IN THE BOX SEAT
THE Scarlets made hard work of it, but their third successive league victory, coupled with defeats for play-off rivals Ulster and the Ospreys, has now made them favourites to make the top four.
Wayne Pivac’s side are up to third in the table, two points ahead of their nearest and dearest – who they meet on the final weekend of the season – and three above Ulster, beaten 22-20 by Munster in a Thomond Park nail-biter on Saturday afternoon.
The Scarlets head to Galway to take on Connacht for their penultimate fixture and will know they need a vast improvement on this error-strewn display.
But, with the Ospreys hosting Ulster on the same weekend, they could even secure a play-off spot before the final round.
DRAGONS DID THEIR HOMEWORK
IT wasn’t pretty – at half-time with the score 6-3 to the Rodney Parade side a touring party from Ireland got up and left their seats – but credit to the Dragons for concocting a game-plan that knocked the Scarlets right out of their stride.
They swamped the breakdown with numbers, ensuring the Scarlets weren’t able to get any quick ball and any tempo to their play, while they also lured the free-running west Walians into a tactical kicking game that was far removed from what they have been playing in recent weeks.
For long periods, it was a slow, turgid kickathon and the more it went on like that the more the Dragons grew in confidence.
But, in the final quarter, with the Men of Gwent tiring and starting to fall off tackles, the Scarlets were able to do enough to pull clear with tries from international duo Jonathan Davies and Liam Williams securing the spoils.
FLANKERS, FLANKERS, EVERYWHERE
THE outstanding Ellis Jenkins took the man-of-the-match award in the first match and the back-rowers shone in this one.
James Davies set the tone with an early turnover before he left the field with a shoulder injury, while man of the match Ollie Griffiths and the impressive Nic Cudd, against his old employers, were into everything as part of a tenacious Dragons display at the contact area.
Griffiths was particularly impressive, living up to the billing of his coach Kingsley Jones, who had described the former Wales Under20s skipper as having international player written all over him.
Wales are fortunate to have a wealth of riches in their back-row pool and if Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric are selected for the British and Irish Lions this summer, Robin McBryde certainly won’t be struggling for players to step in for the Tests against Tonga and Samoa.
SANJAY THE BOOT
WHEN Dan Jones was replaced by Hadleigh Parkes midway through the second half – the Kiwi centre slotting into an unfamiliar 10 position – the Scarlets were left without a recognised kicker in their ranks.
Wales wing Williams, who has taken the odd place kick in his time, didn’t cover himself in glory with his first strike to touch, kicking it dead by some distance.
But he landed a crucial conversion of Jonathan Davies’s try, in off the post, and a 40-metre penalty to keep the Dragons at arm’s length.
He then hit the post with the conversion of his own score, but at a critical stage of the match Williams looked more than comfortable in the role.
THE SCRUM PROVED CRUCIAL
IT speaks volumes for how the Dragons negated the Scarlets’ running game that the West Walians reverted to the set-piece to gain some sort of foothold in the match.
The all-international front-row of Rob Evans, Ken Owens and Samson Lee, again won some crucial decisions, allowing the Scarlets to enjoy more territory after the break.
For the Dragons, it is an area which remains an Achilles heel.
For the Scarlets, it could play a key role for the remainder of their league campaign. Dragons: C Meyer; A Hughes, T Morgan, S Beard, A Warren; A O’Brien, C Davies; S Hobbs, R Buckley, L Fairbrother, M Screech, C Hill, O Griffiths, L Evans (capt), N. Cudd. Reps: R Thomas, P Price, B Harris, A Sweet, H Keddie, D Jones, T Pryde, J Dixon. SCORERS: Try - A Hughes; con - A O’Brien; pens - A O’Brien (3) Scarlets: J McNicholl; L Williams, Jonathan Davies, S Williams, S Evans; D Jones, G Davies; R Evans, K Owens (capt), S Lee, J Ball, T Price, T Beirne, J Barclay, James Davies. Reps: E Phillips, W Jones, W Kruger, D Bulbring, W Boyde, J Evans, H Parkes, DTH van der Merwe. SCORERS: Tries - J Davies, L Williams; con - L Williams; pens - D Jones (2), L Williams Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU) Attendance: 60,642