Leinster v Scarlets

:00:23. > :00:30.We are six rounds into the Pro12 and for the table topping Scarlets, it

:00:31. > :00:38.has been a case of the perfect six. What a start for the Scarlets.

:00:39. > :00:45.Hadleigh Parks is away. And that is two out of two for the Scarlets.

:00:46. > :00:53.This is Davies, to take the Scarlets to the top of the Pro12. And it is a

:00:54. > :01:04.running from Van der Merwe from his own 22. It is struggling but it has

:01:05. > :01:13.got there. The Scarlets have done more than enough. They have six wins

:01:14. > :01:17.out of six. Round seven serves up a different challenge. Am away trip to

:01:18. > :01:26.Dublin where the four times champions lie in wait. Yes, the big

:01:27. > :01:30.guns are bad and there is a certain Johnny Sexton waiting on the bench

:01:31. > :01:33.as well. Leinster have just crept into the play-off places for the

:01:34. > :01:36.first time this season following their bonus point win over Treviso

:01:37. > :01:42.last week. The Scarlets have already beaten them this campaign, back in

:01:43. > :01:47.round four. Van der Merwe scored two tries on his debut. If they winter

:01:48. > :01:50.night, they will chalk up their third consecutive victory over the

:01:51. > :01:55.Irish province. Yes, good evening and welcome to the programme on a

:01:56. > :02:00.massive night for the Scarlets as they go in search of seven wins from

:02:01. > :02:04.seven. Shane Williams and Robert Jones are here to provide the expert

:02:05. > :02:08.analysis. We have followed the Scarlets with real interest so far

:02:09. > :02:12.this season. Europe is a week away. How vital is it that they continue

:02:13. > :02:18.their winning ways quite a mark they have certainly been the form side in

:02:19. > :02:23.the Pro12 at the moment. If you look at the selection, may be Wayne Pivac

:02:24. > :02:27.is looking a little better the European competition in app however

:02:28. > :02:33.they are still a good side and they said that has its work cut out

:02:34. > :02:36.against a new 15 four Leinster. There are some very strong

:02:37. > :02:39.international players in there. But with the confidence they are playing

:02:40. > :02:44.with at the moment, why can't they go there and win? They are playing

:02:45. > :02:49.with confidence and fluency at the moment. They had beaten Leinster

:02:50. > :02:53.already, as we mentioned, in round four. Will that result have any

:02:54. > :02:58.bearing on tonight 's game? Not a huge amount. It is a very happy

:02:59. > :03:00.camper, they have momentum and a huge amount of confidence and they

:03:01. > :03:05.believe that what they are doing is right moving forward. But this is a

:03:06. > :03:09.difficult place to go and I think most people would not expect them to

:03:10. > :03:12.come away with a victory but that takes a little pressure off and they

:03:13. > :03:16.can go there and relax a little and tried to continue to play the way

:03:17. > :03:19.they have done and get some momentum and it is an opportunity for these

:03:20. > :03:23.young guys to go and prove themselves against the very best. It

:03:24. > :03:28.is a tough place to go. Just one defeat in the last 13 four Leinster

:03:29. > :03:33.there. Let's have a look at the team. 15 changes from the side that

:03:34. > :03:41.beat Treviso. A very strong looking pack. Seven foot tall Devin Toner

:03:42. > :03:45.will try and shore up what has been a creaky Leinster line out so far.

:03:46. > :03:53.And that is a pretty formidable looking back row. Jonny Sexton may

:03:54. > :03:57.be on the bench, as we have said, but they can still boast an all

:03:58. > :04:01.international halfback pairing of Isaac Boss and Ian Madigan. Garry

:04:02. > :04:06.Ringrose gets his first start in the centre. Andy Buckley looks pretty

:04:07. > :04:14.tasty, with rookie Cian Kelleher making his debut alongside the

:04:15. > :04:19.vastly its period Rob Kearney. There is strength in depth, a very strong

:04:20. > :04:24.15 and the luxury of Ben Te'o and Jonny Sexton on the bench. That is

:04:25. > :04:27.great when you are coaching a team like that with such stars in your

:04:28. > :04:34.midst. You can change the whole 15, as they have, and they still have

:04:35. > :04:40.some amazing players to come back in as well. It is an absolute luxury

:04:41. > :04:49.and you can see the Leinster mean business tonight. It is a hell of a

:04:50. > :04:55.back row. And they mean business. It is a lovely luxury to have. It is an

:04:56. > :04:58.all international back row. A very strong Leinster. Let's have a look

:04:59. > :05:07.at the Scarlets. A bit of a mix and match selection. Ken Owens makes way

:05:08. > :05:12.for Emyr Phillips. Jake Ball and Lewis Rawlins continue in the second

:05:13. > :05:17.row. The back row remains unchanged. James Davies run of the match for

:05:18. > :05:21.two weeks running. -- man of the match. Behind the scrum, Gareth

:05:22. > :05:29.Davies makes his first started since the World Cup. Steven Shingler is

:05:30. > :05:35.injured. Regan King has been rested. Hadleigh Parks moves to inside

:05:36. > :05:48.centre. Michael Tagicakibau is in the back three. He is a bit of a

:05:49. > :05:53.trace coring machine in a Welsh jersey. It is more than that. I

:05:54. > :05:58.think he developed as a player. A lot more maturity in the way he was

:05:59. > :06:02.controlling games, alongside a very confident Dan Biggar. That will be

:06:03. > :06:06.key today. He is alongside a young outside half and he has two sort of

:06:07. > :06:11.nurse him along as much as he can. If he's going to be the catalyst to

:06:12. > :06:15.success for the Scarlets, which he is capable of being, it is is

:06:16. > :06:20.all-round game that will be vital. He showed signs during the World Cup

:06:21. > :06:24.that he is developing that nicely. James Davies has been a catalyst. He

:06:25. > :06:28.has been told he is too small to play international rugby. He has

:06:29. > :06:33.been fantastic over the last couple of weeks and he is up against a real

:06:34. > :06:36.test in Sean O'Brien tonight. He has been doing the business week in week

:06:37. > :06:43.out for the Scarlets. He was phenomenal last season. He was not

:06:44. > :06:46.selected in the squad but he has still the confidence to play like he

:06:47. > :06:50.has this season. He's only going to get better. He is a young manatee is

:06:51. > :06:55.playing out of his skin at the moment. He will need a big game

:06:56. > :06:59.against a massive back row tonight. You will have heard the blast of the

:07:00. > :07:06.referee 's whistle. We can cross over to our commentary team.

:07:07. > :07:13.Thank you very much. And another Schroer Brust of the whistle to

:07:14. > :07:17.indicate the first penalty of the evening with less than 30 seconds on

:07:18. > :07:21.the clock -- shrill blast. I wonder if they fancy a long-range shot at

:07:22. > :07:29.goal. It is a beautiful, balmy evening in Dublin. Conditions are

:07:30. > :07:34.perfect but Dan Jones decides to go for the corner and try and set up a

:07:35. > :07:39.line-out inside the 22. It is absolutely perfect for playing rugby

:07:40. > :07:42.tonight. Absolutely. There was a bit of a wind during the day but that

:07:43. > :07:48.has died away. You could not have it more perfect than it is now. It is

:07:49. > :07:53.always the way it is in Dublin. It is teeing up to be an absolute

:07:54. > :07:58.cracking game. Leinster with all the changes, all the World Cup stars

:07:59. > :08:03.coming back. The Scarlets said are full of confidence. One of the most

:08:04. > :08:06.confident there, James Davies, with ball in hand, now releases to Gareth

:08:07. > :08:13.Davies, back from his Rugby World Cup exploit and Michael Tagicakibau

:08:14. > :08:19.out in from the left wing. The Scarlets mix it up between forwards

:08:20. > :08:26.and backs. The ball recycled to John Barclay. Captain this evening, as is

:08:27. > :08:31.his opposite number, Jamie Heaslip. Jake Ball with the carry. The

:08:32. > :08:36.Scarlets have a very enterprising start up to within six or seven

:08:37. > :08:41.metres of the Leinster try line. Slowed down and turned over.

:08:42. > :08:44.Textbook work by James Tracy, who is starting his first game in Leinster

:08:45. > :08:52.colours, the hooker. He did extremely well there. He really is.

:08:53. > :08:55.A great talent coming through. Getting his first start. But is one

:08:56. > :08:58.of the things the Scarlets have done all season so far, the six games,

:08:59. > :09:04.retain possession. Leinster will really be targeting that to be

:09:05. > :09:10.something where they can disrupt the Scarlets.

