By David Williams
Dwayne Peel declared himself satisfied as his Scarlets team secured a third successive win in the United Rugby Championship by beating Zebre Parma 30-8 in Llanelli.
Tries from Tom Rogers, Macs Page, Blair Murray and captain Josh Macleod helped Scarlets recover from Ben Cambriani’s early score for the Italians to earn the bonus point.
Peel admitted it took the Scarlets time to hit their stride, but the head coach was pleased with the way they eventually took control.
“Everyone was so frustrated, there were so many unforced errors, we had 11 turnovers in the first half,” said Peel.
“We were turning some good counter attacking opportunities into line beaks, I think we had five line breaks in the first half, we just didn’t finish
“I didn’t really need to say too much (at half time), I felt we needed to get some energy, we felt we could get them on the counter attack and scored two early tries
“I’m happy with the points obviously, I would have taken that this morning definitely. We have a couple of weeks off now to work on our game. The boys will have a bit of a break this week and then back for three weeks of training ready for Glasgow.”
https://twitter.com/scarlets_rugby/status/1849909021332967644
Buoyed by snapping a five-match losing run at Parc y Scarlets when beating Bulls in round five, Scarlets took an early lead through Ioan Lloyd’s penalty.
But Zebre, on a run of three successive defeats, fought back to take an 8-6 lead courtesy of Geronimo Prisciantelli’s drop goal and Cambriani’s try from Giovanni Montemauri’s superb kick.
Lloyd’s second penalty reduced the deficit to two points and Scarlets then moved back in front when Rogers went over in the corner following a slick move for an 11-8 half-time lead.
Two tries in the opening six minutes of the second half saw Scarlets surge ahead, with Page first bursting clear of the Zebre defence and leaving them trailing in his wake, Lloyd adding the extras.
Murray then went over shortly afterwards after a terrific team move and Macleod crossed for a fourth try from close range after a maul following sustained Scarlets pressure, Lloyd converting the latter.
https://twitter.com/URCOfficial/status/1849909747744637180
Zebre, who have failed to win away from home in the competition since January 2021, rarely threatened to add to their tally.
Scarlets comfortably saw the game out to extend their unbeaten run against Zebre to 18 games, winning 17 of them, while also registering a third win in a row in the URC for the first time since February 2023.
Ospreys v Edinburgh Rugby, 3pm, Saturday
After making the BKT URC quarter-finals last season, the Ospreys now find themselves bottom of the table after the opening five rounds.
Head coach Toby Booth says they are “desperate” to turn things around, but it won’t be easy against an Edinburgh side who have recorded bonus point victories over the Stormers and Cardiff in the last two rounds.
Booth said: “We’ve not played well enough and we are determined and desperate to put things right, because we have not given the best account of ourselves so far this season and we are disappointed about that.”
Here are the thoughts of coach Dwayne Peel on the @scarlets_rugby having the largest contingent of players in Wales' autumn squad.https://t.co/lHCbldCQoS
— Simon Thomas Rugby (@simonrug) October 24, 2024
The match against Edinburgh is being played at the Brewery Field in Bridgend, where the Ospreys have recorded notable victories over Cardiff, Sale and the Stormers this year.
“We enjoy Bridgend, as everybody knows. It’s been good to us and we have been good to it, so we are in the right environment and we have trained exceptionally well,” said Booth.
The hosts are boosted by the return of Wales stars Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan, Owen Watkin and Adam Beard.
“It’s great to have them available. We are dropping in four really important leaders and players for us,” said Booth.
“Things aren’t going as we want from a results point of view and, when that happens, you look to your senior players to lead by example and create confidence and show the way.”
Cardiff Rugby v Ulster Rugby, 7.35pm, Saturday
Dubbed the best back in Wales by Warren Gatland, Ben Thomas will clearly be a key figure for Cardiff as they look to end a three-match losing run.
https://twitter.com/ospreys/status/1849768472017764354
Giving his thoughts, the 25-year-old centre said: “We want to finish this block well for our fans and if we get a win it will put us in a good position league-wise. So a win would be very important for us.
“Similar to most Irish teams, Ulster tend to test your basics very well. So it’s dealing with the multiple tests they will pose and then, when we get the ball, it will be about imprinting our style of play on them.”
Ulster arrive at the Arms Park following Belfast bonus point victories over Connacht and the Ospreys.
Their coach Richie Murphy said: “It’s the end of a six week block and a really important game for us. There’s a real focus for one big last effort before we have a bit of a break.”
On the opposition, he added: “With ball in hand, Cardiff can cause you a lot of problems in the outside channels, while there’s a big threat in and around the breakdown. We are fully aware of that.
“So, although they are coming off the back of three losses, it will be a very difficult game for us.
“They are playing at home in front of their fans and they are going to be fully committed to finishing off this opening block with a win. If we take our eye off the ball, we definitely won’t win.”
https://twitter.com/KarlKrugerWill1/status/1849789617668596041
Connacht Rugby v Dragons RFC, 7.35pm, Saturday
Connacht coach Pete Wilkins is looking for his team to record a convincing win in Galway to deliver a “feel good factor”.
It’s been a mixed bag for them so far this season, with victories over the Sharks and Scarlets, but three interprovincial derby defeats.
“In the context of this first block of fixtures, the importance of this game is absolutely enormous,” said Wilkins.
“If we win, if we win convincingly, you take that feel-good factor into the November break. I think it probably shapes how you reflect on these first six games.
“If we don’t deliver, then you get the reverse effect pretty quickly in terms of the perception of us and our ambitions this season, but also in terms of how we’re simply feeling about ourselves. So this is a huge, huge game for us.”
He added: “It’s been a challenging start. I feel like every year it’s a tough start in the URC. That’s the nature of the competition, that’s why it’s so exciting.
“But for us to have had three interpros in the first six games, two of them away from home, it is challenging, particularly with the competitiveness of the Irish teams.”
The Dragons are looking to end a four-match losing streak, with head coach Dai Flanagan saying: “For all the progress, we want results. We want to turn a corner and win a lot more and currently we haven’t.”
https://twitter.com/dragonsrfc/status/1849768115602870525