Connacht’s pack ground Scarlets into submission

Connacht 30

Scarlets 17

THE sheer domination told a tale. Connacht’s forwards demolished the Scarlets at the weekend. The Welsh side were missing a first choice front row and one key back rower but that hardly is an excuse for the way they – the leading Welsh province – were steamrolled in the pack from start to finish at the Sportsground on Saturday.

The Llanelli men brought a backline humming with talent and that unit kept them alive in the contest for a lot longer than you might have expected, yet with a scrum going backwards and a maul defence that was quite simply inadequate, Connacht’s young and energetic forwards set the tempo from the get go and the westerners never looked back.

These Saturday afternoon kick offs seem to be extremely popular with the supporters judging by the bumper attendance, officially at 5,292, and the constant noise and energy bellowing out from both stands throughout. The importance of this fixture was not lost on the green army and they made that known from an early stage.

This was a must win, after the heartbreaking defeat in Parc Y Scarlets earlier this month and a run of four straight Pro12 reversals, there was no room for another slip. That reality seemed to be abundantly clear to the players and they started at 100 miles an hour.

The contest itself had three main segments. A first half where Connacht largely dominated and led 13-0 thanks to two Jake Heenan tries after sustained pressure led to five metre lineouts and an unstoppable maul. The west Wales outfit had their moments but Connacht’s defence held firm. The only blot on the scorecard were three missed kicks from the otherwise on song Jack Carty, two had hit the post.

After half time, disaster struck as the Scarlets scored ten points in five minutes, a penalty from Aled Thomas and a try off a turnover on half way finished off by DTH Van Der Merwe. The visitors were seemingly back on track, or so we thought.

Connacht’s reaction was to get right back into gear, with the dominant front row of Denis Buckley, Tom McCartney and new Ireland call up Finlay Bealham earning a quick penalty and a sin bin for Phil John. Second row Tom Price followed his prop forward to the bin soon after for a high tackle on Caolin Blade and the platform was set.

Over the next 15 minutes, Connacht put the game firmly to bed with another catch and drive from a lineout leading to the fourth try, this time with Buckley touching down after Heenan caught at the back. Powerful work from John Muldoon, George Naoupu and Eoghan Masterson played a part in that.

Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune