Scarlets pull off shock win, whilst Ospreys lose in Limerick
It was Ireland versus Wales in the Pro 12 semi finals; tough assignments awaited both the Scarlets and the Ospreys, as they traveled across the Irish Sea to face Leinster and Munster.
Leinster v Scarlets, RDS, Dublin
The weekend's games kicked off in Dublin on Friday night, as the Scarlets were bidding to become the first side to win an away Pro 12 semi final. It was a tall order for the men from Llanelli, against a Leinster side bang in form and boasting many British & Irish Lions, and they wouldn't have been helped by injures to their key players Jake Ball and Ken Owens.
Things started ominously for the Scarlets, as Leinster began to string dangerous phases of play together in the opening exchanges. Yet there's a reason Wayne Privac's men have made it to the knock out phases, and this was personified by winger Steff Evans - he was the heartbeat of everything the Scarlets did in the first half. It was fitting that he touched down for the first score, after clever hands from Scott Williams and Jonathan Davies had put the flying winger into space down the left hand touch line.
Despite suffering an early set back, Leinster responded with a try of their own, after a slick backs move saw exciting young centre Garry Ringrose crash over the line and put his side back in front. The Scarlets however were clearly in no mood to read the script, scoring two brilliantly-worked tries from Aaron Shingler and Gareth Davies; the lines of running and offloading from the West Walians was a sight to behold.
Just as the Scarlets were about to take an unexpected 21-10 lead into half time, disaster struck as lively Evans was red carded for a dangerous tackle. By no means was there any malicious intent from the young winger, but it was a red nonetheless in the eyes of the law.
A killer blow for the Scarlets as they faced a second half away from home with only 14 men - many would have expected Leinster to make the extra man pay, and power home to victory. The Scarlets' coaches responded by moving flanker James Davies to the wing and sacrificed a man in the pack. The Davies brothers were superb throughout; James tackled anything that moved and won crucial turnovers, his Sevens' experience meant he didn't look out of place in the backline.
The travelling supporters might also have questioned why the coaches removed half back pairing Gareth Davies and Rhys Patchell, who were both having strong games. It proved to be a master stroke as Hadleigh Parkes and Jonathan Evans controlled proceedings by executing a clever kicking game, keeping Leinster pinned back.
Jack Conan drove over from close range to claw a try back for Leinster, but Isa Nacewa hit the posts in what was a simple conversion. Why Johnny Sexton wasn't kicking for goal was a mystery, but the Lions number 10 was largely anonymous throughout the game - certainly a concern for Warren Gatland!
The Scarlets continued to dig in through the talismanic Tadhg Beirne, and were able to force two crucial late penalties both of which were converted by Liam Williams, who had a quiet game by his standards.
That was the last straw for the home supporters, who began to leave in their droves before the final whistle had been blown. The Scarlets had pulled off a memorable victory and ensured they will be spending another weekend in the Irish capital.
Munster v Ospreys, Thomond Park, Limerick
With one Welsh region booking their place in next week's final, it was the turn of the Ospreys on Saturday evening, as they traveled to Limerick to face Munster. The visiting side were dealt a blow before a ball was even kicked, as Rhys Webb had to pull out with a groin strain and was replaced by Brendon Leonard.
The Ospreys started brightly, enjoying the lions share of possession in the opening twenty minutes. However, they only had one Dan Biggar penalty to show for their efforts, despite making many inroads into the Munster 22.
Munster on the other hand were far more ruthless when advancing into the Ospreys half, and recorded the first try of the game through Kiwi centre Francis Saili. That was about as exciting as it got for the supporters inside Thomond Park, as it ended 8-3 at the interval.
The second half started on a similar note, with the Ospreys again working well through the phases to find themselves in the Munster 22. But it was a similar result, as they either spilled the ball or were just not clinical enough in their finishing; a typical example being Ashley Beck's wayward pass which failed to find winger Tom Habberfield in a try scoring position.