:09:11. > :09:17.And there was the hooker over the ball. The Scarlets could not recite

:09:18. > :09:23.it might occasion. The touch judge has seen something as well. He

:09:24. > :09:33.called Leighton Hodges over. In fact, they are going to go for the

:09:34. > :09:37.TMO. It is a Scarlets player with a Grabban they retaliation from one of

:09:38. > :09:45.the Leinster players with a possible punch or a swing. Let's see what

:09:46. > :09:52.Seamus Flannery makes of it. It'll interesting to see what we see. When

:09:53. > :10:04.they find the appropriate bit of video. The crowd are getting

:10:05. > :10:07.restless because there is a big screen in the right-hand corner,

:10:08. > :10:19.where everybody is looking, but all they are seeing is what they are

:10:20. > :10:32.seeing in front of you. I just don't think he has it the right item. The

:10:33. > :10:44.touch judges fairly convinced he saw something.

:10:45. > :10:49.Well, Rob Evans looking for the clear out and getting a clip around

:10:50. > :10:56.the year for his troubles. Dominic Ryan took exception. But it just

:10:57. > :11:04.considers whether you -- matters whether you consider that handbags.

:11:05. > :11:09.A bit silly. Completely unnecessary. There did not seem to be anything

:11:10. > :11:14.wrong with the hit. We will just see how much the referee makes of it. It

:11:15. > :11:28.was an open hand, not a fist. That will go in his favour in mitigation.

:11:29. > :11:34.Certainly not a sin binning offence. A Rush of blood from Dominic Ryan

:11:35. > :11:41.and it is just as well he kept as much presence of mind to keep that

:11:42. > :11:44.Palm open. Yes, as we were saying in the World Cup, there was a things

:11:45. > :11:50.now that they are just black and white about. And if you close the

:11:51. > :11:59.hand, that is it. They just have to move on. After the hard work of

:12:00. > :12:03.James Tracy in particular and his forwards, they will not be so happy

:12:04. > :12:06.that has been given away by Dominic Ryan and put them back under

:12:07. > :12:12.pressure. A great drive on from the Scarlets line. Deliberate collapse

:12:13. > :12:17.from Dominic Ryan that time. He could be back in the referee 's bad

:12:18. > :12:21.books. Rob Evans carries on towards that try line. Jamie he's just about

:12:22. > :12:27.hold him up. The ball is back for the Scarlets again. Dummy runner,

:12:28. > :12:32.allowing Gareth Davies to have the snipe. Well covered by the Leinster

:12:33. > :12:37.defence. This is a very intelligent and a very confident start from the

:12:38. > :12:43.Scarlets. Again Rob Evans involved. Almost a to the try line. Gareth

:12:44. > :12:53.Davies weights. And Parks gets over for the try. That is superbly worked

:12:54. > :13:00.by the Scarlets. Dominic Ryan did pull it down. The referee pulling it

:13:01. > :13:04.-- playing advantage. Noel Reid fell off the tackle. From the effort put

:13:05. > :13:09.in by the rest of the Leinster forward, absolutely superb by the

:13:10. > :13:14.Scarlets. This is what we have seen all season long so far. They have

:13:15. > :13:17.great all retention. They fight so hard to get over the ball and get

:13:18. > :13:25.the gain line going forward. And it paid off. Equally at home on the

:13:26. > :13:31.winger in the centre and showing his worth on the straight all, the crash

:13:32. > :13:42.ball. He gets the Scarlets on the scoreboard. Dan Jones as the

:13:43. > :13:45.conversion. Thank you. Just let you know that I have spoken to Wayne

:13:46. > :13:48.Pivac before the game on the pitch. He was saying about all the talk in

:13:49. > :13:51.the changing rooms, they met in the changing room is a good hour before

:13:52. > :13:54.the game, this was the game tonight that will that we'll see where we

:13:55. > :13:58.are, in his words, in the season. That was a bit of a phoney war, the

:13:59. > :14:01.first six, all the World Cup boys are back now. This is the match that

:14:02. > :14:10.will show them where the Scarlets are the moment. And it is not a bad

:14:11. > :14:17.start, is it is a mark in deed not. Rob Kearney, Zane Kirchner come Cian

:14:18. > :14:24.Healy, Mike Ross, Devin Toner, Jamie he's, Sean O'Brien, all back there

:14:25. > :14:29.-- Jamie he's let. But a lot of experienced players as well. He has

:14:30. > :14:33.not brought everyone back willy-nilly, he does still have the

:14:34. > :14:36.mix of players there. Every body watching out for Gary Ringrose at

:14:37. > :14:44.13, who is meant to be the next best thing in at 13. The crowd thought it

:14:45. > :14:47.was at late tackle on Emyr Phillips -- by Emma Phillips on Isaac Boss.

:14:48. > :14:54.No reaction from the touch judge. -- Emyr Phillips. He does seem a good

:14:55. > :15:04.bit hurt though. He's taking his time. Five and a half minutes into

:15:05. > :15:06.the game and this looks like the first time at Leinster are going to

:15:07. > :15:11.get out of their half. Which is exactly the way the Scarlets will

:15:12. > :15:16.want this game to be. Dead right, this is a great litmus test of where

:15:17. > :15:24.they are in the season. They have done briefly so far but now the

:15:25. > :15:31.testing starts. This is such a fortress for Leinster. Just one

:15:32. > :15:42.defeat in the league in over a year. And that to the Dragons, back in

:15:43. > :15:48.February. Tracy. That is a good drive on by Leinster. And the crowd

:15:49. > :15:51.giving them the usual backing. And still going, still going up towards

:15:52. > :15:58.the 22. This is going to be very difficult. They need to get some of

:15:59. > :16:01.the forwards in there. What a drive. What is driving line-out from

:16:02. > :16:07.Leinster. But is fully 30 metres and more and still they have retention.

:16:08. > :16:11.And they have a penalty with the Scarlets forced to collapse it just

:16:12. > :16:14.before the try line. You will hardly see a better driven line-out than

:16:15. > :16:18.that. That was brilliant. Absolutely. I do not know what the

:16:19. > :16:21.Scarlets were doing there. The defenders were out and there were

:16:22. > :16:27.three or four guys outside the 15 yard line. And they were just one or

:16:28. > :16:29.two men in the maul. Leinster whereof is the maul. Leinster

:16:30. > :16:34.whereof is the good the bad going. I was very surprised at how long it

:16:35. > :16:39.took them to ruck. Or they could do was give away the penalty. And that

:16:40. > :16:43.is not surprising at all. They were so near the try line by the time he

:16:44. > :16:47.collapse came along, it was gone to be a yellow card as well a penalty.

:16:48. > :16:52.Absolutely, they could have rolled out the whole way over. He might say

:16:53. > :16:56.he had to do what he had to do but in the situation they got themselves

:16:57. > :16:59.in came from very poor defending. That was from the ten metre line to

:17:00. > :17:07.within a couple of metres of the Scarlets try line. When it was

:17:08. > :17:12.dragged down, the try line was begging and now it is a tough time

:17:13. > :17:16.for the Scarlets, they have to defend a man short. Not just for

:17:17. > :17:24.this line-out but for ten minutes. Dominic Ryan again the provider. And

:17:25. > :17:27.this time it is a different breakaway. The Scarlets hold out the

:17:28. > :17:30.first time but Isaac Boss has a goal, he is held up just short as

:17:31. > :17:42.well. Right on that Scarlets try line. The Scarlets slow it down.

:17:43. > :17:45.Could not tell if that was actually a planned move from Leinster or

:17:46. > :17:52.whether it was good sense to split the maul by the Scarlets. Leinster

:17:53. > :17:55.kept control kept concise and got going forward again. It looks like

:17:56. > :18:03.they were just held up going over the line. Mike Ross leading the

:18:04. > :18:10.splinter group. But that time, good defence from the Scarlets. They are

:18:11. > :18:14.going to be missing Jake Ball 's 19 stone in a scrum. In fairness, if

:18:15. > :18:18.any side I used to doing without players, it is the Scarlets. At one

:18:19. > :18:23.stage in one of the first games, they had three men down on a yellow

:18:24. > :18:26.card. And again any third or fourth game and they have still managed to

:18:27. > :18:29.win those games. This is think they will each have to raise their game

:18:30. > :18:37.in order to make up for their mistake. Leo Cullen, Leinster coach.

:18:38. > :18:42.Wayne Pivac, alongside Stephen Jones and Byron Hayward. The Scarlets

:18:43. > :18:49.trio. What an impact Stephen Jones has had. The play, everything about

:18:50. > :18:52.the Scarlets backline has been absolutely positive. All of them

:18:53. > :19:05.going forward and finding space. And scoring tries. They have been doing

:19:06. > :19:13.it. Aaron Shingler steps up to join Lewis Rawlins in the Scarlets second

:19:14. > :19:23.row. This is going to be a tough one to keep out. I cannot see on the far

:19:24. > :19:31.side. Have they put one of the winners on the side of the scrum?

