With defence dominating and both sets of forwards ferociously contesting the contact area the first half was an evenly matched affair. Indeed a solitary 14th minute Jodie Evans penalty was all that separated the two teams at the interval.
The Scarlets couldn’t have wished for a better start to the second half. When the Dragons forwards failed to deal with the restart, blind side flanker Alisha Butchers pounced on the loose ball to secure possession for the reds. The ball was released by debutant scrum half Sophie Rees to outside half Hannah Jones who sliced through the Dragons defence. Jones then fed centre Elen Evans who sped towards the line, only to be brought down just short of the whitewash by an excellent cover tackle from winger Beth Dainton. However, thankfully for the Scarlets, Jones had followed up in support and was on hand to collect the ball and power over despite the attentions of the Dragons defenders.
The Scarlets began to dominate possession and territory, however were unable to break through the impressive Dragons defensive line led by Number 8 and captain Rachel Taylor, whose performance throughout the game was simply outstanding. Indeed, it took until the 76th minute for the Scarlets to finally secure the win.
Scarlets captain Sioned Harries turned the ball over at the ruck and once again the ball was spread wide. The three quarters linked well, creating the opportunity for Elen Evans to exploit a rare gap in the Dragons line. This time nothing was going to stop the speedy North Walian centre from recording her first try of the campaign as she raced away from the Dragons cover defence to score wide out. Jodie Evans just pushing the conversion wide of the upright.
To their credit, The Dragons refused to lie down and threw everything into attack in the final stages. It was the Scarlet’s turn to show resolution in defence to hold out the Ladies of Gwent, and following another Scarlets turnover, full back Dyddgu Hywel was able to clear the ball away to touch and draw the game to a conclusion.
Both Regions can take a lot of positives out of the games. The Scarlets, happy with the win, have a great base to build on in the defence of the regional crown. Whilst the Dragons can be assured that an opening victory is surely just around the corner based on their performance both in attack and defence.
Despite the low scoring, the game was a great advert for the women’s game and is a clear demonstration the progression and development that is occurring at regional level.
