Scarlets' season ended by Leinster despite valiant performance

Wales Online

2 days ago

The Scarlets were knocked out of the United Rugby Championship play-offs after a valiant 33-21 defeat to top seeds Leinster at the Aviva Stadium.
First-half tries from Tom Rogers and Blair Murray saw Dwayne Peel's side trail by just a point at the break. However, the pressure told in the second-half as the league leaders pushed ahead - even if Johnny Williams' late score did briefly threaten a comeback.
Having reached the play-offs after finishing eighth in the league, the Scarlets were given a tough trip to Dublin to start the play-offs.
And, while they'll be disappointed with how it unfolded - particularly the second-half which saw their discipline falter as they lost two players to yellow cards - they'll be able to reflect on an 80 minutes where they rattled Leinster and a season where they made big strides forward.
The Scarlets hadn't graced the play-offs since 2018, when they actually reached the Pro14 final as defending champions - only to lose to Leinster at the Aviva Stadium.
A similar result was heavily tipped, with Leinster the 1/50 favourites with some bookmakers.
And, when Ireland winger James Lowe crossed for the opening try after some relentless pressure four minutes in, it looked like being a long afternoon in Dublin for the Scarlets.
Five minutes later, the Irish province had their second score. Ireland No. 8 Jack Conan was put through a gap, with the Lion putting Jamison Gibson-Park over.
The Scarlets had to wait until the end of the first quarter for their first opportunity, but when it came, they took it well.
From an attacking lineout, a couple of quick phases shortened up the Leinster defence, before quick hands from Joe Roberts and Sam Costelow put Rogers in a bit of space.
With the home side scrambling, the Wales wing cut back against the grain to reach over for their opening points of the game.
The boot of Sam Prendergast pushed Leinster further ahead, before the home side looked destined to end the half with a third try.
However, after Prendergast failed to hold onto a fizzing pass with the Scarlets' line in sight, Ellis Mee hacked forward the loose ball before elusive full-back Murray followed up with delicate footballing skills to nudge his way to a superb length-of-the-field try.
That score meant the Scarlets went into half-time just a point behind.
However, Leinster once again started the half of rugby strongly - with Jamie Osborne latching onto Prendergast's chip to score six minutes after the restart, even if the grounding looked a little dubious.
The Scarlets stayed in the fight - although a yellow card to prop Alec Hepburn proved crucial.
Down to 14 men, they quickly conceded a fourth try as Ireland full-back Hugo Keenan crossed following a charge-down on scrum-half Archie Hughes.
To their credit, even as they continued to get on the wrong side of referee Hollie Davidson, the Scarlets threw everything at the league's top seeds.
Some lovely offloading put recently-recalled Wales centre Williams over, as the west Walians threatened a comeback heading into the final 10 minutes.
However, a high tackle by Vaea Fifita on Keenan saw the back-row sent to the sin-bin, with the boot of Prendergast ensuring that the Scarlets' play-off hopes were ended at the first hurdle.
Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O'Brien, Jamie Osborne, Jordie Barrett, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan (capt).
Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Jack Boyle, Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman, Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Luke McGrath, Ciaran Frawley.
Scarlets: Blair Murray; Tom Rogers, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Ellis Mee; Sam Costelow, Archie Hughes; Alec Hepburn, Ryan Elias, Henry Thomas, Alex Craig, Sam Lousi, Vaea Fifita, Josh Macleod (capt), Taine Plumtree.
Replacements: Marnus van der Merwe, Kemsley Mathias, Sam Wainwright, Dan Davis, Jarrod Taylor, Efan Jones, Ioan Lloyd, Macs Page.
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
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