:19:32. > :19:40.It was static initially. And now the Scarlets are doing a job. Jamie he's

:19:41. > :19:48.let, the short ball to Noel Reid. Good tackle by Michael Tagicakibau.

:19:49. > :19:52.Isaac Boss bundled over illegally. Jones thought the ball but it was

:19:53. > :19:57.not. They will have to be careful not to give away another yellow.

:19:58. > :20:01.First things first, the Scarlets did well in that scrum. Absolutely. A

:20:02. > :20:06.bit of confidence they can draw from that and Leinster had to play that

:20:07. > :20:10.ball. There was nothing illegal about what was going on in the front

:20:11. > :20:14.row. Just gave away a B penalty. This is one thing they cannot do.

:20:15. > :20:17.This is Leinster 's first foray into Scarlets half and they cannot have

:20:18. > :20:40.it that every time they get up here they manage to get that scoreboard

:20:41. > :20:44.ticking. Ian Madigan. His first appearance of the season for

:20:45. > :20:51.Leinster. His hundredth game in the league. And he opens Leinster 's

:20:52. > :20:55.account with a penalty. But under the circumstances, the Scarlets will

:20:56. > :21:00.not be too displeased only to give away three. Absolutely not. Yellow

:21:01. > :21:04.cards are costly but if they keep it down to penalties, they will aim to

:21:05. > :21:07.get back down into Leinster 's half and stay there now, like they did

:21:08. > :21:15.for the first five and a half minutes and made Leinster fight very

:21:16. > :21:23.hard to get out of there. The first part of the plan, walk as slowly as

:21:24. > :21:24.possible back to the halfway line. I think we will find a few shoelaces

:21:25. > :21:44.opened later on. Aled Thomas ruck to John Barclay.

:21:45. > :21:49.The Scarlets will be eager to keep all in hand for as long as possible.

:21:50. > :21:54.What a great turnover by Sean O'Brien. That is what he does best.

:21:55. > :22:00.So strong over the ball. So hard to shift once he gets his hands on it.

:22:01. > :22:06.Noel Reid gets away from the first up tacklers. The Scarlets on the

:22:07. > :22:11.back foot. Sean O'Brien started it all with that brilliant steel. Cian

:22:12. > :22:22.Healy. Ian Madigan back against the grain.

:22:23. > :22:39.It is far too long. Plenty of time for Tom Williams to gather. And be

:22:40. > :22:43.awarded the clean catch. Tom Williams has had a couple of very

:22:44. > :22:46.good outings for the Scarlets recently. He is on loan from the

:22:47. > :22:54.Blues. Looking for a new contract next year. One of the players from

:22:55. > :22:58.the Leinster point of view who will be very hungry, I was speaking to

:22:59. > :23:01.Cian Healy 's parents on the way in, and they are very aware of the

:23:02. > :23:10.competition he is having with Jack McGrath. Speaking a lot about he

:23:11. > :23:15.wants to be stamping his authority back and making that spot his own,

:23:16. > :23:20.both with Leinster and Ireland. He is on the bench tonight. As Leinster

:23:21. > :23:33.look to build again. Devin Toner drops it. Backwards,

:23:34. > :23:39.says Leighton Hodges. Leinster are still in possession.

:23:40. > :23:54.This time, there is pressure. Dominic Ryan following up. Ringrose

:23:55. > :24:01.leads it. Noel Reid and then Ian Madigan.

:24:02. > :24:13.He will have to play that. And that is a bad recovery. Great recovery,

:24:14. > :24:16.in fact. They always say, try and get the kicks into the other half

:24:17. > :24:19.but that is as close as you can get. Billions considering what he had to

:24:20. > :24:26.do, chasing back after it slip through his hands on the first

:24:27. > :24:29.attempt. -- brilliant. Jonny Sexton. I wonder how long it will be until

:24:30. > :24:34.he comes on this evening. I think we will see him quite early in the

:24:35. > :24:38.second half. He will be keen to get some time under his belt. It is a

:24:39. > :24:42.big week for all of these layers. Game time in the familiar

:24:43. > :24:47.surroundings of club rugby is so important for them all. The Scarlets

:24:48. > :25:06.deciding to stand off to prevent the drive. Leinster looking for wit. He

:25:07. > :25:14.kept it in hand. Ian Madigan to Sean O'Brien. Jake Ball preparing to come

:25:15. > :25:17.back on. The Scarlets will want to hold them out now. This could be

:25:18. > :25:25.dangerous. 20 of numbers on the far side. Michael Tagicakibau with a

:25:26. > :25:28.firm tackle on Dominic Ryan. That is what you get for not passing the

:25:29. > :25:33.ball. Delaying a little too much. And they have it back as well. Good

:25:34. > :25:35.work by the Scarlets forwards. Just what I got Tagicakibau 's tackle

:25:36. > :26:00.deserved. I thought he hit him in the air.

:26:01. > :26:04.Gareth Davies was a very long time. I am surprised at that. It would not

:26:05. > :26:11.be a yellow card or anything that but you just cannot do that. He was

:26:12. > :26:21.completely off the ground. He even got his bottom up in the air. Here

:26:22. > :26:27.we go. Don't have the back row player out in the area where the

:26:28. > :26:36.back should be. Took the wrong decision.

:26:37. > :26:42.It is interesting to see, that last line, the Scarlets stepped off the

:26:43. > :26:47.defence. I wonder was that what was meant to happen on the ten yard line

:26:48. > :26:51.on the far side of the pitch because maybe someone just got it wrong.

:26:52. > :26:55.Because it would have explained why there was nobody in veritable. As

:26:56. > :27:01.soon as the contact was made, that was it. The drive was on. It was

:27:02. > :27:10.Jake Ball, and he got his punishment. Again, the seven man

:27:11. > :27:17.scrum starts off pretty solid and does a good job. It is a good

:27:18. > :27:24.effort. Ian Madigan on the loop. Great ball acted on. A good tackle

:27:25. > :27:32.by Gareth Owen. Very wet rat. That's very well read. A high tackle on

:27:33. > :27:40.Isaac Boss. Another high tackle by Aaron Shingler on Heaslip. Michael

:27:41. > :27:50.Tagicakibau has a bit of covering to do on the far side. Gareth Owen gets

:27:51. > :27:55.in there first. Jake Ball, busting a gut to get back on the field. It'll

:27:56. > :28:03.be the next break of play. What will happen in the meantime? A solid

:28:04. > :28:06.tackle by Tom Williams. And again, the counter rucking by the Scarlets,

:28:07. > :28:13.looking to get that ball back but Cian Healy has it. And now that high

:28:14. > :28:17.tackle advantage is over. Leinster will have to use it and do some

:28:18. > :28:20.thing with it. Good play by the Scarlets. Never let them sit

:28:21. > :28:27.comfortable E.ON the ball. They really are battling at that

:28:28. > :28:32.breakdown. This is good to be the battle ground for the day. We all

:28:33. > :28:38.know the Scarlets love going through the phases and retaining possession.

:28:39. > :28:43.Leinster have said this is the way distant ago but the Scarlets are not

:28:44. > :28:48.going to get it all the way -- all their own way.

:28:49. > :28:55.REFEREE: Six takes him offside. Discipline,

:28:56. > :28:59.otherwise you might leave me with no option. He has cleaned him out, that

:29:00. > :29:14.is all he has done. Time is off. Jake Ball comes off the field --

:29:15. > :29:22.comes onto the field. Leinster to be honest with you had not performed at

:29:23. > :29:27.Rockwell and they were vulnerable. It is a shoulder he got in there on

:29:28. > :29:34.the arm of Ian Madigan. A bit of an unfair conflict -- contest in terms

:29:35. > :29:38.of size but it is the game. The girls in the backs are very

:29:39. > :29:41.delicate. We will see how he is when he comes to take the kick. Then he

:29:42. > :29:55.will go back hero status with the fans. Just the one penalty conceded

:29:56. > :30:01.during Jake Ball 's absence. Away to Leinster, that is not a bad outing

:30:02. > :30:13.at all. A bad result for ten minutes in the sin bin. Isa Nacewa, water by

:30:14. > :30:31.for the evening. Quite an experienced water boy.

:30:32. > :30:37.Straight down the middle again from Ian Madigan. Leinster are back

:30:38. > :30:43.within a point, halfway through the first half approaching. Not showing

:30:44. > :30:53.any ill effects from the knock-on his head, God bless him. Shane

:30:54. > :30:59.Williams was speaking in the studio about the quality of the Leinster

:31:00. > :31:03.squad, and even with 15 changes, they have a handful of five or six

:31:04. > :31:16.first-team players yet to come back on. Taken by Devin Toner.

