyler Morgan. Benetton rumbled over for a try from a driving maul with five minutes left, with Corniel Els the scorer.
But the final word went to the Scarlets as some nice handling from McNicholl put Asquith over for the Scarlets’ sixth try late on.
DUE TO EARLY DEADLINES, WE ARE UNABLE TO PRINT A REPORT ON CONNACHT V CARDIFF BLUES: