The first half was a disaster. Within two minutes of kick off Tom May had been shown a yellow card. Exactly how warranted that was may be a matter of debate. Certainly he acted petulantly, throwing the ball in the face of the oppostion after the whistle had been blown, but with no warning and much worse being seen in matches (including later in this one) with no action then it could have been considered harsh. The Saints failed to take this warning to heart though and throughout the first half continues to upset the ref, even getting a penalty reversed against them at one point. And when playing the ref like that it becomes difficult to play the opposition. Rolland had a poor game all told though, giving many warnings, final warnings, final final warnings, and final final final warnings. He never really got the game under control and it all ended up very scrappy, not an enjoyable match to watch.
Tom May being sent off seemed to galvanise the team however, learning from earlier in the season, and they had the majority of the possession to begin with. This couldn't be converted in to points and, in almost a role reversal of last weeks match against the Quins, it was the Scarlets who managed to get the first points on the board during a rare passage of play in the Saints half. In fact Priestland was to get a second penalty shortly after and within the first quarter of an hour the Saints were trailing 6-0. A couple more penalties were exchanged and then the game broke open with Priestland giving a fine chip for his wing to collect and dot down for the try. The Saints were looking at risk of falling off this one and, with only one more penalty for Smyler before half time, it was clear that the game plan needed to be changed.
Don't make as many silly mistakes, don't annoy the ref, and use the scrum. Three basic rules that, when the Saints follow them, usually spell success. And five minutes after the restart, sure enough sticking to these rules saw Tiny slam the ball down over the try line. It had to go to the TMO but the try was awarded and the Saints looked like they might be finding the route back into the game. Some more penalties from Smyler and it was looking good for the Saints.
Then something happened. Exactly what is unclear. Was it the Scarlets bringing on Stephen Jones, was it them replacing their front row? Whatever it was, one moment the Saints were down on the Scarlets line looking confident of scoring and then the next, with eight minutes left, the Sacrlets upped the tempo and sddenly the Saints were on the back foot again. The Scarlets were down camped right on the Saints line and they weren't going to let up their position. However the Saints weren't going to let their defence down either. Time after time the Scarlets came for the line, time after time the Saints repelled them. Massive tackles from Samu and Easy, Fodes everywhere on the pitch making those try saving tackles. It was intense. And gradually the Scarlets got more an more frustrated.
Smyler got Man of the Match. While some of his tactical play in the first half may not have been perfect, a 100% success from the kicking tee was a great result and he deserved the accolade.
Match Details
- Half Time 14-6
- Attendance 9,869
- Referee Alain Rolland
- MoM Smyler
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