Scarlets stumble to victory

First-half tries from Daniel Evans and Ken Owens were enough to secure an 13-6 victory for the Scarlets in their Magners League clash with Edinburgh at Parc y Scarlets.

The home side, who were without their Welsh international stars, could have made the victory more comfortable but managed to fluff six kicking attempts.

Scarlets' win came at a price, as full-back Morgan Stoddart was stretchered off the pitch with a serious looking knee injury.

Edinburgh, including six Scotland squad members, earned a bonus point but never came close to threatening the Welsh side's try-line.

Dominance

The Scarlets led 10-6 at half-time but the score did not reflect the dominance of the home side. They went into a 10-0 lead with only 16 minutes gone after wing Evans and hooker Owens both scored unconverted tries.

The first score started with a counter-attack by scrum-half Martin Roberts, who was sent through after an incisive run by Stoddart before Evans finished the move off.

A second try looked on the cards when centre Jonathan Davies broke into the 22 but Gavin Evans knocked on attempting to pick up a pass from his fellow centre.

But the Scarlets did double their lead with a short-range effort from Owens after Roberts had almost scored.

Poor Kicking

Opposing outside halves David Blair and Rhys Priestland missed place-kicks on 20 and 29 minutes respectively.

But Edinburgh kept themselves in the contest with two successful penalties from Blair just before half-time

After the break Priestland's bad run of form continued as he missed his fourth kick of the match. His form seemed to rub off on Chris Paterson, a half-time replacement for Hugo Southwell, who missed a relatively easy 52nd-minute effort from just outside the 22.

The second half became a forgettable affair as both sides struggled to maintain meaningful possession.

Dan Evans took over the kicking duties from Priestland, but he fluffed a penalty effort from halfway, meaning that 13 points had gone begging through missed attempts from the Scarlets.

Evans eventually found his mark with the last kick of the game to ironic cheers from the home crowd.