Scarlets Win Cup Final Dress Rehearsal

LLANELLI 26, PONTYPRIDD 20
The treble is still on for the Scarlets after two tries from hooker Marcus Thomas helped them overcome an interval deficit at Stradey Park and strike a psychological blow over Principality Cup final rivals Pontypridd.
Victory took Llanelli back to the top of the Welsh/Scottish League – Newport meet Neath on Wednesday night and have two games in hand in second place – and next week the Scarlets face Leicester in the semi-final of the Heineken Cup.
Two tries by Ponty centre Sonny Parker pushed the visitors into a 14-3 lead midway through the first-half at Stradey, but by the break the home side had clawed their way back to within a point.
The first of Thomas’ tries triggered the revival, although he was at the centre of another dismal line-out performance from the Scarlets.
Parker failed to appear for the second half because of a leg injury and the Ponty cause wasn’t helped when prop Gethin Jenkins spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin. While he was on the touchline, Thomas grabbed his second try to put the Scarlets into the lead.
Gareth Bowen added the conversion, but two penalties from Brett Davey hauled Ponty back into contention. The hero of the cup semi-final victory over Cardiff last weekend, Davey could have levelled matters with another penalty, but missed the target.
That allowed Bowen to round off proceedings with his fourth penalty of the night to clinch victory.
SCORERS
Llanelli: Tries: Marcus Thomas 2; Cons: Gareth Bowen 2; Pens: Gareth Bowen 4.
Pontypridd: Tries: Sonny Parker 2; Cons: Brett Davey 2; Pens: Brett Davey 2.