It was just as well that Wales coach Steve Hansen wasn’t at Stradey Park because he would have seen his Six Nations hopes take a few more dents.
Hansen had hoped that none of his squad members would play this week ahead of their championship opener in Rome next week, but no fewer than 15 of his 31 strong group preparing to meet Italy were at each others throats in this Welsh Premiership encounter.
With seven players already ruled out of contention through injury, Hansen won;t be happy to learn this morning that Jamie Robinson, Martyn Madden and Stephen Jones were hurt. Cardiff centre Robinson was first to limp out of the fray after only five minutes after taking a heavy tackle on his right leg.
Llanelli prop Madden was the next on the casualty list with a shoulder problem and his team mate Jones went off late in the game clutching his wrist.
What would have cheered Hansen was the fact Rhys Williams scored two scorching for the combative Cardiff side and Llanelli speedster Mark Jones winged in for two tries of his own.
Llanelli should have won by an avalanche, but Cardiff’s dogged tackling, allied to a host of handling errors, kept the gap to a reasonable level.
Scorers: Llanelli: Tries: M Jones 2, D Jones, S Quinnell, L Davies; Cons: G Bowen; Pens: S Jones 3; DG: S Jones.
Cardiff: Tries: R Williams 2; Cons: I Harris 2; Pens: I Harris 4.
