Scarlets slay Dragons
Scarlets claimed their first win since mid-November with a battling New Year's Eve victory at their Welsh rivals.
Last Updated: 31/12/09 4:45pm
Scarlets claimed their first win since mid-November with a battling New Year's Eve victory at their Welsh rivals.
Both regions were desperate to kick the losing habit, with the Dragons having suffered three-straight losses, while the Scarlets had not won since the LV=Cup triumph over Worcester on November 14.
The Dragons led 9-8 at the interval as they sought a win to move them up to third in the Magners League table.
But Scarlets, who are languishing one place off the bottom, had most of the territorial advantage during the first period, grabbing the only try of the match, although they should have added another two.
Full-back Rhys Priestland was put over for that touchdown after centre Jonathan Davies, who was dynamic in midfield attack, went past opposite number Matthew Watkins and put Priestland in the clear.
The home side relied on the boot of outside-half Shaun Connor who grabbed an early drop goal from in front of the Scarlets' posts before landing two penalties, Stephen Jones adding one of his own for the visitors.
Back rows Gavin Thomas and Lewis Evans were also unseen Dragons heroes as they cleared up a lot of loose ball on the ground.
Jones booted another penalty after the break but missed a 35-metre effort in front of the posts and was replaced by Dan Evans immediately to have his shoulder iced on the bench.
As both coaches rang the changes, the Dragons held the upper territorial hand although they could not find a score, with Connor missing a long-range penalty just after the hour.
And, when Priestland knocked over a touchline penalty with five minutes left, the home side needed a converted try if they were to claim the win.
Injury time
They tried desperately and battered away in the Scarlets' 22 for an extraordinary 35 phases of play, lasting through nine minutes of injury time, with back row replacement Grant Webb and prop Pat Palmer unable to ground the ball, as the Dragons finally went over the line with the final play of the match.
The other significant aspect of the match was an injury to Wales star Stephen Jones.
The British and Irish Lions fly-half came off after 54 minutes in his side's victory complaining of soreness on the AC joint of his right shoulder following a heavy tackle in the first-half.
Wales get their Six Nations campaign under way at Twickenham in just four weeks time.
