SCARLETS 35 – 35 DRAGONS Joe Hawkins came up trumps for the Scarlets with a touchline conversion to level the scores in the 76th minute of an 11 try Welsh derby thriller but didn’t have the range to win the game with the last kick from a penalty 45 metres. Nonetheless, his nerveless conversion of […]
SCARLETS 35 – 35 DRAGONS
Joe Hawkins came up trumps for the Scarlets with a touchline conversion to level the scores in the 76th minute of an 11 try Welsh derby thriller but didn’t have the range to win the game with the last kick from a penalty 45 metres.
Nonetheless, his nerveless conversion of Macs Page’s last gasp try ensured the Scarlets denied the Dragons the victory they needed to overtake their hosts in the final BKT United Rugby Championship table.
There were tries for two of the great warriors of the game in Wales, Aaron Wainwright scored in his final appearance for the Dragons before heading to Leicester Tigers, while home skipper Josh Macleod touched down on his 150th game for the Scarlets.
Dragons’ co-captain Angus O’Brien finished with 13 points against his former club, while Wales back row man Taine Plumtree picked up two tries for the Scarlets as well as the ‘Man of the Match’ award.
How different the season could have been for the Dragons had they been able to turn their four draws into wins. But there is little doubt they are a much-improved side, and they did complete three victories as they finished one place ahead of bottom side Zebre, while the Scarlets finished in 14th place thanks to securing one more victory than their visitors.
“We should have won – we dominated territory and possession for large parts of the game. We just allowed them to have opportunities and they took them,” said Dragons’ head coach Filo Tiatia.
“It was one of those games and I was disappointed for the group. It was a fourth draw in 18 games and not really a record I want because you can talk about whether they should have been wins.”
The Scarlets paraded six of their nine Wales summer tourists. Centre Eddie James, wing Ellis Mee and outside half Sam Costelow all sat out the game through injuries, as did No 8 Fletcher Anderson.
Plumtree stepped into Anderson’s boots in the middle of the home back row and got the game off to a spectacular start when he collected his chip ahead before diving over in the corner in only the second minute.
Not to be outdone, Wales No 8 Wainwright responded with a couple of powerful bursts, one of which paved the way for Thomas Young to score a mere two minutes later. O’Brien converted and added a penalty to give his side the lead.
Hooker Brodie Coghlan was next to score from a driving line out to increase the Dragons’ lead O’Brien converted to make it 17 points without reply.
Plumtree’s second try cut the gap, but it was 22-14 to the Dragons at the break after Wainwright had added his farewell score. There was no easing up from the ‘Men of Gwent’ at the start of the second half as O’Brien kicked a penalty to give his side an 11-point cushion.
Then came the fightback from the Scarlets, with a try at the back of a line out from Macleod sparking the revival. Rio Dyer looked to have scored again for the Dragons, but after reviewing the footage referee Ben Whitehouse upgraded the score to a penalty try and issued replacement scrum half Gareth Davies with a yellow card for his actions in punching the ball out of Dyer’s arms as he pounced the score.
It looked ominous for the Scarlets, although a charge down kick by Plumtree enabled Jarrod Taylor to pounce for another try converted by Hawkins. That made it 32-28 to the Dragons with 20 minutes to play.
The Scarlets were still chasing the game and saw Wales U20 outside half Carwyn Leggatt-Jones join Davies in the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on. O’Brien punished him further by adding another penalty.
Then came the grandstand finish from the home side as Page latched onto a clever cross field kick from Leggatt-Jones in the 22 to score in the corner. Hawkins nailed the conversion and honours ended even.
“The character was fantastic and since I’ve been here, I can’t fault the effort of these players. We could have easily had four home wins,” said Scarlets interim director of rugby Nigel Davies.
“There are a few things we can do moving forward next year and probably one of the biggest is to make sure our discipline is where it needs to be.”
Scorers: Scarlets: Tries: Taine Plumtree 2, Josh Macleod, Jarrod Taylor, Macs Page; Cons: Joe Hawkins 5. Dragons: Tries: Thomas Young, Brodie Coghlan, Aaron Wainwright, Pen Try; Cons: Angus O’Brien 2; Pens: Angus O’Brien 3.