Scarlets 20-8 Benetton: Welsh region edge past Italians at home
Last Updated: 03/11/17 10:38pm
The Scarlets needed a 67th-minute try from Wales international centre Scott Williams to secure a nervous victory over Italian battlers Benetton and maintain their place at the head of the Guinness PRO14 Conference B standings.
The defending champions had struggled to shake off the visitors throughout an error-strewn contest, but Williams's score eventually secured the spoils, much to the relief of the Parc y Scarlets faithful.
It was a confidence-boosting moment for the Wales centre, who had been a controversial omission from Warren Gatland's original autumn squad before being recalled following an injury to Tyler Morgan.
And it added to a 15-point haul from man-of-the-match Dan Jones, with the young fly-half making his first appearance in the No.10 jersey since April.
The Scarlets had gone into the match looking to maintain their proud home record in the league, stretching back to the first game of last season.
However, without 12 Wales internationals, this was always going to stretch the home resources, especially with the Italians having been much improved this season, pushing Euro heavyweights Toulon in the Champions Cup all the way just two weeks ago.
Benetton were also able to field nine members of the Italian autumn squad in their match-day 23.
However, it was the champions who started on the front foot, dominating possession and territory.
Jones, deputising for Rhys Patchell, opened his side's account with a straightforward penalty after just four minutes, then crossed for the game's first try.
The Scarlets were aided by a glaring error from Benetton scrum-half Georgio Bronzini, who knocked on a kick ahead just metres from his own line.
From the scrum, the ball was fed to Jones, who dummied his way over. He also added the conversion.
With the rain arriving, the Scarlets found their attacks frustrated by a combination of tenacious Benetton defence and sloppy handling errors.
A sharp break from scrum-half Jonathan Evans eventually led to a second Jones penalty, canceling out an earlier effort from opposite number Ian McKinley which saw the Scarlets lead 13-3 at the interval.
However, it was that man McKinley who stunned the home crowd three minutes after the restart with a superb solo try.
An edgy Scarlets attempted to force their way back onto the offensive, turning down a kickable penalty in front of the posts, but although Benetton lost wing Andrea Bronzini to a yellow card for a deliberate knock on, they continued to frustrate the hosts.
That was until 13 minutes from time, when Williams pounced on a smart kick through from Jones with the fly-half's conversion sealing an eighth league win from nine matches for the Scarlets this term.