:31:17. > :31:33.Tracy was there. Collecting the free ball. Madigan missing out O'Brien.

:31:34. > :31:40.Leinster are trying little bit too hard maybe to create something. Need

:31:41. > :31:43.to be a bit more patient. Halfway through the first half. We mentioned

:31:44. > :31:49.about Shane William is back in the studio, what did you make of the

:31:50. > :31:52.first quarter? Obviously a fantastic start from the Scarlets and then

:31:53. > :31:59.Leinster started getting control of the game. I think Jake Boss was a

:32:00. > :32:07.bit hard done by to get the yellow. It could have been Rawlins. They've

:32:08. > :32:12.kept themselves in the game. OK, they've conceded six points, but it

:32:13. > :32:20.definitely could have been a lot worse. Positive start from both

:32:21. > :32:26.teams. The Scarlets getting the early try, and Leinster have been a

:32:27. > :32:32.very mean defence, only conceding six tries in the first six games of

:32:33. > :32:38.the season. It will come into play more. The Scarlets still have the

:32:39. > :32:44.upper hand here. They don't want to concede any points. Still wanting to

:32:45. > :32:52.keep going and attack. Hadleigh Parkes, getting the hard yards. Jake

:32:53. > :33:04.Ball doing well. Getting away Rob Evans. Dan Jones slotting it

:33:05. > :33:17.through, the race is on. The race is won by Zane Kirchner, sorry, Rob

:33:18. > :33:21.Kearney. I think Kearney looks like he has tweaked something. In the

:33:22. > :33:26.World Cup, scoring a try, he did the same kind of thing. He hurt himself

:33:27. > :33:34.as well. Looks like he's a bit uncomfortable. It doesn't look like

:33:35. > :33:42.it's a bad one. Looks like it's uncomfortable at the moment from Rob

:33:43. > :33:45.Kearney. Never discovered what a hamstring is myself, but I believe

:33:46. > :33:58.it can be painful! Ask the wonderful Shane Williams what it's like.

:33:59. > :34:10.The sliding tackle from Noel Reid. Rob Kearney on the far corner, just

:34:11. > :34:15.departing, which will bring Ben Te'o onto the field. Will it be Kirchner

:34:16. > :34:22.at the full-back now maybe? I think Ringrose will push out and Ben Te'o

:34:23. > :34:28.will go to the front and Kirchner at full-back. That's the way they are

:34:29. > :34:33.doing it. Ben Te'o is very influential in the centre as well,

:34:34. > :34:37.from Auckland. Yes, a great strike rate for Leinster in scoring tries.

:34:38. > :34:41.Apparently he has caught the eye of people back home, rugby league

:34:42. > :34:47.people trying to get him back. He seems happy at Leinster at the

:34:48. > :35:00.moment. In the second season with Leinster.

:35:01. > :35:10.Good use of Emyr Phillips, keeping the defence honest. Absolutely. Both

:35:11. > :35:15.sides are really challenging the defence. Leinster possibly forcing

:35:16. > :35:18.it more than they should be. The Scarlets look a bit more honed in

:35:19. > :35:24.their attack, always getting over the gain line every time. Jake Ball

:35:25. > :35:29.clearing out for the ball to come back. James Davies slips it onto Rob

:35:30. > :35:31.Evans who has had quite a feud carries this evening, the loosehead.

:35:32. > :35:44.-- quite a few. Gareth Davies again getting behind

:35:45. > :35:49.the defence and finding Barclay in support. And Gareth Owen. That's a

:35:50. > :35:54.great try from the Scarlets. It's all down to the break of Gareth

:35:55. > :35:58.Davies around the fringes, the support work and Gareth Owen with

:35:59. > :36:03.the strike from nothing. The gap on the inside, that's where they found

:36:04. > :36:08.space back inside. The defence getting lazy, not keeping hunting

:36:09. > :36:11.and then come in the tackle, getting their hands free and get in the

:36:12. > :36:17.tackle, getting their hands free and getting the pass away. Superb play.

:36:18. > :36:23.His first of the season for the Scarlets. A late 27th birthday

:36:24. > :36:34.present, which he celebrated yesterday. The Leinster defence were

:36:35. > :36:39.completely unawares. Stephen Jones may not be showing it but inside I

:36:40. > :36:44.bet he's smiling. I would say so. The Scarlets have to take advantage.

:36:45. > :36:48.Clearly the Leinster defence, the lads have not tuned in, there are

:36:49. > :36:55.gaps, not as honed as it normally is. You expect them to tighten up as

:36:56. > :37:02.the game goes on, so they have to take advantage while they can.

:37:03. > :37:07.Daniel Jones started the first view of the season and then he saw

:37:08. > :37:12.Shingler wearing the number ten shirt getting a toe injury which put

:37:13. > :37:20.him out. The 19-year-old is back in the firing line. Just failing to add

:37:21. > :37:26.Mac the extras from the touchline. But the Scarlets, two to the good

:37:27. > :37:35.oss. Let's go to the studio and hear from Robert Jones stop -- Robert

:37:36. > :37:41.Jones. Playing with better tempo, the Scarlets. I said beforehand,

:37:42. > :37:45.it's a tough place to go. Up against a Leinster team who look a bit

:37:46. > :37:51.rusty, like they haven't quite come together. At the moment, the

:37:52. > :37:58.Scarlets are certainly taking advantage of it and playing some

:37:59. > :38:02.good quality rugby. Thanks, Rob. Yes, they look like a team who have

:38:03. > :38:08.gelled, comfortable playing together, winning six from six.

:38:09. > :38:14.Every opportunity they have had, they have taken, which is what you

:38:15. > :38:37.want against a team who have not settled clearly. Boss bundle offer

:38:38. > :38:41.it. A little bit harsh maybe because tea pushed another player back on

:38:42. > :38:50.top of him. Changing, the way rugby is now, the scrum-half is going to

:38:51. > :38:57.play-the-ball. You can't interfere. As long as they play it, not just

:38:58. > :39:14.wait there. That is the sneaky scrum-half 's for you! -- halves. I

:39:15. > :39:22.know you are painting the picture, and I've got it. I know where you

:39:23. > :39:29.are coming from, OK? So, Leinster, sticking to their plan. Trying to

:39:30. > :39:33.get points every time they down in the Scarlets territory, from the

:39:34. > :39:38.boot of Madigan. And so far it has worked every time, three from three.

:39:39. > :39:48.Another fine kick from Madigan, back to 12-9. Let's hear from the

:39:49. > :39:51.Scarlets camp. This is a great away performance, soaking up the pressure

:39:52. > :39:56.and then striking when you got the chance, is that what you talked

:39:57. > :39:59.about before the game? Not really, we talked about defence. It's

:40:00. > :40:04.important if you want to win here, the defence has to be good. The boys

:40:05. > :40:09.are working hard at the moment. Just lacking a bit of discipline. How

:40:10. > :40:13.pleasing is it that when you got in the red zone, you have struck twice?

:40:14. > :40:18.Yes, we wanted to take chances. Gareth Edwards doing well in his

:40:19. > :40:22.first start back for us. When we have had the ball we have been going

:40:23. > :40:30.well but we are indisciplined again unfortunately. Keep it going.

:40:31. > :40:34.Cheers. Now, then, what are they looking at this time pasta in the

:40:35. > :40:48.other game, Connacht are leading Treviso 6-5. -- this time? It is an

:40:49. > :40:54.arm on his shoulder. If he is crouching, I think it's fine. Yellow

:40:55. > :40:58.yes, nothing wrong. High tackle, 11th. How high do you have to be

:40:59. > :41:03.when you are crouching with your knee off the ground? Still a high

:41:04. > :41:12.tackle! That's a bit harsh. Looked like a brilliant chase and a superb

:41:13. > :41:17.hit. It is very important, but it is a physical game, after all. That's

:41:18. > :41:22.why we love it so much. It is going at it a bit soft. That was a bit

:41:23. > :41:28.harsh, nothing wrong with it, it was a superb chase and a great hit. Ten,

:41:29. > :41:55.stay where you are. For once, the Leinster line-out

:41:56. > :42:00.falters. Dan Jones, Parkes, a steady influence behind the Scarlets. Rob

:42:01. > :42:07.Evans with the pick and go, straight at Toner. Again, slowly but surely,

:42:08. > :42:16.the Scarlets getting over the gain line. Just getting their noses in

:42:17. > :42:21.front, a bit of momentum. Shingler, hit by two back row opponents. The

:42:22. > :42:31.ball, recycled by the Scarlets, good hands to James Davies. Up to be

:42:32. > :42:42.Leinster 22. Gareth Davies under pressure. Very good hands, Lewis

:42:43. > :42:46.Rawlins. Changing direction, changing the point of attack,

:42:47. > :42:52.keeping the defence guessing. They will settle for a penalty from

:42:53. > :42:55.there. To slow. It was a good decision to go down the blindside,

:42:56. > :43:00.everybody expecting myself was a regimented go again but they saw

:43:01. > :43:06.that Leinster had folded in and there was nearly two against one.

