Scarlets 35 Connacht 33
By Rob Murphy at Parc Y Scarlets - http://www.knockon.ie/?p=3661
Mike McComish collapsed off his feet on the final whistle, Jamie Hagen
threw his arms in the air in frustration, the rest stood sullen and
dejected as they emerged from under the posts after Stephen Jone’s
missed conversion signaled the end of a contest that had just been won
with an 87th minute try from Sean Lamont.
There really wasn’t much more that Connacht could have done in terms of commitment and endeavor in Llanelli on Saturday afternoon, their faults lay in finer fragments of the game and they can be tweaked in the coming weeks. A platform has clearly been built however, with a foundation of self belief and the freedom to adapt to what is in front of them.
Connacht are playing a slightly altered brand of rugby, a style grounded in logic, making maximum use of a small amount of possession and working hard without the ball. They are playing heads up rugby with a focus on unlocking defenses with quick hands and in two hair-raising outings they have notched up seven tries, 73 points and sit third in the table.
The defeat was a heartbreaker but the winning try had been coming. Four minutes earlier the Scarlets had taken advantage of a poor clearance kick that stayed in play when touch was needed. They countered through Andy Fenby and the brilliant centre partnership of Regan King and Jon Davies. Play had been brought within inches of the Connacht line and the try was almost a formality.
Had the home side made better use of the four clean line breaks in the second half, they might not have needed such late heroics, while many of their handling errors were inflicted by the visitors, many were not, so Connacht did ride their luck a little.
So, based on chances created, the Scarlets deserved the victory. Yet you could ask, who cares? In the few away victories that come in the Magners League, you can bet your life that the home side will almost always have the better of the chances.
Winning away is not about dominating it is about staying competitive, keeping within striking distance and taking the chance when it arrives. Connacht almost did that in a cracking contest.
The match details could fill a page so lets be brief. Connacht led through two early Ian Keatley penalties (he kicked seven from seven) but trailed after their Scarlets scored 13 points in four minutes, Jon Davies try had a suspicious forward pass in it, Stephen Jones kicked two penalties and a conversion.
Then Fionn Carr’s try came from a brilliant restart won by the high rising Gavin Duffy combined with some great work from Jamie Hagen and Ian Keatley. Level pegging then but Frank Murphy’s needless yellow card, for obstructing Fenby by sticking his arm out and catching Fenby around the neck after Fenby had kicked, preceded an injury time second try for the Scarlets created by a brilliant Davies pass for King to score under the posts, 20-13 at the break.
The second half could have started with a Scarlets killer score but they botched a great chance, Carr’s second try came from a dropped home pass deep in his own half, he scooped up and out sprinted Fenby before cantering home from 50 metres. Keatley slotted the tough conversion, level again.
The sides exchanged penalties before Connacht’s memorable third try arrived with just twelve minutes remaining. Cillian Willis broke from the base of a scrum on the Scarlets ten metre line. His behind the back, no-look pass to Troy Nathan unlocked the defense. Replacement Miah Nikora took it on brilliantly before Keatley linked with Carr who danced through the cover for the hat trick.
Connacht led 30-23 at that point but a sin bin for Ronan Loughney for hands in the ruck as the Scarlets were on the attack led to the home side’s third try from that man again, Jon Davies. Level for the fourth time at that point, yet a penalty on the restart gave Keatley another opportunity and brought his tally to 18 for the game with a long range kick to make it 33-30.
The finale was dramatic, Loughney was back by the time the try came, had Cillian Willis found touch from a clearance kick off a lineout deep inside his own 22, who knows, Connacht might just have won. The loss of the tireless Ray Ofisa through injury was another blow at that point. The kick stayed in play and provided the Scarlets with a launch pad for the winning score from Lamont.
Heartbreak it most certainly was but lessons need to be learned. Two more yellow cards brings the total to four in as many games. That’s a problem. Connacht’s counter attacking from Scarlet clearance kicks - especially in the first half – was poor. Characterized by mis-judged touch finders when the retaining possession option offered much better possibilities.
That is just one of a few finer fragments that Eric Elwood and his team will be working on this week. They have a six day turnaround ahead of Friday’s tussle with Glasgow. The self belief oozing through the squad at the moment is impossible to ignore and evidence suggests that it is starting to work.
Scarlets : A Fenby; G North, R King, J Davies, S Lamont; S Jones, M Roberts (T Knoyle 57); P John (I Thomas 57), M Rees (K Owens 76), R Thomas (P Edwards 76); L Reed, J Fa’amatuainu (D Day 80); J Turnbull, J Edwards, R McCusker .
Replacement: T Knoyle for Roberts 57 mins; I Thomas for John 57 mins; K Owens for Rees 76 mins; P Edwards for Thomas 76 mins; D Day for Fa’amatuainu 80 mins.
Connacht : G Duffy; T Nathan, N Ta’auso, K Matthews, F Carr; I Keatley, F Murphy; B Wilkinson, S Cronin, J Hagan; M Swift, B Upton; M McCarthy, R Ofisa, M McComish.
Replacement: C Willis for Murphy 57 mins; M Nikora for Ta’auso 62 mins; R Loughney for Wilkinson 61 mins; A Flavin for Cronin 80 mins.
Referee: N Paterson (Scotland).
