By David Williams
Dwayne Peel praised his Scarlets players’ resolve after they came from behind to snatch derby day victory over the Ospreys.
A late Johnny McNicholl try secured the Scarlets a bonus point 22-19 victory over their arch-rivals in an entertaining encounter in Llanelli.
A brace from McNicholl along with tries from Gareth Davies, and Steff Evans got the hosts over the line at Parc y Scarlets. Dan Jones also kicked two points.
The Ospreys scored three tries of their own courtesy of Rhys Webb (twice), and Luke Morgan, while Josh Thomas contributed four points from the kicking tee.
Scarlets head coach Peel said: “Obviously very happy with the win, it could have gone either way to be fair.
“I was really happy with the second-half performance because the first half we were in and out of the game, we showed some good stuff but were error-ridden as well.
“Physically I’m really happy because you don’t know how you’re going to fare. There’s a long way to go but games will give us fitness.”
Highlights from tonight’s bonus-point win against the Ospreys 👊
Uchafbwyntiau o’r fuddugoliaeth pwynt bonws heno yn erbyn y Gweilch#SCAvOSP #URC pic.twitter.com/fBjZh3IcDz
— Scarlets Rugby (@scarlets_rugby) January 1, 2022
Ospreys head coach Toby Booth admitted: “Brutally disappointing, we had enough opportunities to win it twice over.
“We’ve been over the line two, three times and you’ve got to convert and we didn’t and that’s really, really disappointing, especially given the nature of the festive, New Year derby against your closest rivals.
“It stings a lot for sure.”
Despite their lack of recent game time the Scarlets showed no rustiness and were the stronger side in the opening exchanges of this derby.
After a terrific 50/22 from Liam Williams, making his first Scarlets appearance of the season, the hosts began to build some pressure in the Ospreys 22.
The Scarlets went through the phases and after a strong carry from Williams, the ball was flicked up into the hands of Davies by Jones to allow the Wales number nine an easy run in for their opening try.
Jones converted for the Scarlets but the visiting pack began to grind their way back into the game, and after a period of pressure on the home sides try line, Webb sneaked over from short-range.
🗣️”Brutally disappointed”
Hear the thoughts of Head Coach Toby Booth after this evening’s defeat in the @URCOfficial here👇 @swordsecurity
— Ospreys (@ospreys) January 1, 2022
Thomas added the extras and the Ospreys had all the momentum as they began to physically squeeze the Scarlets. The Ospreys showed some wonderful handling out wide for Dan Evans to slide over, but a tremendous tackle from Tom Price denied the visitors a try.
But the Ospreys took the lead when Thomas hacked the ball down field to create a direct foot race between Morgan, and McNicholl. Ospreys flyer Morgan won the race with ease to touch down for their second try. The Ospreys held a slender 12-7 lead at the interval but it should have been a lot more with their forwards superior to the Scarlets eight.
Scarlets began the second-half as they began the first by laying siege to the Ospreys try line. After attempting to batter their way through a strong defensive line a neat out of the back offload from powerful prop Evans created some space. Rhys Patchell flicked it on to Steff Hughes, whose looping pass sent Evans over to make it 12-12.
But the Ospreys hit back immediately to retake the lead. Webb took a penalty quickly, and sent the impressive Jac Morgan into space. The openside was taken down in the Scarlets 22, but after a few phases Webb sneaked over for a brace of tries in what was an almost carbon copy of his earlier score.
The Ospreys were pretty comfortable but then Kieran Hardy intercepted a loose pass. Hardy passed to Patchell whose lovely offload sent Sam Lousi clear before the Tongan lock put McNicholl through for a try. The Scarlets had their tails up and had an opportunity to take the lead but Patchell’s kick didn’t have the legs.
But the Scarlets refused to throw in the towel and the Ospreys were struggling to cope with the pace they brought to the game. And after huffing and puffing in the Ospreys 22 Scarlets wing McNicholl cruised over after they had worked an overlap to steal victory from the jaws of defeat.