Sean Jansen grabs double as Connacht claim bonus-point win over Scarlets
Connacht 26 Scarlets 10
Sean Jansen touched down for Connacht's bonus-point try.
Connacht made it three wins in a row over Scarlets for the first time in history but they didn’t have it all their own way at Dexcom Stadium in front of a crowd of 5,241.
Scarlets may have only won twice this season but they caused the home side some trouble before Connacht regained control and secured the bonus-point win which keeps them on track to be involved in the business end of the URC again this season, having reached the semi-finals last term.
Head coach Pete Wilkins will look for improvement but these are the sort of games Connacht have to win and with Cathal Forde and his centre partner David Hawkshaw leading the way, they had enough cutting edge to secure maximum points
Connacht led 19-7 at the break and really should have had the bonus point and the game wrapped up at that stage after dominating the opening half with a strong wind behind them.
They enjoyed 64% possession and while they ran in three tries, they left as many behind them with Scarlets, searching for a first win outside Wales in two years, digging in and defending superbly.
Connacht raced into a 12-0 lead in just ten minutes as they took the game to the Llanelli side. Hooker Eoin de Buitlear from An Cheathru Rua almost crowned his first start with a try inside two minutes but he was unable to collect a pass from Shamus Hurley-Langton close to the line when the flanker might have been as well to go for it himself.
But the reprieve was short-lived for Scarlets as Connacht continued to take control and while they were unable to make a penalty to the right corner count, they struck for the opening try when a break from tighthead prop Jack Aungier put his skipper Caolin Blade away and the scrum-half got over for his fifth try of this season’s URC.
JJ Hanrahan added the difficult conversion and a lineout steal from lock Gavin Thornbury led to a counter-attack through many hands before Cian Prendergast put De Buitlear away and the young hooker was not denied this time.
Connacht struggled to push on from there on the scoreboard despite dominating the match but they eventually extended their lead off a tapped penalty with Aungier slipping the ball to No.8 Sean Jansen to get over, with Hanrahan adding the points to make it 19-0 after 23 minutes.
But Scarlets hit back and scored four minutes later from their only attack of the half when No.8 Vaea Fifita made the decisive opening to send his scrum-half Efan Jones through for a try converted by Dan Jones.
Andrew Smith had a spectacular try in the left corner scratched off on review for a knock-on and Connacht continued to butcher other opportunities, with Scarlets twice defending penalties to the left corner just before the interval.
Those misses looked like they might prove costly when Scarlets reduced the margin to nine points with a penalty after 47 minutes and then pressed forward for a try.
They went for the kill with a penalty to the right corner but Niall Murray got a touch to prevent them getting possession and they cleared their lines before building the phases in midfield and securing the bonus point after 58 minutes when impressive replacement Oisin Dowling made the hard yards, Denis Buckley hacked on and when it bounced back off the left post, Jansen was quickest to react and score, with Hanrahan’s conversion making it 26-10.
That left Scarlets with an insurmountable task, with Connacht sniffing out any threat. They played the final ten minutes with 14 when Dowling limped off after the bench had been cleared, while both Forde and Tiernan O’Halloran went off for HIA in the closing stages.
Scorers – Connacht: Tries: Jansen (2), Blade, de Buitlear. Cons: Hanrahan (3).
Scarlets: Tries: E Jones. Con: D Jones. Pen: D Jones.
Connacht: T O'Halloran, B Ralston, D Hawkshaw, C Forde, A Smith, JJ Hanrahan (J Carty 63), C Blade (C), P Dooley (D Buckley 54), E de Buitlear (D Heffernan 54), J Aungier (S Illo 54), N Murray, G Thornbury (O Dowling 48), C Prendergast, S Hurley-Langton (C Oliver 54), S Jansen (S O’Brien 63).
Scarlets: I Nicholas; T Lewis, J Williams, E James, S Evans (R Conbeer 67); D Jones (C Titcombe 72), E Jones (A Hughes 67); W Jones (S Thomas 67), S Evans, S Wainwright (J Jones 59); A Craig (B Williams 67), J Price (M Jones 59); S Lousi (M Jones 59), D Davis, V Fifita.
Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Italy)
