Sport

Scarlets win thrilling victory

Published

3 years ago

December 17, 2020

Luke Sinclair

Heineken European Champions League

Bath Rugby 19 – Scarlets 23

IN A high-intensity game at The Rec, Scarlets dug deep to claim a thrilling Champions Cup victory over Bath Rugby.

Throughout a tense Pool A encounter, there was little between the two sides with Scarlets scoring a try in each half through scrum-halves Gareth Davies – on his 200th appearance – and Kieran Hardy.

Both teams had their chances to win but in the end, the spoils and the famous old ragdoll headed to West Wales.

Bath got on the board first with Ben Spencer striking home shot from the kicking tee.

While Bath applied early pressure, the Scarlets broke the shackles in spectacular fashion.

Leigh Halfpenny broke the defensive line to offload to Scarlets skipper Steff Evans. The winger broke through the cover defence to link with scrum-half Gareth Davies on the inside line.

The Wales scrum-half still had work to do but jinked past the final defender to cross near the posts.

Halfpenny added the extras, and shortly afterwards he missed a long-range effort to put the Scarlets further ahead.

The Scarlets lost Wales’ international forwards Jake Ball and Samson Lee to head injury assessments. Morgan Jones and Javan Sebastian replaced the duo.

It took 18 minutes of continuous pressure and knocking on the door of the Scarlets’ try-line before the hosts retook the lead.

A lovely piece of interplay began from No. 8, Zach Mercer. The ball was smartly shipped in contact before Sam Underhill found Ruaridh McConnochie, who dotted down in the corner. Spencer missed the conversion.

Bath then earned a scrum penalty after several warnings to the Scarlets’ front row. Spencer slotted home the three points to give Bath a four-point lead.

On 32 minutes the Welsh region got to within a point of Bath Rugby with a Halfpenny penalty. Just three minutes later, Spencer re-established the four-point gap as the hosts were awarded a penalty, which the nine converted with ease.

14-10 down at the break, the Scarlets would’ve been disappointed at the length of time they spent on the back foot and getting sucked into a physical confrontation with the rugged home eight.

It was only six minutes into the second period when the hosts were pinged for offside, allowing. Halfpenny to strike his penalty through the uprights from close range.

Bath piled the pressure on Scarlets with a lot of possession and territory, but they were unable to make that pressure pay off until the 53rd minute.

The hosts got their reward through Will Stuart, who crashed over to score in his first appearance of the season for the Blue, Black and White.

Josh Macleod replaced Jac Morgan, who enjoyed another outstanding game, and made an immediate impact with a turnover, while the experience of Jon Davies also proved crucial off the bench.

Scarlets kept plugging away and saw their hard work rewarded on 64 minutes.

Dan Jones combined with Rob Evans, who produced a sublime off-load to put Hardy away under the posts for a score converted by Halfpenny.

With one point in it, both sides had chances.

Hardy just failed to find Evans on his outside with the line beckoning, while Bath’s route-one approach came against a brick-wall defence.

A Halfpenny penalty gave the Scarlets a four-point cushion going into the final minutes, but Bath stole the kick-off before pounding away at the visitors’ line.

In the 78th minute, Bath crossed the whitewash, only to have the ball held up over the line following a crunching effort from Leigh Halfpenny to deny the home team a score.

Still 23-19.

But a try would be enough for the hosts to take the game.

As the clock struck red, Bath continued to pile on the pressure with continuous and relentless forward phases. As Spencer stretched his arm out towards the line, Morgan Jones steamed into the tackle.
It was the last play of the game.

With hearts in their mouths, Scarlets players waited for the TMO’s decision and reacted joyfully when the TMO ruled out the last gasp effort.

Glenn Delaney lauded the incredible never-say-die defensive effort that saw the Scarlets hang on for an outstanding 23-19 Heineken Champions Cup win over Bath at The Rec.

“That match had something for everyone didn’t it?” said a relieved Delaney afterwards.

“We had a chance to score just before those final minutes and then the commitment and effort at the end were massive. We were under so much pressure. That was about character. For me, it was epitomised by Gareth Davies.

“The boys wanted to play for him on his 200th and it was really special the way they finished it off to get the job done for him.”

Reflecting on the tense end to the game, Glenn Delaney said: “Those final minutes were all about commitment and heart. There were bits about the defence in the first half I wasn’t so happy with, I was frustrated we weren’t as aggressive as we would have liked, but that character comes through in the big moments. These are big-game players. We are learning as a group what it is like to be in this contest and that was a big European game for us.

