Scarlets stand firm to deny battling Glasgow

SCARLETS had to survive a fight-back from Glasgow Warriors to claim a narrow 18-14 win at a rain-soaked Parc Y Scarlets last night.

Rhys Priestland marked his 50th Magners League appearance by kicking all of the Scarlets’ points. It looked comfortable for them as they raced into a 15-0 lead, but Lou Reed’s yellow card allowed Glasgow in.

Duncan Weir raced home from 40 metres, before DTH van der Merwe added a second to bring them within a point, but Priestland sealed the Scarlets victory.

It takes them up to second in the Magners League on 24 points from seven games, while Glasgow remain 10th in the table with just two wins despite the losing bonus point.

Meanwhile, a decisive first-half performance from Cardiff Blues saw them complete a straightforward 20-3 Magners League victory over rock bottom Aironi at the Stadio Luigi Zaffanella.

The Welsh side looked sure bets for a bonus-point victory after taking a 17-3 half-time lead, courtesy of tries from Richard Mustoe and Lloyd Williams.

However, they added just three more points in the second period as the winless Italians tightened up.

Ceri Sweeney totalled 10 points for the Blues, successfully converting both tries and also slotting two penalties, while Ludovic Mercier kicked the hosts’ only points after 29 minutes.

Cardiff must have been eyeing the two tries required for a bonus point after half-time, and Sweeney kicked a penalty just two minutes after the restart. But Aironi held firm for 38 minutes without further damage, though they never looked likely to threaten a bonus point of their own.

The victory here moves the Blues up to third place, where they are four points off pace-setters Munster.