By Paul Jones
Wales wing Blair Murray gave Warren Gatland a pre-Six Nations nudge as he scored twice for the Scarlets in a 32-15 Welsh derby win over the Dragons at Parc Y Scarlets.
With two more tries from skipper Josh Macleod and fellow wing Ellis Mee it meant the Scarlets welcomed in the new year with a bonus-point to move up to sixth place in the BKT United Rugby Championship.
Murray had been sidelined with a hamstring injury that forced him to miss the best part of a month of action, but was back to the form that saw him picked for the Autumn Nations Series as he pounced twice in the first half to give the home side a 24-3 advantage.
@Scarlets_Rugby tame the Dragon
A masterclass performance to clinch the win!⚡#BKTURC #URC | #SCAvDRA pic.twitter.com/12hvVOTa7J
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) January 1, 2025
His first try came after Sam Costelow saw space on the right and involved some great interplay between Taine Plumtree, Tom Rogers and Johnny Williams before Gareth Davies put Murray through the final gap.
Costelow converted and then swapped penalties with his opposite number Angus O’Brien. Scottish international lock Alex Craig then paved the way for Murray to race in for his second try in the corner.
The Dragons had hoped to see Wales hooker Elliot Dee start for the first time this season, but he was a late drop out before kick-off. The visitors also lost their international back row man Aaron Wainwright with a head injury, but he was able to return.
Macleod added a third try on the half-hour mark when he broke from a driving maul and the bonus-point was wrapped up just after the break when Mee crossed.
️ DWAYNE PEEL
“Hapus gyda’r hanner cyntaf ond bach yn esgeulus yn yr ail hanner”
A happy Scarlets Head Coach after the bonus point win.@scarlets_rugby @dragonsrfc
https://t.co/zooIJgMjNR
English Commentary#BKTURC | #SCAvDRA | @S4CChwaraeon pic.twitter.com/FJlouTdd50— S4C Rygbi (@S4CRygbi) January 1, 2025
To their credit, the Dragons enjoyed their best period in the final quarter when they conjured up tries from Taine Basham and Huw Anderson, one of which O’Brien converted. Ioan Lloyd added a late penalty for the Scarlets.
“It was an important game for us in terms of picking up points because the league positions are so tight at the minute,” said Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel.
“Picking up the win was important for us because we’ve lost four games and across all of them there was only a four-point difference in the whole total. We played some good stuff, especially in the first 50 minutes, when we were clinical in what we did.”
“I am really proud of the effort in the second half, but I wouldn’t say that I was very proud of the first half.”
Dragons boss Tiatia fuming after the defeat at the Scarlets and admits they need to break bad habits quickly.
Post-match reaction:https://t.co/u3bA3NPVvn
— Argus on the Dragons (@argusondragons) January 1, 2025
Dragons head coach Filo Tiatia said: “I was disappointed in the first half, clearly we weren’t at the races. We were flat, had no energy both sides of the ball and we conceded soft tries.
“In the second half they were a different team, there is still learning around.
“It’s a short turnaround but you’ve just got to front up. If you’re going to wear the jersey as a group, you’ve got to fill it.
“What they’ve done in the past has been okay, but just how do we push forward to compete against really good teams, that’s where we’re at.”
