Scarlets edge six-try thriller
Edinburgh Rugby's hopes of a top-three finish took a dent this afternoon as Scarlets edged a six-try thriller at BT Murrayfield
Richard Cockerill's side went into the crucial Guinness PRO14 clash hoping to trim back the 11-point deficit separating them from the Welsh outfit, who sit third in Conference B.
However, with the Welsh side holding on for the decisive victory, the capital club will have work to be do - even with two games in hand - to catch up with Scarlets, who secured their first win at BT Murrayfield since 2013.
Tries from Magnus Bradbury, Darcy Graham and Dave Cherry left Edinburgh two points behind going into the final minutes of the game.
But their late charge faltered and Scarlets won out thanks to three scores from Tyler Morgan, Johnny McNicholl and Dane Blacker.
In the build-up to kick-off, Edinburgh were able to include Grant Gilchrist, Jaco Van Der Walt and Graham in their starting XV after they were released from the Scotland squad following the postponement of Sunday's clash with France.
But it was Scarlets' own indiscipline that handed Edinburgh the opener as the Scottish side made the most of two penalties inside the opening four minutes to drive to the tryline, with Bradbury barging over.
Delaney's team continued to get on the wrong side of referee Ben Blain as Dan Jones' penalty was quickly cancelled out by Van Der Walt.
But Scarlets got the benefit of the doubt from the TMO as Morgan burst through from Tom Prydie's suspiciously forward-looking offload to draw the scores level after 18 minutes as he dotted down under the posts.
Van Der Walt nudged Edinburgh back in front with a penalty, however Scarlets were quick to get back on the front foot after making the most of loose play from the capital side's back line.
Scarlets wasted no time punishing a wayward offload as they worked the ball all the way left for McNicholl who finished brilliantly in the corner on the half-hour mark.
Yet Edinburgh continued to play with the handbrake off and hit back after a madcap phase of play just two minutes before the break that saw possession swap back on fourth before Van Der Walt stepped past Steff Evans before slotting in Graham to make amends for his earlier mistake.
The hosts had smiles on their faces as they went down the tunnel leading 20-17 - but it did not take long for them to be wiped off by a rapid 10-point swing in Scarlets' favour.
The crazy action resumed just two minutes into the second period as Evans used his dribbling skills to boot a bouncing ball beyond Van Der Walt as he sprinted up field from halfway, with the supporting Blacker diving over the line for a score that was quickly followed up by another Jones penalty.
Edinburgh's top-three hopes were slipping away but they refused to give up without a fight. Cherry powered over from a line-out maul but Van Der Walt's missed conversion meant Scarlets retained a two-point lead with 20 minutes remaining.
The Scotland stand-off was again unlucky as his penalty attempt from almost halfway drifted wide but Edinburgh still had time to play with.
However, after 20 and more phases of action, Graham's late charge for the line came to nothing as Scarlets held firm for a vital win.
live commentary 12:00 PM Saturday 27 Feb 2021
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Edinburgh
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Chris Dean
23. Replacement13metres made
8MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Nathan Chamberlain
22. Replacement0metres made
0MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Charlie Shiel
21. Replacement24metres made
28MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
65COMPLETE PASSES
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Luke Crosbie
20. Replacement8metres made
30MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
4COMPLETE PASSES
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Andries Ferreira
19. Replacement0metres made
2MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Murray McCallum
18. Replacement2metres made
13MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Boan Venter
17. Replacement0metres made
0MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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David Cherry
16. Replacement12metres made
28MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
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Viliame Mata
8. Number 829metres made
61MINUTES PLAYED
5TACKLES MADE
6COMPLETE PASSES
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Ally Miller
7. Back-row9metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
11TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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Nick Haining
6. Back-row35metres made
69MINUTES PLAYED
5TACKLES MADE
7COMPLETE PASSES
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Grant Gilchrist
5. Second-row2metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
8COMPLETE PASSES
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Magnus Bradbury
4. Second-row22metres made
78MINUTES PLAYED
9TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Lee Roy Atalifo
3. Tighthead prop1metres made
67MINUTES PLAYED
5TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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Michael Willemse
2. Hooker3metres made
52MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Pierre Schoeman
1. Loosehead prop15metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
11TACKLES MADE
6COMPLETE PASSES
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Nic Groom
9. Scrum-half16metres made
52MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
57COMPLETE PASSES
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Jaco van der Walt
10. Stand-off53metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
26COMPLETE PASSES
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Eroni Sau
11. Wing25metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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George Taylor
12. Inside-centre25metres made
72MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
8COMPLETE PASSES
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James Johnstone
13. Outside-centre18metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
9COMPLETE PASSES
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Darcy Graham
14. Wing100metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
4COMPLETE PASSES
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Damien Hoyland
15. Full-back89metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
8COMPLETE PASSES
Scarlets
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Johnny McNicholl
15. Full-back54metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
10COMPLETE PASSES
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Tom Prydie
14. Wing38metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
7TACKLES MADE
4COMPLETE PASSES
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Tyler Morgan
13. Outside-centre31metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
5TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
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Steffan Hughes
12. Inside-centre23metres made
58MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
7COMPLETE PASSES
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Steff Evans
11. Wing24metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
5TACKLES MADE
6COMPLETE PASSES
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Dan Jones
10. Stand-off0metres made
67MINUTES PLAYED
5TACKLES MADE
22COMPLETE PASSES
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Dane Blacker
9. Scrum-half13metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
10TACKLES MADE
63COMPLETE PASSES
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Phil Price
1. Loosehead prop1metres made
68MINUTES PLAYED
13TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Marc Jones
2. Hooker0metres made
68MINUTES PLAYED
15TACKLES MADE
6COMPLETE PASSES
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Pieter Scholtz
3. Tighthead prop2metres made
69MINUTES PLAYED
10TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Morgan Jones
4. Second-row4metres made
35MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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Sam Lousi
5. Second-row10metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
19TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
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Uzair Cassiem
6. Back-row18metres made
67MINUTES PLAYED
9TACKLES MADE
8COMPLETE PASSES
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Jac Morgan
7. Back-row13metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
25TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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Sione Kalamafoni
8. Number 824metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
31TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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Taylor Davies
16. Replacement0metres made
12MINUTES PLAYED
12TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Kemsley Mathias
17. Replacement0metres made
12MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Alex Jeffries
18. Replacement0metres made
11MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Tevita Ratuva
19. Replacement3metres made
45MINUTES PLAYED
12TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
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Ed Kennedy
20. Replacement4metres made
13MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Will Homer
21. Replacement0metres made
0MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Angus O'Brien
22. Replacement0metres made
13MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Paul Asquith
23. Replacement0metres made
22MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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