:43:07. > :43:11.Healy doing some great work but a little bit tired and he stayed

:43:12. > :43:22.offside Elizabeth too long. A great decision either Scarlets -- a little

:43:23. > :43:26.bit too long. One thing possibly, it will be in the back of their minds,

:43:27. > :43:30.they have two tries but it still only a 3-point game. Absolutely, the

:43:31. > :43:34.only thing counting against them at the moment, every time Leinster have

:43:35. > :43:39.been in their half, they have got three points and if they can just

:43:40. > :43:43.get the discipline so that if they venture in again, they behave

:43:44. > :43:44.themselves, the game will be much more exciting from their point of

:43:45. > :44:01.view. We have spoken ones about blocking

:44:02. > :44:14.off the ball, OK? If I see it, I'm going to penalise, OK?

:44:15. > :44:26.A big kick, this one, for than Jones. -- for Dan Jones. That's very

:44:27. > :44:34.nicely done indeed. The young outside-half. Scarlets, up to 15.

:44:35. > :44:37.Should be a big concentration zone for the next few minutes for the

:44:38. > :44:41.Scarlets. Receiving, expecting Leinster to hit it deep. The

:44:42. > :44:56.Scarlets wants to get it out of their half. -- want to get it. Not

:44:57. > :45:03.what they predicted! Played by James Davies. Dan Jones is looking for a

:45:04. > :45:19.bit of space that wasn't really there. That is Tom Denton. Shingler

:45:20. > :45:24.flying up. Davies over the ball on Cian Healy, and that's great work by

:45:25. > :45:30.the openside. Great play, absolutely great play. When he got on, nobody

:45:31. > :45:35.challenged him directly. As we know, he's very strong. They've challenge

:45:36. > :45:40.for him today against an experienced back row and he's doing good work.

:45:41. > :45:46.-- a big challenge. Similar to the Wales setup, Shingler flying up,

:45:47. > :45:50.getting the hit low, and as with James Davies, working in tandem.

:45:51. > :45:56.Australia did it as well in the World Cup. This back row has been in

:45:57. > :46:01.great form for the Scarlets all season, to be fair. Yes, they hunt

:46:02. > :46:08.as a team and they turned over so many balls, in the games we've had

:46:09. > :46:12.so much to this date. You can't just come permit them, is the whole team

:46:13. > :46:21.doing what they are meant to do according to the team -- just

:46:22. > :46:32.complement them. Shingler smuggling it back to James Davies.

:46:33. > :46:44.Edwards wasn't expecting it that way. A lucky break for the

:46:45. > :46:49.Scarlets. Offside call. I can't say that I saw it. I think maybe Kim

:46:50. > :46:54.Healy was creeping up on the outside a bit but I didn't see that one --

:46:55. > :47:02.Ian Healy. A big call, going for the corner. Just want to keep the

:47:03. > :47:06.momentum going. It would be a huge coup for them to get over for the

:47:07. > :47:13.third try, after only 35 minutes. Absolutely. Shingler at the front.

:47:14. > :47:24.He is the go to man in the line-out. They missed him in the one

:47:25. > :47:28.game that he has missed this season. Out comes the ball to Gareth Davies,

:47:29. > :47:39.looking for the forwards to carry. Rob Evans obliges. And this time,

:47:40. > :47:44.the defence wins. James Tracy did very well, involved before that as

:47:45. > :47:47.well, making a big hit. Lively player, he's doing very well.

:47:48. > :48:04.Absolutely vital turnover. Leinster managed to get away without

:48:05. > :48:09.conceding on that occasion. But the Scarlets will be very happy with

:48:10. > :48:14.life, from where their half minutes of the first half remaining. --

:48:15. > :48:20.three and a half minutes. The extended Leinster squad, joined by

:48:21. > :48:31.Rob Kearney. Denton slipping it down. Not straight.

:48:32. > :48:37.That was too obvious to let go. The last two line-outs for Leinster,

:48:38. > :48:44.something they pride themselves on is the set piece. The scrum as well

:48:45. > :48:47.hasn't exactly been devastating. Seven man Scarlets, putting them

:48:48. > :48:53.under bother in the line-out, starting not to fire. Definitely

:48:54. > :48:56.some teething issues with this newly selected team that Leo has out.

:48:57. > :49:01.White I was watching them practising the line-out with Leo Cullen and I

:49:02. > :49:06.was -- and they were looking good. It is different with the opposition.

:49:07. > :49:09.That's where you got to have the pressure and the belief that you

:49:10. > :49:17.know where the ball is going to be as the hooker. Pressure coming on

:49:18. > :49:28.the Scarlets. Having to get rid of the ball. Davies, inside ball to

:49:29. > :49:38.Tagicakibau. Rawlins with the clearance.

:49:39. > :49:47.Tagicakibau again, trying to step inside, looking for the off-load to

:49:48. > :49:50.Tom Williams. Good tracking by the winner. The ball is turned over and

:49:51. > :49:55.this may be danger for the Scarlets, the chase is on. Picked up by

:49:56. > :50:00.Ringrose, a good tackle from Hadleigh Parkes. Oh, and the

:50:01. > :50:09.interception as well from Aled Thomas, saving the day for the

:50:10. > :50:14.Scarlets. That was different! The scrum-half passing to the intercept.

:50:15. > :50:23.Not as either team would mean it, but it adds to the excitement. Oh,

:50:24. > :50:27.Cian Kelleher spilling it. And the Scarlets will breathe a huge sigh of

:50:28. > :50:32.relief. A huge sigh of relief, they were definitely caught on the hop. A

:50:33. > :50:38.nice kick through from Madigan, it was. Ringrose gets a nice bounce up

:50:39. > :50:41.and he does well. But then the turnover happens again. The Scarlets

:50:42. > :50:48.will definitely take a much deserved breather there. Their position and

:50:49. > :50:54.accuracy, things they normally pride themselves on, they aren't here

:50:55. > :50:57.today at all. Such an important cover tackle from Hadleigh Parkes on

:50:58. > :51:07.Ringrose there. Moving over to the wing. After Rob Kearney's departure.

:51:08. > :51:13.There are a few messages being brought on there with the water. I

:51:14. > :51:20.was talking about young Ringrose in the under 20 and under 21 on the way

:51:21. > :51:30.over, a natural star who has all of the skills. A lot of people, players

:51:31. > :51:34.of that ilk in Ireland likened to Brian O'Driscoll. A pity he has had

:51:35. > :51:40.to go to the wing, we would like to see him competing at 13. Definitely

:51:41. > :51:43.keep an eye on him. By all accounts, talking to the backs coach at

:51:44. > :52:02.Leinster, they are so impressed with him. And he isn't 21 until the New

:52:03. > :52:07.Year. Yeah. Scarlets will be thinking now, right, one more bit of

:52:08. > :52:11.defensive work and the job is done. Rob Evans getting a bit of treatment

:52:12. > :52:15.before taking his place in the scrum. He needs a clear head,

:52:16. > :52:20.keeping his concentration for what may be the last RAM of the first

:52:21. > :52:25.half. Would be a great return for the Scarlets -- the last grammar. --

:52:26. > :52:39.scrum. Around the corner, blue. It went one

:52:40. > :52:45.way and then the other. Walking around the corner, the tight head.

:52:46. > :52:51.I'm not sure I agree with the decision. It was actually a penalty

:52:52. > :52:54.he missed early on, because Healy broke his grip and went to the deck,

:52:55. > :52:59.which you can't do. This is better than we hoped. The Scarlets would be

:53:00. > :53:05.any good position going into a now they have a chance to put the foot

:53:06. > :53:09.-- put another three points on the board, giving an excellent 45

:53:10. > :53:13.minutes for themselves. There would have been time for one more

:53:14. > :53:19.line-out, so they might as well try and killed the clock completely. --

:53:20. > :53:25.kill. And possibly get three points on it. Outside of Dan Jones range,

:53:26. > :53:29.so Aled Thomas has a gallon. -- has a go. If it is within range it is

:53:30. > :53:47.pretty much on the limit. He's given it a good shot. But not

:53:48. > :53:50.quite enough in the end. It didn't have the legs but the Scarlets won't

:53:51. > :53:59.mind because that was a very well done first half, two tries to zero

:54:00. > :54:05.for them, leading 15-9 in Dublin. Let speak to John Barclay. Two tries

:54:06. > :54:12.to zero and a 6-point lead, how pleasing was the first half? The

:54:13. > :54:15.discipline is lacking a bit but when we get the ball we are testing them.

