McNicholl double downs Ospreys

By ROGER PANTING

Scarlets …………22pts

Tries: Davies 9, S Evans 52, McNicholl 65, 77

Conversions: Jones 10

Ospreys …………..19pts

Tries: Webb 19, 56; L Morgan 30

Conversions: J Thomas 20, 57

Overlap try: Steff Evans powers over the line to score for Scarlets

PICTURES: Huw Evans

JOHNNY McNicholl scored two tries in the final 15 minutes to secure a derby win for Scarlets in a fixture played behind closed doors.

Due to Covid difficulties for both teams, it was Scarlets’ first appearance on the field since October 22, so it was no surprise that the game was high of endeavour but short on quality.

Ospreys were marginally the better in the first half but their opponents dominated the second and had it not been for some very poor goal-kicking from Dan Jones and Rhys Patchell they would have won more convincingly.

Patchell missed four and Jones another straightforward kick which cost 12 points and could have proved crucial.

Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel said: “We were in and out in the first half but we dominated the second half and finished strongly in the last ten minutes.

“Our medical team have done a tremendous job for us over the past few months but we are still lacking a bit physically.”

However massive credit should be given to both for being the first professional teams in Wales to fulfil a home fixture since their Government imposed their latest Covid restrictions on December 22.

Since that time the Welsh rugby regions have called off three fixtures while their football counterparts have postponed five.

Scarlets’ decision to proceed with this, their premier fixture of the season, will have cost them around £200,000 from a sellout crowd of over 14,000.

Despite losing a couple of early lineouts, Scarlets began brightly and deservedly picked up the first points when Gareth Davies was on hand to reward a period of pressure by dashing over.

However, Scarlets suffered an injury blow when their flanker, Josh Macleod, was forced to leave the field with a hamstring problem. Argentine international Tomas Lezana replaced him for his club debut.

It must have been demoralising for Macleod as it was his first game back since rupturing his Achilles last February.

Man of match: Rhys Webb

The home side suffered a further setback as Ospreys drew level when Rhys Webb forced his way over from close range and it could have been worse for Scarlets if their opponents had not blown a golden opportunity.

Excellent inter-passing had put Dan Evans into space but the full-back elected to go it alone and was held up over the line by Tom Price.

It mattered little as Ospreys soon scored their second. A poor crossfield kick from Jones saw Josh Thomas collect and boot the ball downfield for Luke Morgan to display his exceptional pace by beating McNicholl and Jones to the touchdown for a 12-7 interval lead.

After the restart, Jones missed a straightforward penalty and soon after he was replaced by Patchell.

Patchell was immediately involved in the move which created an overlap try for Steff Evans but Scott Williams then gave away a penalty for kicking out at a ball in a ruck with Ospreys capitalising as Webb saw a gap to score his second.

Ospreys appeared to be taking control but two tries from McNicholl turned the game Scarlets’ way. First the home side broke out of defence to create the opportunity for the wing to run in from halfway before sustained pressure from the pack provided him with a walk-over to secure victory.

Ospreys will be disappointed to lose. They had the better scrum and were the more creative with creditable efforts from Webb and Morgan but crucially they failed to take their chances.

Their head coach Toby Booth said: “It’s brutal to lose as we had enough opportunities to win that game twice over.

“We had two or three great chances but we didn’t look after the ball and it was a game with a very high error-count.”