In a bruising encounter, Scarlets extend their unbeaten run at home to six games to triumph over their Scottish counterparts in Llanelli.
South African hooker Manus van der Merwe’s try and Ioan Lloyd’s boot had given the hosts a healthy lead before Edinburgh hit back through lock Sam Skinner and hooker Patrick Harrison to make it a one-point game at the break.
Skipper Josh Macloed and wing Ioan Nicholas crossed for the hosts after the break, before late tries from fly-half Ben Healy and replacement Harri Morris set up a grandstand finish as the Scots threatened a comeback.
Peel’s side, however, held on to their slender lead before Lloyd kicked an 80th minute penalty to secure victory for the hosts.
Scarlets remain sixth in the United Rugby Championship table, while Edinburgh drop a place to ninth.
“I’m delighted with the win obviously, that was an important game for us in many respects. I’m happy and relieved that we got over the line,” said Peel after the match.
“We knew Edinburgh were going to come here and give it everything they got and for a large part of the game, we were good for the win.
“I’m pleased for the boys because we put a lot of hard work in.
“I think we’ve been involved in a lot of tussles like that, and we’ve come out at times on the wrong end of it.
“Fair play to Edinburgh, we were pretty good for our 13-point lead early, but we just went off the boil a bit [and they came back].
“The yellow card didn’t help us, but I thought we managed the game fairly well, had a lot of territory and kept them out.
“I think we still have a way to go yet with our game. I don’t think we were accurate enough with the ball to put them under pressure enough.
“I am happy with the win of course and now we have a bit of a break before we go to Limerick [to face Munster] in a couple of weeks, which will be another tough one.
“We want to stay in there [in the top eight], it is a big focus for us. We have a couple of tough games on the road now which is exciting in itself. We then have two big games against Stormers and Ospreys back-to-back.
“The league is so tight, so a win or two could be the difference between dropping out or staying in the play-offs.”
[Lead image: Scarlets Rugby]
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