Scarlets 23-0 Glasgow Warriors

Glasgow Warriors suffered defeat upon their return to the BKT United Rugby Championship, as the Scarlets claimed a 23-0 victory in Llanelli this evening.

With swirling rain and single-digit temperatures welcoming both sides back to BKT United Rugby Championship action, it was the Warriors who started the brighter. Successive quick tap penalties from Ben Afshar and Stafford McDowall stretched the Scarlets defence in the early exchanges, whilst the hosts were forced to lean on all their defensive resolve to prevent Johnny Matthews guiding a maul across the whitewash.

Having stopped a maul at one end, the Scarlets would duly then go on to open the scoring with a maul at the other end with 16 minutes on the clock. A scrum penalty dispatched to the corner gave captain Josh Macleod the platform to drive over, Sam Costelow converting to give the hosts a 7-0 lead.

The rest of the opening quarter would pass without any further scoring or incident, with Costelow extending his side’s lead to 10-0 with a penalty on 24 minutes. The Welsh international then repeated the trick as the game ticked past the half-hour mark, making it a 13-point advantage to the hosts.

That would be the final act of scoring in the opening stanza, Tomi Lewis coming closest to further troubling the scorers only to find himself ushered into touch by Kyle Rowe and Josh McKay. The greasy ball continued to cause problems for both sides, with neither squad able to consistently string multiple phases together in opposition territory.

With the kicking game becoming ever more prominent, the Scarlets were first to strike after the restart. Costelow was quick to capitalise off a loose ball from the aerial contest, his kick in behind measured perfectly for the onrushing Lewis. The winger’s offload was deemed to have been knocked backwards by a Glasgow hand rather than having travelled forward, allowing Jac Davies to pick up and score. Costelow converted from out wide, and the home side led 20-0 with half an hour to play.

A third successful penalty of the evening from Costelow made it 23-0 with 65 minutes on the clock, the Warriors unable to gain a foothold in proceedings try as they might. Indeed, one final attacking salvo sparked by George Horne and captain McDowall yielded no reward, as the Scarlets faithful rose to acclaim their team.

A result that will disappoint players, supporters and coaches alike, but one on which there’s no time to dwell – a visit to Sale Sharks awaits next Friday night, as the Investec Champions Cup returns.