Nick Macleod kicked off the Blues last match at Stradey Park, but it was the Scarlets who threatened early on when they broke from their own twenty two all the way to the Blues half. It took a superb tackle from Gareth Thomas to stop the move and a good kick by Ben Blair to clear the danger.
The Blues then struck when Richie Rees took a quick penalty and superb hands by Rush and Gareth Thomas saw Jamie Roberts touch down in the corner. Blair stuck the ball straight for the conversion.
The Scarlets hit back with a quick tap penalty of their own and some slack tackling saw them work the ball down the right and Iestyn Thomas just managed to touch down over the line. Jones was wide with the conversion.
The Blues reacted to the score and seemed to work an overlap on the left but just as it appeared they had a two-on-one, the ball was knocked forward from a Scarlet hand and the Blues were awarded a scrum. The Blues kicked for territory and a mall saw them push to within a yard of the try line. Scott Morgan picked up from the base of the ruck and squeezed over for their second try of the night. Blair again added the conversion.
As with the Blues first try, the Scarlets soon struck back. Again, weak defence on the right saw Gavin Evans cut through some lacklustre tackling to touch down. This time Jones was accurate with the boot to bring the score to 12-14.
Adam Eustace was awarded a yellow card for persistent infringement and Blair was again accurate with the boot. However, the Blues were harshly awarded a lineout against them on the twenty two when it was deemed that Rush cleared after stepping over the line. The Scarlets eventually benefited from the field position with a penalty that Jones converted to narrow the gap to two points.
Half time Llanelli Scarlets 15 Cardiff Blues 17
The Blues didnt start the second half well, failing to hold on to passes in good attacking positions. They did manage to work an attack from deep and looked threatening, but were turned over. Nathan Brew popped up with the ball and looked as if he had a clear run in from 70 yards, but Molitika showed his pace catching the winger before the Scarlets move broke down. However, they were awarded a penalty and this time Jones was accurate.
Spice and Flanagan came on for Rees and Macleod with the Blues a point behind in the 55th minute. A crunching tackle on Blair saw the ball spilled and fell into the hands of Peel, who sprinted in for a try and then converted by Jones to extend the Scarlets lead.
The Blues did fight back and threatened again with powerful runs from Rush, Filise and Thomas, working their way to within 10yards of the try line. They patiently worked the pick and go moves but were eventually turned over and the Scarlets cleared up field.
Time was running out for the Blues and they were dealt a further blow when Jones kicked another penalty. The Scarlets secured the bonus point as they moved the ball out and Dafydd James popped up in midfield and sprinted 40 metres to touch down. Jones again added the conversion. The Scarlets move to second place in the Magners League and the Blues slip to fourth.
15 Ben Blair 14 Jamie Roberts 13 Jamie Robinson 12 Gareth Thomas 11 Tal Selley (76off) 10 Nick Macleod (55off) 9 Richie Rees (55off) 8 Xavier Rush (c) 7 Robin Sowden Taylor (51off) 6 Maama Molitika (73off) 5 Scott Morgan 4 Deiniol Jones 3 Gary Powell (63off) 2 T Rhys Thomas (63off) 1 John Yapp -16 Taufao Filise (63on) 17 Gareth Williams (63on) 18 Mark Lewis (73on) 19 Ben White (51on) 20 Jason Spice (55on) 21 Dai Flanagan (55on) 22 Marc Stcherbina (76on)
8,445
SCORERS:
CARDIFF BLUES LLANELLI SCARLETS
TRIES J Roberts x 1 I Thomas x 1
S Morgan x 1 G Evans x 1
D Peel x 1
D James x 1
PENALTIES B Blair x 1 S Jones x 3
CONVERSIONS B Blair x 2 S Jones x 3
DROP GOALS