Scarlets hopes of breaking into the play-off places in the BKT United Rugby Championship were dealt a double blow as they were beaten by Stormers 29-17 at Parc y Scarlets.
A try in the dying moments from replacement hooker Andre-Hugo Venter not only earned the former champions a bonus-point, but denied Scarlets anything from a game that saw them lose at home for the first time in seven games.
The two sides had started the game on the same amount of points but tries from Ben Loader and Deon Fourie gave Stormers a 12-0 lead before Scarlets responded with scores from Ellis Mee and Ioan Nicholas.
Stormers wing Leolin Zas cut clean through to notch the third try before Venter completely spoiled the party at the death.
With only five games left to play in the regular season, and the gap between fourth and 15th place so tight, this was a pivotal win for the visitors and a desperately disappointing defeat for Dwayne Peel’s side.
Stormers named eight Springboks in the starting side with the former Llandovery College pupil Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu returning at fly-half and impressing in the victory.
Loader dived over for the first try for the visitors and then the 38-year-old former Springbok flanker Fourie ran in the second. The Scarlets reply came through newly capped wing Mee when he dived over in the left corner for a try that Ioan Lloyd converted
Home prop Alec Hepburn was shown a third yellow card of the season for a no-arms tackle on Feinberg-Mngomezulu and the Stormers No 10 punished him further with a penalty that gave his side an eight-point half-time lead.
Full back Nicholas gave the Scarlets a great start to the second half when he stretched to score a try at the posts that Lloyd once again improved, but it was the Stormers who scored next through Vas.
Lloyd brought the home side back to within one score with a penalty but that late Venter try was decisive in every sense.