Vili succeed? Yes, twice!

Scarlets 27 v 19 London Irish

Parc Y Scarlets - att. 8117

28/1/12

Referee: Nigel Owens

It wasn't quite the parable of the prodigal son at Parc Y Scarlets for this LV= Cup encounter. Two sons of the Scarlets came home (albeit on either side of the battle) in the form of Steven Shingler and Liam Davies. However there was no fairytale for either as Vili Iongi, the Tongan international winger stole the show. 

A freezing Parc Y Scarlets saw a crowd of 8117 spectators welcomed by the No. 3 Welsh Wing Air Training Corps band. The persistent beat of their percussion provided an atmospheric backdrop to the warm ups. They also occupied the West Stand and occasionally struck up during the match. There was some irony though in a Royal Air Force band belting out 'Yma O Hyd', the Welsh answer to a rebel song.

London Irish are a very neat team. They play to a simple pattern, seeking to build momentum through the phases. Early on they were much the more dangerous side. Within 3 minutes they had advanced into the Scarlets 22 and a clever low kick from their outside half David Bowden was almost dabbed down by the excellent Irish full back Tom Homer. He had turned cat like in the air seeking the bobbling ball but to no avail according to the TMO. Shortly thereafter though he commenced a faultless kicking display from the tee and bagged his first of 4 successful penalties. 

Irish continued to press, launching a number of well drilled, flowing plays which earned them the lion's share of ball and field position in the first half. 

At the mid-point of the half the TMO was called upon again. Marland Yarde, the Irish winger, had crossed the line and it seemed a clear try. The replay however showed that he had bizarrely touched down onto his supporting hand and had knocked on. 

It was a failure to score the Scarlets would not leave unpunished. On the half hour the Scarlets outside half Aled Thomas kicked a penalty to touch on the 22. From the resulting possession, the impressive Adam Warner took the crash ball and offloaded to his outside half on the loop. He floated a pass just over the desperate hand of winger Topsy Ojo. The ball found its way to Iongi who singed into the corner. Newton added the extras. 

Shortly thereafter, Shingler's match for Irish was over. The inside centre had looked tentative and uncomfortable, despite not getting the Parc Y Scarlets 'treatment'. He was replaced by returning England International Shontayne Hape. However it was Bowden, Homer and centre Jonathan Joseph that looked class players in the Irish back line. Indeed within minutes of his appearance Hape was back in his track suit after tripping Newton.  

Both teams finished the half by launching flowing attacking moves only for the ball to be knocked on or turned over at the crucial point. It was 10-3 at half time.

The second half started much as the first with Irish dominating with their gradual advances from ruck to ruck. This time though the Scarlets pushed to the limit to get their hands on the ball. As a result, within 10 minutes Homer had slotted two penalties and it was a one point game. 

Liam Davies was introduced by the Scarlets. This was his first game for the Region since he had left for the South of France a few seasons ago. Within minutes a strong tackle on his opposite number Darren Allinson saw tempers flaring. Tumble boy Allinson was very lucky not to walk having thrown a punch under referee Owen's nose. The Scarlets seemed to respond to this. Iongi booted a ball fumbled by Ojo and forced Homer to concede the five yard scrum. After a period of intense pressure, replacement Scarlet prop Deacon Manu flopped over from a ruck on the line. The TMO called it good even though it could be argued that he was part of the ruck when he gathered the ball. 

Just as the Scarlets seem to have woken, their defence went to sleep. After a patient accumulation of territory Topsy Ojo took advantage of some wishful Scarlets tackling to stroll under the posts. The inevitable Homer conversion saw Irish take the lead at 17-19. 

This high tempo game was not over yet. The Scarlets worked into the 22 and Irish were penalised for hands in a ruck. Newton had missed two of his kicks, but slotted this one to take his team into a narrow lead with a few minutes on the clock. 

As was their wont, Irish sought to build from the kick off. However with Owens playing injury time and the kick seemingly ruled out as an option, they suddenly looked predictable and conservative. Irish prop Ion fumbled the ball on the half way and the Scarlets launched a counter attack; two quick passes to Iongi in very little space and with a man to beat. Tonga's answer to Shane Williams wriggled through the tiniest of gaps and was clear, running in from 50 yards. Newton's conversion was the final act in this pulsating LV= Cup cross border match.

The Scarlets are in a strong position in their pool having three wins out of three and two bonus points. Coach Nigel Davies was satisfied with his team's performance: "We faced a stern challenge from an organised London Irish team. In my view this was the best squad performance of the season so far."

Scarlets
15 Dan Newton
14 Vili Iongi
13 Gareth Maule (c)
12 Adam Warren
11 Andy Fenby
10 Aled Thomas
9 Rhodri Williams

1 Iestyn Thomas
2 Emyr Phillips
3 Peter Edwards
4 Adam Powell
5 Dom Day
6 Matt Gilbert
8 Kieran Murphy
7 Jonathan Edwards

Subs
Kirby Myhill, Phil John, Deacon Manu, Craig Price, Daniel Thomas, Liam Davies, Dan Evans, Nic Reynolds

London Irish
15 Tom Homer
14 Topsy Ojo
13 Jonathan Joseph
12 Steven Shingler
11 Marland Yarde
10 Daniel Bowden
9 Darren Allison

1 Clarke Dermody (c)
2 Brian Blaney
3 Paulica Ion
4 Nick Kennedy
5 Bryn Evans
6 Keiran Low
8 Richard Thorpe
7 David Sisi

Subs
Pete Austin, Max Lahiff, Faan Rautenbach, Alex Gray, Kieran Roche, Guy Armitage, Shontayne Hape, Ross Samson.

Hywel Davies

"over the desperate hand of winger Topsy Ojo"

Possibly despairing hand???

Add your name as well to the article in here!

Possibly "mid-point" instead of "mid point"

For "Shortly after Shingler's match for Irish was over." maybe "Shortly thereafter, Shingler's match for Irish was over."

"tempers flairing"
"tempers flaring"

", their defence went to sleep" - defense? (my spellchecker's complaining anyway, though I can't persuade it to switch from US "English")

Looks good otherwise, and I have to dash for the London Scottish match.

Defence is spelt with a C around here, Kiwi!

'It was a failure to score the Scarlets would not leave unpunished.'

Adding 'that' between 'score' and 'Scarlets' might be an idea.

'pulsating LV= Cup cross border match.'

I'd add a hyphen to make it 'cross-border match.' But it's a good write-up, I like it.