Scarlets Ease Past Dragons
By Lestyn - 06/09/03
September 7 2003
Very, Very poor game. Both sides looked half asleep for most of tonight's game, as they failed to put together anything constructive in a very scrappy encounter at a barely half full Stradey Park.
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Scarlets 35 Dragons 11 |
After last Friday's highly encouraging start for the Welsh regions (Blues excepted), this was a real let down. It was like a typical Welsh Premiership clash, no where near the intensity or pace of the Ospreys v Ulster or the Warriors stunning win up in Scotland.
A bit too negative - I know, but it was hard to sit through eighty minutes of constant stop start rugby. I don't think that either side will look forward to the replay, countless handling errors. Ref Simon McDowell was constantly blowing his whistle as Scottish refs do, playing little advantage where the game was just crying out to be allowed to flow.
In defence of the Dragons, their disjointed performance could be put down to how few times they've played together, but then again they have been training as a team since the beginning of July. However dangerous Nathan Brew looked with the ball, there was little threat he could pose with the midfield trio of Marinos, Winn and Warlow struggling to click.
The Scarlets were poor as well, without Stephen Jones running the show at ten they looked lost for large periods. But with the boot, usual understudy Gareth Bowen was near flawless with the large amount of kicks at goal he was given.
A big blow for the home side was when Salesi Finau had to be taken off near the end of the first half on a stretcher, after slipping into a tackle by Steve Winn and catching his neck in the process. Finau has in the past been the one doing the dangerous tackling.
Had it not been for the mighty Quin, they Scarlets may have ended up losing this one. Quinnell senior put in a typically big performance, scoring both his sides only tries. Barry Davies at full back looked very assured, kicking accurately out of hand.
The Dragons could only respond through a Jason Forster try, and by that point any realistic hope for the visitors was long dead. It would have been even more frustrating for the Dragons players, as a strong crowd of 5,000 turned out for the big Gwent derby between Newport and Pooler at Rodney Parade. It's going to take a lot more than displays like this to convert people to regional rugby, Mike Ruddock and Clive Griffiths are going to have to have a re-think of the back line, possibly with Hal Luscombe along with Lee Jarvis coming in to try and add some flair for the game with the Ospreys next Friday.
Scorers
Scarlets: Tries: S. Quinnell 2.
Cons: G. Bowen 2. Pens: Bowen 6. Drop Goals: B. Davies.
Dragons: Tries: Forster. Pens: Davey 2.