:54:16. > :54:21.The plan for the second-half? More of the same, I'd imagine. John

:54:22. > :54:29.Barclay, excellent first half for them and now we have the recap. We

:54:30. > :54:33.talked about how tough a place to come the RDS was but the Scarlets

:54:34. > :54:36.showed no respect in the opening stages, Hadleigh Parkes crossing

:54:37. > :54:42.over for the first try after a few minutes. Jake Ball harshly sought

:54:43. > :54:48.yellow after he was adjudged to have collapsed the driving maul. Ian

:54:49. > :54:53.Madigan booting for Leinster. 16-7 and then Gareth Owen, a day after

:54:54. > :54:58.his birthday, crossing for the second try of the game and Dan Jones

:54:59. > :55:02.extending the gap. Aled Thomas missing on the last attempt of the

:55:03. > :55:08.half that could have taken them to 18-9. It is 15-9, and the statistics

:55:09. > :55:18.reflect a Scarlets's domination away from home. The action areas there.

:55:19. > :55:24.Leinster, a lot in their own 22, a fair bit of time in the middle third

:55:25. > :55:28.of the pitch as well. Shane, we talked about how this maybe a game

:55:29. > :55:33.too far in their unbeaten run but so far the Scarlets are looking good

:55:34. > :55:36.for the win? They are looking more consistent than Leinster, many of

:55:37. > :55:40.the Scarlets guys have played a lot together. You could see the Leinster

:55:41. > :55:43.team, looks like a lot of international players have come back

:55:44. > :55:48.and they can't find their feet, some of the players are quite lethargic.

:55:49. > :55:52.James Heaslip has not been mentioned at all, we know how classy he is. A

:55:53. > :55:59.bit more coherence with the Scarlets. Two great tries and the

:56:00. > :56:02.more positive of the two teams. The first one, from a guy called

:56:03. > :56:08.Hadleigh Parkes who has really settled, great signing. A relative

:56:09. > :56:12.unknown when he signed from Auckland, he has really made an

:56:13. > :56:14.impression. He is the old head in midfield, keeping everything

:56:15. > :56:20.together and he does everything well. He is quicker than I think

:56:21. > :56:25.people thought. He got across. What the Scarlets did well, they were

:56:26. > :56:30.committing defenders, they took a lot of them again and again.

:56:31. > :56:34.Shingler is going and drawing in the defenders. The ball goes out again.

:56:35. > :56:41.It is good forwards driving. Committing defenders. A lot of space

:56:42. > :56:46.out wide. Only two Leinster defenders but Parkes goes in between

:56:47. > :56:49.the two midfield players. Lovely ball from Gareth Davies. It is the

:56:50. > :56:54.aggressive running we've seen from the Scarlets time and again. Gain

:56:55. > :56:58.line success has been fantastic and that was a great start for the

:56:59. > :57:02.Scarlets team and Parkes in particular. He looked very

:57:03. > :57:05.impressive. They have been aggressive, constantly getting over

:57:06. > :57:09.the gain line and that has put them in a good position. There was a

:57:10. > :57:16.period after the try when the Scarlets were under the pump and

:57:17. > :57:20.Leinster looked quite ominous. But the Scarlets was so aggressive in

:57:21. > :57:23.defence, turning things around and looking Leinster back. They didn't

:57:24. > :57:31.change anything, they continued the speed in defence. I think this

:57:32. > :57:42.should have gone and it may have made a difference but they countered

:57:43. > :57:47.the rork very well. -- the ruck. They did not panic. They conceded

:57:48. > :57:51.six points but they were 7-6 up. It was a good period of play for the

:57:52. > :57:55.Scarlets. When Jake Ball came back on the field, they got a bit of

:57:56. > :58:00.ascendancy and controlled the match better. It is a team effort, the

:58:01. > :58:03.aggressive defence, but we talked before the game about how the

:58:04. > :58:08.Scarlets back row would be facing the acid test, looking at the

:58:09. > :58:11.International back row of Leinster. But they've made a nuisance of

:58:12. > :58:16.themselves and they are winning the battle. We spoke about that in the

:58:17. > :58:19.game, the nuisance value of Scarlets, but their back row in

:58:20. > :58:25.particular. Shingler has had a great game. He quietly goes about his

:58:26. > :58:29.work, he makes his tackles. James Davies has had the plaudits over the

:58:30. > :58:33.last couple of weeks. He is impressive. We haven't heard from

:58:34. > :58:39.Heaslip. Sean O'Brien is slowly getting into the game. But the

:58:40. > :58:43.breakdown, the aggressive play from Leinster has ensured that they have

:58:44. > :58:47.no continuity in their game in terms of what they are trying to do. I

:58:48. > :58:52.think that has helped make the Scarlets performance overall first

:58:53. > :58:56.class. The difference in terms of the qualities of the team, huge when

:58:57. > :58:59.you look at International is compared to what the Scarlets have

:59:00. > :59:04.on the field, but it's about working together as a collective unit. The

:59:05. > :59:09.forwards are certainly setting the platform for the Scarlets and it was

:59:10. > :59:16.Hadleigh Parkes's partner, Gareth Owen, going over for the second try

:59:17. > :59:20.in. -- for the second try. You could see that Denton and Tracy came up

:59:21. > :59:25.too quickly in the defensive line. Often we see Gareth Davies coming

:59:26. > :59:31.off that foot and looking for gaps. The passing and vision to put in

:59:32. > :59:35.Gareth Owen, and he gets low as well to make sure that Madigan isn't

:59:36. > :59:39.going to get near him and it is well finished. It is great support from

:59:40. > :59:42.Gareth Owen. He does not know that Davies is going to make the run. He

:59:43. > :59:50.gets on the end of a great pass, Davies is going to make the run. He

:59:51. > :59:51.couple of moments time. A reminder of what is coming your way over the

:59:52. > :00:25.weekend. On Sunday we have Martyn Williams

:00:26. > :00:27.and Colin Chavis with us. We are going to catch up with the world's

:00:28. > :00:40.best referee. COMMENTATOR: A good decision from

:00:41. > :00:45.Nigel Owens, one of the reasons he has been chosen to referee the World

:00:46. > :00:56.Cup final. It is the pinnacle of any career to get to the final.

:00:57. > :01:04.Fall the first time in a long time, I am into the on my own. No

:01:05. > :01:11.assistant referees to help. But I will go there and enjoy it. A little

:01:12. > :01:14.bit of a change of scenery in the space of a week but you can

:01:15. > :01:17.guarantee he will put the same degree of effort in and will face

:01:18. > :01:24.the same degree of scrutiny. Absolutely. I heard the coach on the

:01:25. > :01:28.radio earlier. More often than not when they lose the game, they blame

:01:29. > :01:31.the referee and it will be more difficult this weekend with the

:01:32. > :01:37.world's best referee in the middle. He will go about his work as he

:01:38. > :01:46.normally does. With humour, and just as quality as a referee. It'll be

:01:47. > :01:50.good. About 1000 people are gone to watch that game on the weekend.

:01:51. > :01:55.Talking about taking alternative parts, Cambridge University welcomed

:01:56. > :01:58.a medical student to their ranks on Wednesday night. Jamie Roberts

:01:59. > :02:02.turned out and played in the centre for them as they took on Worcester

:02:03. > :02:07.Cavaliers. It is not a fairy tale debut for the big man. They lost 29

:02:08. > :02:18.- seven. The big Varsity matches coming up. He is desperate to play

:02:19. > :02:22.in that one. You know the guy well. Is he some kind of modern-day

:02:23. > :02:25.Renaissance man or an endlessly restless spirit? A bit of

:02:26. > :02:33.everything. He is a fantastic rugby player. And what he has achieved not

:02:34. > :02:38.only on the rugby field but in the medical sense of everything he has

:02:39. > :02:43.done, it is just phenomenal. You can see what it means to him to go back

:02:44. > :02:48.and play for Cambridge and he is just a specimen, to be fair. He

:02:49. > :02:54.always gives 100%, does not matter what game he is playing or what he's

:02:55. > :02:56.doing. He's incredible, to be fair. What is the incumbent 12 at

:02:57. > :03:06.Cambridge University thinking right now? It is just unfair, isn't it? It

:03:07. > :03:10.is to be huge years ago and a lot of international players went to Oxford

:03:11. > :03:15.and Cambridge and that game was one of the biggest games in the rugby

:03:16. > :03:18.calendar. Things have changed. It is the professional era but he has that

:03:19. > :03:21.sort of free spirit that he wants to do things a little bit differently

:03:22. > :03:25.and going to harlequins and having this opportunity, that is very much

:03:26. > :03:32.Jamie Roberts, I think. The very best of luck to him from all of us.

