Scarlets pull off remarkable upset against Leinster

SATURDAY WRAP: Scarlets celebrated victory over leaders Leinster for the first time since December 2018 with a 35-22 United Rugby Championship victory to keep their hopes of an end-of-season play-off spot alive.

It was just Leinster’s second defeat of the season and a first Scarlets win over an Irish province since March 2021.

The impressive hosts scored four tries through Tom Rogers, Joe Roberts, Gareth Davies, and Taine Plumtree, while Sam Costelow kicked a penalty and three conversions, with Ioan Lloyd adding two penalties.

Jamie Osborne, James Culhane, and Diarmuid Mangan scored Leinster’s tries, with Ross Byrne converting two and adding a penalty.

Scarlets had the first chance for points, but Costelow missed badly with a straightforward penalty.

However, the Welsh region was not to be denied and soon took the lead. A powerful burst from Plumtree broke the defence for the supporting Davies to race in under the posts.

Costelow converted and added a penalty before Leinster suffered another blow when their lock Brian Deeny departed with a leg injury.

A penalty from Byrne put the Irish side on the scoreboard, but Scarlets soon responded with their second try when a well-judged cross-field kick from Costelow found Rogers, who finished in style.

However, straight from the restart, Scarlets gifted their opponents seven points when Costelow’s clearance was charged down by replacement Managan, with Osborne pouncing on the loose ball to score.

It was then Leinster’s turn to make an error when Plumtree seized on a stray pass to gallop 45 metres, but the Irish kept in contention when Managan forced his way over from close range to leave them trailing 22-15 at the interval.

Within two minutes of the restart, Scarlets scored their bonus-point try when a well-timed entry from Blair Murray created the opportunity for Roberts, but Leinster’s response was swift with a try from Culhane.

Costelow was replaced by Ioan Lloyd, who extended the lead to 13 points with two penalties, and that was enough for a crucial victory as Leinster finished scoreless in the final half-hour.

*Ospreys kept alive their hopes of reaching the URC play-offs with a comeback 57-24 bonus-point victory over Dragons.

Two successive defeats had left Ospreys seven points adrift of the top eight with three rounds left, but they remain in the hunt ahead of tough assignments in South Africa against Sharks and Lions.

They ran in nine tries to give Adam Beard a fitting home farewell with the Wales lock this week, confirming he will be leaving the club at the end of the season, ending an 11-year stay.

It is now 15 successive defeats for bottom-of-the-table Dragons, who are still without a win away from home since beating Scarlets in April 2022.

Dragons, whose only win in 18 visits to Swansea came in 2010, made a strong start and opened up a 10-point lead just past the midway point of the first half.

After Angus O’Brien had kicked a penalty, Harry Rees-Weldon, who signed a new contract with the club earlier this month, celebrated his debut with a try, which O’Brien converted.

Ospreys, though, hit back within minutes when Will Spencer forced his way over the line under the posts, leaving Dan Edwards a simple conversion.

Dewi Lake then dotted down before half-time, Edwards adding the extras, before two converted tries early in the second half from Ben Warren and Keelan Giles saw Ospreys take control.

Rhodri Williams’ converted score made it a nine-point game, but Edwards helped himself to two quickfire tries, converting one, as extended Ospreys’ advantage to 40-17.

Jared Rosser grabbed a third Dragons try, but Kieran Hardy, Giles, and Reuben Morgan-Williams added further scores for the home side in the closing stages.

Dragons forward Dan Lydiate, who played for both sides, was given a standing ovation 10 minutes from time in what was his final appearance on Welsh soil ahead of his retirement at the end of the season.

*All Saturday’s scores and scorers below…

Ospreys 57-24 Dragons

Scorers

For Ospreys:
Tries: Spencer, Lake, Warren, Giles (2), D Edwards (2), Hardy, Morgan-Williams
Cons: D Edwards 5, Walsh

For Dragons:
Tries: Rees-Weldon, R Williams, Rosser
Cons: O’Brien 3
Pens: O’Brien

Teams

Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Jac Morgan (captain), 6 James Ratti, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Spencer, 3 Ben Warren, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Steffan Thomas, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Will Griffiths, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Iestyn Hopkins.

Dragons: 15 Ewan Rosser, 14 Harry Rees-Weldon, 13 Joe Westwood, 12 Aneurin Owen (captain), 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Angus O’Brien, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Dan Lydiate, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Ryan Woodman, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Chris Coleman, 2 Brodie Coghlan, 1 Rhodri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, 18 Nathan Evans, 19 Barny Langton-Cryer, 20 George Young, 21 Che Hope, 22 Will Reed, 23 Huw Anderson.

Referee: Ben Breakspear (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Gareth Newman (Wales), Carwyn Sion (Wales)
TMO: Tom Spurrier (Scotland)

Scarlets 35-22 Leinster

Scorers:

For Scarlets:
Tries: G Davies, T Rogers, Plumtree, Roberts
Cons: Costelow 3
Pens: Costelow, Lloyd 2

For Leinster:
Tries: Osborne, Mangan, Culhane
Cons: R Byrne 2
Pens: R Byrne

Teams

Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (captain), 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Louie Trevett, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Jac Price, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Macs Page.

Leinster: 15 Ciarán Frawley, 14 Andrew Osborne, 13 Liam Turner, 12 Jamie Osborne, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Fintan Gunne, 8 James Culhane, 7 Will Connors, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 Brian Deeny, 4 Ryan Baird, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Rónan Kelleher (captain), 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Gus McCarthy, 17 Jack Boyle, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Diarmuid Mangan, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Cormac Foley, 22 Charlie Tector, 23 Ruben Moloney.

Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Matthew Leon (Wales), Aaron Perry (Wales)
TMO: Colin Brett (Scotland)