A second half comeback from Connacht in Llanelli saw Pat Lam’s men score four impressive tries in 25 minutes to secure their fourth try-scoring bonus point in as many games.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: SCARLETS 32 CONNACHT 30
Despite the strong response from the westerners, the Scarlets held on for the 32-30 victory to stay in contention for a possible top four finish in the RaboDirect PRO12.
The hosts’ second-minute try caught Connacht off guard as Simon Easterby’s charges made the most of a quickly-taken penalty just inside their half.
A looping pass over the head of Dan Parks released the Scarlets outside backs on the left and Lions centre Jonathan Davies cruised in for the early score which was converted by fellow Wales international Rhys Priestland.
Soon after, the Scarlets were penalised for offside and Connacht out-half Parks cut the margin to just four points with his first kick at goal.
Priestland, who was inconsistent from the kicking tee, sent the next penalty kick wide of the posts on 15 minutes.
Winger Fionn Carr then intercepted a Scarlets pass and managed to make some yards downfield before the hosts had time to scramble back.
Parks saw an opportunity to kick cross-field and it could have resulted in a score, but the ball found touch before winger Tiernan O’Halloran could get to it.
But Parks made it a one-point game when Denis Buckley was shoved in the back off-the-ball. The league’s highest points scorer split the posts to make it 7-6.
Two minutes later, Priestland replied with a penalty goal after Connacht were penalised by referee Neil Paterson for holding on.
Not long after, the Scarlets forced a penalty from the scrum but their out-half hit the woodwork. He made up for it with a three-pointer to make it 13-6 for the break.
Connacht had a chance late on in the opening half and started to really threaten with ball in hand. Carrying it out of the 22, Carr showed his pace on the wing but could not catch up with his chip forward.
Priestland saw another of his penalty attempts hit the post on 44 minutes but he was on target when converting his half back partner’s try five minutes later. Picking up the ball from the back of a scrum, Gareth Davies went over under the posts for his ninth try of the league campaign.
Connacht, who had won their last four matches, were left stunned when the Scarlets followed it up with another score three minutes later.
Scrambling back to defend under pressure in their own 22, winger Kristian Phillips was fed the ball and made a break to the halfway line where he offloaded to flanker Josh Turnbull to finish off a tremendous breakaway try. Priestland missed the conversion.
Connacht hit back immediately with a try from scrum half Kieran Marmion, the province’s top try scorer of the current season.
He showed his quick thinking to take a tap and go and squeeze in over the line from five metres out for his third try in four league outings.
Parks’ last kick at the posts before being replaced was wide and the scoreline read 25-11 with 20 minutes remaining.
Replacement out-half Miah Nikora made an immediate impact after coming on, pinning the opposition back with a penalty kicked to the corner.
The Connacht forwards hammered the line but the Scarlets defence held them out. The ball went out wide to a patient Darragh Leader who ran past three defenders to score. However, the last tackle had forced his foot into touch, denying the visitors the try.
Connacht kept up the pressure though, with the likes of centre David McSharry and lock Aly Muldowney putting in huge amount of work.
The province turned over Scarlets ball following a long lineout throw, allowing Nikora to send a beautiful chip towards the corner for the onrushing Carr to catch and dot down. The left-footed kicker knocked over the difficult conversion to cut the deficit to just seven points – 25-18.
Three minutes later, impressive Ireland international Robbie Henshaw finished off a fantastic team try.
Michael Swift, on his 178th league appearance, was put into space on the right by a pinpoint Eoin Griffin pass and the veteran second row shipped the ball on for Henshaw who used his strength to crash over past Jonathan Davies in the corner.
Nikora had an opportunity to draw Connacht level from the touchline conversion, but his kick drifted below the crossbar and hit the left hand upright.
With three minutes left on the clock, the Scarlets fought their way back into the Connacht 22 and recycled the ball well to allow replacement back Gareth Maule stretch over for his side’s vital bonus-point try. Priestland added the conversion to bring his personal tally to 12 points.
However, Connacht never gave up and showed their resilience right to the end.
Brilliant work by full-back Henshaw, who handed off two Scarlets defenders, allowed him to pass to Galway man Eoin McKeon who rounded in from the right to secure Connacht’s fourth successive try-scoring bonus point and a deserved losing bonus point.
Nikora converted the injury-time try but Connacht’s thrilling comeback bid fell just short as the home side secured maximum points on a sunny afternoon at Parc y Scarlets.
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