:03:33. > :03:36.For more national dual contracts have been signed. All of them at the

:03:37. > :03:40.Ospreys. Scott Baldwin, James King, Rory Thornton and Dan Baker have all

:03:41. > :03:45.put pen to paper and we have also heard in the last of four hours that

:03:46. > :03:48.the Welsh regions raised the salary cap to ?4.5 million. They have a

:03:49. > :03:54.little bit more to spend on their squads. All pretty good news for

:03:55. > :03:58.Welsh regional rugby. Yes, very positive. Good season of the young

:03:59. > :04:01.players having an opportunity to be a part of the central contract is

:04:02. > :04:04.the man certainly in terms of the salary increase, that just gives

:04:05. > :04:09.more flexible itty to the Welsh regions to strengthen their squad

:04:10. > :04:12.and ensure they keep layers and alongside the Welsh Rugby Union, it

:04:13. > :04:15.is good to see that the union and the regions are working closely

:04:16. > :04:19.together and that can only be for the good of the game. We are waiting

:04:20. > :04:25.to see of this increase in the salary cap will affect things...

:04:26. > :04:29.Whether Dan Biggar and Alun Wyn Jones will re-sign. Dan Biggar, the

:04:30. > :04:34.Ospreys have hinted he is on the verge of signing. Can you see the

:04:35. > :04:39.two of them sticking around? Yes, I think so. They have both been loyal

:04:40. > :04:42.to the cause. Alun Wyn Jones has come through the ranks at the

:04:43. > :04:48.Ospreys, at Swansea. He is a local lad. The Ospreys and of course Wales

:04:49. > :04:51.means a lot to him. And I am sure he would want to sign and get

:04:52. > :04:54.everything sorted out as soon as possible. The same with Dan Biggar.

:04:55. > :04:59.He has been fantastic for the Ospreys from the start. Especially

:05:00. > :05:05.now. He is performing so well with the likes of Rhys Webb and again,

:05:06. > :05:08.another Swansea lad that has done well, and I am sure there will be a

:05:09. > :05:12.number of clubs after the both of them but with what is happening at

:05:13. > :05:15.the moment with the WR you won the regions, it will be a great advert

:05:16. > :05:20.if these two guys could stay now and of course just set the precedent for

:05:21. > :05:26.other players. It would be huge for the Ospreys and for Wales. Bit of

:05:27. > :05:29.news this week, a lot of rumours resurfacing about Rhys Patchell

:05:30. > :05:33.moving west and joining the Scarlets. We understand that the

:05:34. > :05:37.Scarlets have not signed him. Yet. I did looks as though he is not good

:05:38. > :05:41.to be a Blues player next season. His contract runs out this season

:05:42. > :05:44.and everything -- ever since Gareth Anscombe arrived, they had been

:05:45. > :05:49.doubts about whether he would stick around. Given the backline the

:05:50. > :05:54.Scarlets are building, he would be a good fit there? I think he just was

:05:55. > :05:57.to play regular rugby at under ten and he will not get that at the

:05:58. > :06:01.Blues. Gareth Anscombe is certainly the 11 down there. You have Stephen

:06:02. > :06:05.Jones as well and if there is anyone you want to work with in terms of

:06:06. > :06:11.developing UI as a player, I think it is Stephen Jones. You have two

:06:12. > :06:14.very good ten is already at the club. He will not just be going

:06:15. > :06:19.there and stepping straight into that position. He has to work hard

:06:20. > :06:23.to get there. It would certainly be a mouthwatering backline. We will

:06:24. > :06:24.keep you posted. It is time now to return to the action and the start

:06:25. > :06:35.of the second half. Thank you very much, Ross. It is as

:06:36. > :06:39.you were in terms of personnel at the start of the second half.

:06:40. > :06:45.Leinster seemed to be very determined in the way that Heaslip

:06:46. > :07:00.was leading the chase from a kick-off and they need to.

:07:01. > :07:13.It is a good back row combination. Absolutely. Getting a bit of slack

:07:14. > :07:17.on the Twitter machine, people questioning whether I am a Leinster

:07:18. > :07:21.supporter or not but it is hard not to be positive about the way the

:07:22. > :07:24.Scarlets are playing at the moment. Lane with such confidence and such

:07:25. > :07:37.ability to go forward. It is something that you have to cheer.

:07:38. > :07:49.Dan Jones. Sakho can, just beaten to it. -- Zach Kirkland.

:07:50. > :08:01.Gets the ball away to Michael Tagicakibau. Away from a touchline.

:08:02. > :08:05.Breaks a tackle and looks for the offload but cannot quite find Gareth

:08:06. > :08:17.Davies. It came off a Leinster man so it is play on. Noel Reid,

:08:18. > :08:20.Kirchner. That is what the Scarlets are looking for. That is what they

:08:21. > :08:26.have developed this year, the offload game, getting the ball away

:08:27. > :08:29.from the tackle. Leinster again, it looks like they are forcing it. It

:08:30. > :08:33.looks like the story of the first half is just continuing again. The

:08:34. > :08:41.Scarlets playing with much more confidence and patience. That last

:08:42. > :08:48.asset in them down there. -- pass letting them down there. Trying to

:08:49. > :08:52.find a bit of width and there is Ringrose. Again, a great tackle by

:08:53. > :08:57.Michael Tagicakibau. He does not hold back. Everything he has done

:08:58. > :09:03.today has been so physical. He is absolutely brilliant. I think he

:09:04. > :09:09.will -- I will call him Michael. You are used to saying Tagicakibau. To

:09:10. > :09:13.get the timing on that when a player is running at you. It is a great

:09:14. > :09:32.talent. Yes, superbly done by Tagicakibau.

:09:33. > :09:41.Gary Ringrose was using the touchline then stepping back inside

:09:42. > :09:42.but that was a great tackle. The ensuing penalty has pushed the

:09:43. > :10:07.Scarlets back into their 22. Devin Toner, now can they control it

:10:08. > :10:10.from here? Leinster, it is looking dangerous. The try line is getting

:10:11. > :10:14.ever nearer. The Scarlets desperately trying to get numbers

:10:15. > :10:21.back but it is the blue shirts, they are brought down just short.

:10:22. > :10:28.Heaslip. The Scarlets throwing everything into defence. On their

:10:29. > :10:34.own try line. The ball quickly recycled. Picked up I Cian Healy.

:10:35. > :10:38.Laser back short and Mike Ross is there and Mike Ross gets over. That

:10:39. > :10:43.is the start that Leinster would have wanted the second half. The

:10:44. > :10:46.first decent but of attack they have had right the way through the game.

:10:47. > :10:49.I thought they were a little bit lacking in patience in that small.

:10:50. > :10:53.They were going forward and they tried to go for a rumble just

:10:54. > :10:58.towards the end and ended up just dropping short. It is a hard

:10:59. > :11:01.position to keep in. Getting on the weak shoulder every single time and

:11:02. > :11:06.it looked like it was a matter of time until someone found a bit of

:11:07. > :11:11.space. A great effort until that point from the Scarlets, defending

:11:12. > :11:16.on your line is hard. Constant pressure from the forwards in the

:11:17. > :11:21.end. After a bit of width got then the attacking position. And the

:11:22. > :11:29.tight head was the one that got the important last carry over the try

:11:30. > :11:32.line. A conversion by Ian Madigan was as the self, straight in front

:11:33. > :11:36.and that means that despite everything the Scarlets did in the

:11:37. > :11:41.first half, five minutes into the second, they are behind by one

:11:42. > :11:45.point. Is the story going to stay the same, I wonder? Leinster venture

:11:46. > :11:51.into their half and they get a score. That is the only flow they

:11:52. > :11:55.have had in the game so far. Kirchner high above everybody. The

:11:56. > :12:01.crowd are getting involved and that is always dangerous to any visiting

:12:02. > :12:06.side. Ian Madigan 's kick is charged down. Hadleigh Parkes against Ian

:12:07. > :12:13.Madigan. Ian Madigan has a yard on him. As a slide as well. Does not

:12:14. > :12:18.want to go dead. Does well. Yes, very well played by Ian Madigan.

