SCARLETS: ‘I couldn’t fault the fight’: Davies says the maul and key moments are costing the Scarlets

Nigel Davies says the Scarlets cannot be faulted for effort, but the same key moments are costing them after the 38-26 derby defeat by the Dragons at Rodney Parade.

The director of rugby said: “I thought our fight was excellent, we are seeing lots of good bits, but there are key moments we are getting wrong, moments that are swinging the game.”

It echoes his verdict a week earlier, when he said there were “five or six moments which we got wrong” in the opening defeat by Cardiff.

The five-metre maul again

Top of the list was the driving maul. Cardiff scored all three of their tries from line-outs at Parc y Scarlets, and Elliot Dee’s first try in Newport came at the back of a drive.

Davies gave the Dragons their due: “Both sides had those moments; in fairness to Dragons, they probably had more than us. We suffered again around the five-metre maul, first of all giving them entry and secondly not being able to deal with it.”

He said the fix starts further up the pitch. “We need to make sure we get better territory, that we don’t give sides easy ins and when they do get in, we are able to defend it.”

‘Three or four other big moments’

He said there were “probably three or four other big moments in that game which turned things”, and the first came straight after half-time.

The Scarlets failed to take the second-half kick-off, he said, and the Dragons went on to score.

Another came in attack. “We lost the ball sloppily when we were attacking and that led to Josh’s yellow,” he said.

Captain Josh Macleod was sin-binned for a professional foul after a Dragons break, and Davies said the moments “added up eventually to a yellow card and we were under pressure in the last 20 minutes”.

‘The more we get players like him on the ball’

There was enough in attack to encourage him, and he singled out wing Macs Page, who scored both of the Scarlets’ first-half tries.

He said: “We gave ourselves opportunities, and when we created the environment that we wanted to play in, we looked dangerous. We have quality players; you could see that with what Macs did out there.”

He added that Page was the template: “The more we get players like him on the ball, the more dangerous we will be as a team.”

He came back to the effort he had seen: “I couldn’t fault the fight. We were in the battle throughout and have been in the battle for both games.”

Davies admitted it was frustrating. “We are a side that is progressing, but, as I said, there are moments in the game that are hurting us at the moment,” he said.

Pivac reunion as Plumtree and Anderson near returns

The Scarlets host Benetton at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday, kick-off 5.30pm, in a reunion with former head coach Wayne Pivac, whose side are also still looking for their first win.

Davies said: “It is very important. All points are crucial, and that’s why we’re into a massive game next week.”

He believes his side are close. “It is a huge game, and we are not a million miles away,” he said.

Help is on the way in the back row, with Taine Plumtree and Fletcher Anderson closing in on returns.

Davies said: “The players out there are giving everything, and we have some quality coming back into the selection debate over the next couple of weeks, players like Fletch and Taine who would bring a level of ability to any team. It will be nice to get them back and have them as options.”