Despite the Ospreys' misfailings, the game still sat finely in the balance at sixty minutes - the score unchanged at 8-3. Then came the turning point, as the Ospreys absorbed wave after wave of Munster attacks; the men from Swansea forced a turnover, and Justin Tipuric booted the ball upfield with the electric Keelan Giles in hot pursuit. With the ball now deep in the Munster half, it looked like the Ospreys would capitalise. But with the spirit of the late Anthony Foley running through the red shirts, Saili began a flowing counter-attack move from deep in the Munster half, as he linked up with Keith Earls who eventually found Simon Zebo on his shoulder to finish off a fantastic end-to-end score. The game had finally come to life, and it was Munster who had seized the moment by moving into a 15-3 lead.
As fly half Tyler Bleyendaal added a further penalty, the game was now turning the way of the Irishmen. The Ospreys responded through an outrageous 'chip and chase' effort from replacement hooker Scott Otten. Yet celebrations were short lived as Habberfield, who had moved from the wing to scrum half, knocked-on in the lead up and frustratingly the try was ruled out by the TMO - it felt like the Ospreys' last chance.
The Munster win was confirmed shortly afterwards as Andrew Conway squeezed over in the corner from a five metre scrum. But the Ospreys still rallied and almost grabbed a last minute consolation try, but Giles' foot had just brushed the touchline in the act of scoring.
It's been an up an down season for the Liberty Stadium outfit; at times they've played some entertaining rugby, but their form over recent months suggested a Munster win was always going to be on the cards. They certainly missed the attacking edge that Rhys Webb gives them around the fringes, and if they had been more clinical in those attacking positions, they could have set up an all-Welsh final.
As it turned out, Munster deserved their victory and will march on to face the Scarlets at the Aviva stadium on Saturday evening - it promises to be a great encounter. With the momentum and confidence the Scarlets will have gained from turning over Leinster in their own back yard with just 14 men, and the attacking brand of rugby they've been playing all season, I'm backing them to bring the title back to West Wales.
Leinster v Scarlets, RDS, Dublin
The weekend's games kicked off in Dublin on Friday night, as the Scarlets were bidding to become the first side to win an away Pro 12 semi final. It was a tall order for the men from Llanelli, against a Leinster side bang in form and boasting many British & Irish Lions, and they wouldn't have been helped by injures to their key players Jake Ball and Ken Owens.
Things started ominously for the Scarlets, as Leinster began to string dangerous phases of play together in the opening exchanges. Yet there's a reason Wayne Privac's men have made it to the knock out phases, and this was personified by winger Steff Evans - he was the heartbeat of everything the Scarlets did in the first half. It was fitting that he touched down for the first score, after clever hands from Scott Williams and Jonathan Davies had put the flying winger into space down the left hand touch line.
Despite suffering an early set back, Leinster responded with a try of their own, after a slick backs move saw exciting young centre Garry Ringrose crash over the line and put his side back in front. The Scarlets however were clearly in no mood to read the script, scoring two brilliantly-worked tries from Aaron Shingler and Gareth Davies; the lines of running and offloading from the West Walians was a sight to behold.
Just as the Scarlets were about to take an unexpected 21-10 lead into half time, disaster struck as lively Evans was red carded for a dangerous tackle. By no means was there any malicious intent from the young winger, but it was a red nonetheless in the eyes of the law.
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| Steff Evans sees red |
A killer blow for the Scarlets as they faced a second half away from home with only 14 men - many would have expected Leinster to make the extra man pay, and power home to victory. The Scarlets' coaches responded by moving flanker James Davies to the wing and sacrificed a man in the pack. The Davies brothers were superb throughout; James tackled anything that moved and won crucial turnovers, his Sevens' experience meant he didn't look out of place in the backline.