“It is a big step forward, we will enjoy it and get ready for Toulon next week.”

Delaney added: “In the second half I thought we moved the ball a little wider on the edge. We never go that going in the first half and we were pretty harsh on ourselves at half-time. That try in the middle of the field, Rob Evans’s pass to put Kieran away was outstanding. That is the game we wanted to play. We wanted to move Bath around.

“We knew we couldn’t go at Bath square-on because they are big and physical and are good players. We had to move them around, we saw a bit of the Scarlets way coming out and the DNA of the club, the boys are happy to be taking the ragdoll home.”

Sport

The stage is set – Senior Cup Final

Published

10 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Herald Sport

It’s the time of the year again, Saturday see’s Bridge Meadow host the senior cup final. The sun has been shining and both teams will be dying to get on the pitch. This year the final will be contested by Goodwick United and Clarbeston Road.

League champions Goodwick will go into the final as favourites, and most around the county expect a Goodwick win. It has been an outstanding season for Goodwick however cup success has evaded them so far. Clarbeston Road have impressed everyone this season and really deserve their place in this years final.

Neill Crawshaw will referee the game, with Tudor Walters and Stefan Jenkins running the line.

There will be a unique contest on the pitch as brothers Will Haworth and Laurie Haworth come face to face on opposing teams. Adrian their father was a great player in the county, and played in many cup finals himself.

The stage is set, Clarby will feel less pressure than Goodwick and will be a threat with Haworth, John and Davies in attack. Meanwhile Goodwick are also blessed with quality players in every department, there is no weak link in O’Sullivans team. Cup football and finals in particular never go as people predict. On paper Goodwick are firm favourites, Clarbeston Road will be happy the game will be played on grass though and not paper, anything can happen! Hopefully it’ll be a good crowd down at the Meadow for the show piece of Pembrokeshire football.

News

70 Pembrokeshire clubs benefit from Sport Wales funding

Published

20 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Tom Sinclair

SEVENTY Pembrokeshire clubs have been successful in receiving grants from the Be Active Wales Fund over the last financial year.

In total the clubs received more than £407,800 from the grants scheme from Sport Wales in 2023/24.

The fund backed 25 different sports, ranging from archery, basketball and cricket to sailing, short mat bowls and weightlifting and everything in between.

The Be Active Wales Fund is open to applications from not for profit community clubs and groups to help develop and sustain their activities.

Grants range from a minimum of £300 up to a maximum of £50,000.

The scheme will support coach education courses, the purchase of essential items of equipment right up to larger projects such as floodlighting and boats for sailing clubs.

For advice and support with your application contact Alan Jones or Lois Hilling at Pembrokeshire County Council’s Sports Development department, Sport Pembrokeshire on [email protected]

The Be Active Wales Fund is always open for applications.

More information is available on the Sport Wales website.

Sport

Clarby stand in the way of Goodwick double

Published

1 day ago

April 24, 2024

Herald Sport

Two thrilling semi finals last weekend has meant Goodwick United and Clarbeston Road will meet in the senior cup final this coming Saturday.

Goodwick faced Pennar Robins in their semi final who pushed the champions very hard. Carl Vincent will be disappointed but proud of the Robins as they gave a great account of themselves. However in the end Goodwick’s quality and experience just was too much for Vincent’s team.

The other semi was an absolute thriller, and after a nail biting game Matthew Fox’ Clarby progressed to the final. A offside call has sparked a lot of debate around the county. However it seems that linesman Jenkins made an absolute perfect call so credit to him for that.

Both teams would have wanted a nice week of preparation for the final, maybe without any games to play. Unfortunately this hasn’t been possible due to the fixture backlog and both outfits have played already this week.

Goodwick will be favourites of course, however if anyone can upset the apple cart Saturday it’s this Clarbeston Road team. Fox’ outfit have impressed over and over this season. Without too much pressure on them, they are in a good place going into the final.

The double at one staged looked like the minimum Goodwick would be aiming for this season. However losses in other cup competitions, means its Senior Cup success or just the league title for the outstanding team of the season. Oddly becoming champions with no cup success maybe seen as a huge disappointment considering their dominance this season. A unique pressure. However if anyone can handle that pressure it’s O’Sullivans outfit.