Scarlets record bonus-point win over Dragons at Millennium Stadium
Last Updated: 26/04/15 2:46pm
The Scarlets moved into sixth spot in the Guinness PRO12 courtesy of a 29-10 bonus-point victory over a lacklustre Dragons at the Millennium Stadium.
Wales internationals Scott and Liam Williams were prominent in putting out the Dragons' fire, with both getting tries either side of the break.
Captain and hooker Ken Owens got the first Scarlets touchdown and wing Harry Robinson topped a good performance with one of his own to give them a golden opportunity of making next season’s European Champions Cup.
Fly-half Rhys Priestland booted a penalty and three conversions while the Dragons relied on a well-taken try from centre Tyler Morgan and a solitary penalty and conversion from outside-half Dorian Jones for their points.
The match was mistake-ridden at the start, with the best moment of the first 35 minutes coming from the Dragons' try which included an amazing pass from centre Jack Dixon, where he fell forwards in a tackle but managed to offload to Morgan to touch down.
The converted score put the Dragons ahead following Priestland's early penalty, and they extended their lead when Jones landed a 40-metre penalty on 25 minutes.
Turnaround
But the whole nature of the game changed in six minutes either side of the break, as the Scarlets romped over for three tries which took them from 10-3 down to 24-10 ahead.
Owens picked up a pass from the floor by lock Jake Ball to race through some poor defence and go under the posts before a wonderful piece of invention saw Scarlets' two Williams stars combine for a terrific score and give them a 17-10 interval lead.
Full-back Liam chipped a ball from his own half over the Dragons' defence, regained it and, when he was tackled, threw a pass off the floor to namesake Scott to go under the posts, giving Priestland another easy conversion.
And, with the Dragons on the rack again after the restart, Liam Williams took a ball from the base of a ruck on the opposition line and danced past a tame Dixon tackle to go over.
British and Irish Lions No 8 Taulupe Faletau was about the best of the Dragons, optimised by a race back to cover and tackle Robinson and prevent a try five metres from his own line.
But there was no denying Robinson as the Newport defence cracked and a long pass from Priestland to the right saw the wing dive in at the corner for the bonus-point touchdown.
Newport's misery was compiled when Jones dropped the ball as he attempted to cross for a last-minute consolation try.