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| 6 December 2003, 8:58 am |
| Saints Take Home Losing Bonus Point From Scarlet Encounter |
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LLANELLI SCARLETS 14
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS 9
Friday, December 5, 2003
Stradey Park
This trip down to Stradey Park was never going to be an easy one. The Scarlets were still carrying raw wounds from Paul Grayson's last-minute kick that beat the Welsh side in the Heineken Cup in 2000 - a campaign that Saints went on to win of course. And Ben Cohen was still, disappointingly, enemy number one to the majority of the 9,000-plus crowd.
The game never really got the opportunity to get going despite displays of multi-phase play from both sides. Last-phase errors or sheer defence kept the scoreboard from ticking over, and at the final whistle, only Scott Quinnell's try separated the two teams meaning Saints went back to Franklin's Gardens with a valuable losing bonus point.
Saints did have a chance to score their own try in the first half when they were awarded with a scrum in front of the Llanelli posts. Scrum-half Mark Robinson span off from the base of it and escaped the majority of the Scarlet defenders but full-back Nick Beal could not keep hold of Robinson's pass to run in the try.
Quinnell's try was scored following a drive from a Llanelli lineout and the No 8 was the body that got over for the points after just six minutes. Fly-half Stephen Jones missed the conversion but made up for it later with a penalty to answer the one kicked by Saints' Shane Drahm in the 18th minute. The score was 8-3 at half-time.
Saints were obviously still in with a chance at the break but Jones made it more difficult after he kicked his second penalty after just 10 minutes. Saints were going to need more than one try if they were going to win the game. Coach Wayne Smith tried to bolster the team by bringing on a whole raft of replacements including a three-player swap of Chris Budgen, Mark Connors and World Cup medal winner Steve Thompson, quickly followed by Grayson.
Grayson dug into Llanelli's lead with a second penalty but Jones answered him straight back. Grayson kicked another one three minutes into injury time to retain the five-point margin only for Llanelli to be awarded another kickable opportunity in the 85th minute. Jones missed this one though and Saints did retain that points difference. Who knows how valuable that will prove to be in the coming weeks of this season's European campaign?
Northampton Saints:
Beal (co-capt); Reihana, Hyndman, Tucker, Cohen; Drahm (Grayson 55mins), Robinson; Smith (Morris 81mins), Richmond (Thompson48mins), Morris (Budgen 48mins), Hunter, Phillips (Connors 48mins), Seely, Fox, Blowers (co-capt).
Llanelli Scarlets: B Davies; Evans, Taylor, Watkins, Finau; S Jones, Peel; Thomas, McBryde (Gravelle 25-32mins), J Davies, Cooper (capt), Wyatt (13mins), D Jones, Easterby, Quinnell.
Scorers:
Northampton Saints - Pens: Drahm, Grayson (2).
Llanelli - Try: Quinnell; Pens: S Jones (3).
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