The travelling supporters might also have questioned why the coaches removed half back pairing Gareth Davies and Rhys Patchell, who were both having strong games. It proved to be a master stroke as Hadleigh Parkes and Jonathan Evans controlled proceedings by executing a clever kicking game, keeping Leinster pinned back.
Jack Conan drove over from close range to claw a try back for Leinster, but Isa Nacewa hit the posts in what was a simple conversion. Why Johnny Sexton wasn't kicking for goal was a mystery, but the Lions number 10 was largely anonymous throughout the game - certainly a concern for Warren Gatland!
The Scarlets continued to dig in through the talismanic Tadhg Beirne, and were able to force two crucial late penalties both of which were converted by Liam Williams, who had a quiet game by his standards.
That was the last straw for the home supporters, who began to leave in their droves before the final whistle had been blown. The Scarlets had pulled off a memorable victory and ensured they will be spending another weekend in the Irish capital.
Munster v Ospreys, Thomond Park, Limerick
With one Welsh region booking their place in next week's final, it was the turn of the Ospreys on Saturday evening, as they traveled to Limerick to face Munster. The visiting side were dealt a blow before a ball was even kicked, as Rhys Webb had to pull out with a groin strain and was replaced by Brendon Leonard.
The Ospreys started brightly, enjoying the lions share of possession in the opening twenty minutes. However, they only had one Dan Biggar penalty to show for their efforts, despite making many inroads into the Munster 22.
Munster on the other hand were far more ruthless when advancing into the Ospreys half, and recorded the first try of the game through Kiwi centre Francis Saili. That was about as exciting as it got for the supporters inside Thomond Park, as it ended 8-3 at the interval.
The second half started on a similar note, with the Ospreys again working well through the phases to find themselves in the Munster 22. But it was a similar result, as they either spilled the ball or were just not clinical enough in their finishing; a typical example being Ashley Beck's wayward pass which failed to find winger Tom Habberfield in a try scoring position.
Despite the Ospreys' misfailings, the game still sat finely in the balance at sixty minutes - the score unchanged at 8-3. Then came the turning point, as the Ospreys absorbed wave after wave of Munster attacks; the men from Swansea forced a turnover, and Justin Tipuric booted the ball upfield with the electric Keelan Giles in hot pursuit. With the ball now deep in the Munster half, it looked like the Ospreys would capitalise. But with the spirit of the late Anthony Foley running through the red shirts, Saili began a flowing counter-attack move from deep in the Munster half, as he linked up with Keith Earls who eventually found Simon Zebo on his shoulder to finish off a fantastic end-to-end score. The game had finally come to life, and it was Munster who had seized the moment by moving into a 15-3 lead.
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| Zebo finishes off a superb length of the field score |
As fly half Tyler Bleyendaal added a further penalty, the game was now turning the way of the Irishmen. The Ospreys responded through an outrageous 'chip and chase' effort from replacement hooker Scott Otten. Yet celebrations were short lived as Habberfield, who had moved from the wing to scrum half, knocked-on in the lead up and frustratingly the try was ruled out by the TMO - it felt like the Ospreys' last chance.
The Munster win was confirmed shortly afterwards as Andrew Conway squeezed over in the corner from a five metre scrum. But the Ospreys still rallied and almost grabbed a last minute consolation try, but Giles' foot had just brushed the touchline in the act of scoring.
It's been an up an down season for the Liberty Stadium outfit; at times they've played some entertaining rugby, but their form over recent months suggested a Munster win was always going to be on the cards. They certainly missed the attacking edge that Rhys Webb gives them around the fringes, and if they had been more clinical in those attacking positions, they could have set up an all-Welsh final.
As it turned out, Munster deserved their victory and will march on to face the Scarlets at the Aviva stadium on Saturday evening - it promises to be a great encounter. With the momentum and confidence the Scarlets will have gained from turning over Leinster in their own back yard with just 14 men, and the attacking brand of rugby they've been playing all season, I'm backing them to bring the title back to West Wales.
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