:12:19. > :12:24.Under pressure. Heaslip is back there in a supporting role. Heaslip

:12:25. > :12:32.has been far more prominent in the first few minutes. Everything you

:12:33. > :12:44.want to have on your captain, you want their leadership. Pressure on

:12:45. > :12:49.Aaron Shingler by Noel Reid. A good result for Leinster. Absolutely. Ian

:12:50. > :12:55.Madigan, it started with him. His mistake to start with. He thought

:12:56. > :12:59.twice about the kick. He won the chase back and did superbly well.

:13:00. > :13:04.But as you said, the captain, Jamie Heaslip has been so important. He

:13:05. > :13:09.has been vital to everything that has been good about Leinster so far

:13:10. > :13:26.and you would expect the senior players really start to step up and

:13:27. > :13:31.take a hold of this game. While there is a break in play, let's go

:13:32. > :13:34.back down pitch side. I have got Phil John, the Scarlets prop with

:13:35. > :13:38.me, resting tonight. What was said at half-time? I think we need to

:13:39. > :13:43.keep as ashen when we are in Leinster 's territory and keep our

:13:44. > :13:46.ill discipline low because we are giving Leinster opportunities for

:13:47. > :13:50.penalties to put us back in the corner and that is where that try

:13:51. > :13:53.came from. You have gone behind but how important will that six-game

:13:54. > :13:58.winning run be when it comes to the belief that you can come back into

:13:59. > :14:02.this? We are feeling great at the moment. The boys are happy in the

:14:03. > :14:06.camp and we think this is one of the places we have not won fro while but

:14:07. > :14:09.we think we can come here and winter night. Thank you, Phil. Cheers,

:14:10. > :14:31.Phil. Leinster certainly upped the tempo

:14:32. > :14:37.at the beginning of the second half. Whatever the message was for the

:14:38. > :14:40.Scarlets, keep as ashen and keep going, I think Leinster have had a

:14:41. > :14:47.bit of a talking to doing that interval. You have to say,

:14:48. > :14:49.considering the effort the Scarlets have really put into this first

:14:50. > :14:52.half, to find themselves a point behind in the game, they could not

:14:53. > :15:12.shake Leinster off. Ian Madigan floated out towards

:15:13. > :15:19.Ringrose again. And it bounces back away from the centre.

:15:20. > :15:24.Nasty bounce. Important for the Scarlets to get back to what they

:15:25. > :15:26.were doing so strongly in the first half, which was all about retaining

:15:27. > :15:33.possession, getting over the gain line. OK, they are talking -- the

:15:34. > :15:38.talking to Leinster have obviously had at half-time will galvanise them

:15:39. > :15:58.but it is nothing they cannot do. Brilliant take by Lewis Rawlins. But

:15:59. > :16:03.lost it again. By late night is always under pressure. -- the

:16:04. > :16:09.line-out. Ian Madigan is looking to work his magic behind and create a

:16:10. > :16:15.bit of space on the outside. That is Kelleher, down into Scarlets

:16:16. > :16:20.territory. Aled Thomas is there to recover. The battle is on for the

:16:21. > :16:26.ball on the floor. The Scarlets have won it. He has done well. Gareth

:16:27. > :16:31.Davies just manages to scramble it away. He was under a bit of

:16:32. > :16:34.attention there. That is what the scramble defence is all about. A

:16:35. > :16:40.good bit of play by Leinster. It is all about gaining the yard and

:16:41. > :16:43.getting back down. Will the Scarlets managed to get out of their own half

:16:44. > :16:56.without conceding any scores? It would be a huge psychological plus.

:16:57. > :17:10.Devin Toner takes the line-out. Here they come again. Sean O'Brien. Ben

:17:11. > :17:27.Te'o. Cian Healy stopped by Aaron

:17:28. > :17:32.Shingler. Isaac Boss. Leinster are going backwards at the moment. A

:17:33. > :17:35.lack of patience again. There was space there. And they are just not

:17:36. > :17:39.regrouping. They are in ones and twos just heading off. You cannot do

:17:40. > :17:43.that, when you are making ground, you have to keep the form of the

:17:44. > :17:46.more rolling around. Not just breaking off and finding space and

:17:47. > :17:51.almost dropping through it. That is not the way it goes. And here is the

:17:52. > :17:54.moment a lot of Leinster fans will have been waiting for and there is

:17:55. > :18:01.the reaction to Johnny Sexton getting stripped off. A huge cheer

:18:02. > :18:07.when his name was announced among the substitutes bench before the

:18:08. > :18:32.game. The heavy artillery first, in Jack McGrath and Marty Moore.

:18:33. > :18:38.At the moment, no Jonny Sexton. Maybe because

:18:39. > :18:47.At the moment, no Jonny Sexton. about entail. -- Ben Te'o. I think

:18:48. > :18:50.what will happen is Ian Madigan will push into the centre and Jonny

:18:51. > :18:59.Sexton will come on, when it does happen. They are just gone to wait a

:19:00. > :19:07.little more time before he comes on. Europe looming large on the horizon

:19:08. > :19:14.for everyone next weekend. It is. It is only a few weeks and it will be

:19:15. > :19:21.very intense for these players. It isn't like 14 games on the trot now

:19:22. > :19:23.without stopping. -- something like. Gareth Owen thought he could spot

:19:24. > :19:32.half a gap as Isaac 's was coming across. -- Isaac Boss.

:19:33. > :19:40.Jake Ball. Leinster defence up quickly. James Davies twirls his way

:19:41. > :19:53.out of the first tackle. He has had a great game so far today. Kirchner

:19:54. > :20:02.got a bit of it but not enough. A fair challenge in the air.

:20:03. > :20:06.This is the first sustained the first sustained bit of play we have

:20:07. > :20:12.had... Here is Jonny Sexton coming onto the park now. I think it is Ben

:20:13. > :20:19.Te'o coming off. Ian Madigan into the centre. Noel Reid out of 13. It

:20:20. > :20:22.was the first sustained bit of play we have had where they have been in

:20:23. > :20:25.one half and out of the other. The school board has not ticked over.

:20:26. > :20:35.The game is evening out a little bit. Ben Te'o himself a replacement

:20:36. > :20:40.for Rob Kearney, then replaced and just under half an hour for Jonny

:20:41. > :21:02.Sexton and now Ian Madigan alongside him in the centre.

:21:03. > :21:11.Gareth Owen testing Ian Madigan 's defensive qualities early. Beautiful

:21:12. > :21:15.delay from Davies to Jake Ball. Invited him into the gap. James

:21:16. > :21:21.Davies appended as he got into the 22. The ball is therefore the

:21:22. > :21:26.Scarlets though. It is really entirely in the end. Absolutely.

:21:27. > :21:31.Leinster fighting really hard. I do not know if the referee is checking

:21:32. > :21:35.something or the TMO but Leinster fighting really hard, giving them no

:21:36. > :21:40.free time at ruck time. The Scarlets will not be happy with the way that

:21:41. > :21:46.one ended up at play on. The TMO is meant to be checking something. Tom

:21:47. > :21:53.Williams in the end comes over from the right wing. Captain by Ian

:21:54. > :21:59.Madigan. -- capped in. Not much of an angle to play with.

:22:00. > :22:08.The TMO has spotted something. It was in that series of rocks on the

:22:09. > :22:13.far side web bodies were flying in all over the place. Absolutely. I do

:22:14. > :22:18.not know what he has seen. It was interesting to see Ringrose gather

:22:19. > :22:38.the ball on the wing and he decided to kick this time. As opposed to

:22:39. > :22:48.having a run at Michael. Jake Ball cleaning out Jamie Heaslip. Again,

:22:49. > :22:52.as we talked about it at the very start of the game, is he leading

:22:53. > :23:01.with the head? Is he wrapping his arm around? His arm looked like it

:23:02. > :23:03.was half in the position to get up. REFEREE:

:23:04. > :23:05.It just looks a little bit scrappy. For me, it is nothing more than a

:23:06. > :23:15.penalty kick. It'll be a penalty but no more

:23:16. > :23:18.against Jake Ball. Jamie Heaslip was in a rather unfortunate position.

:23:19. > :23:22.There was nothing he could do. His legs were caught underneath the

:23:23. > :23:24.ruck. We saw what happened to Paul O'Connell in the World Cup. Just

:23:25. > :23:36.those little inches that can make the difference. Your footage an inch

:23:37. > :23:42.to the left, and aims to the right. -- an inch to the right. One or two

:23:43. > :23:48.Leinster supporters do not agree with Leighton Hodges. Although in

:23:49. > :23:51.fairness to the referee, he did refer to the point that he has

:23:52. > :23:55.already had a yellow card so he really has to be careful. He was

:23:56. > :24:04.right on the borderline there. Treading a very fine line. Jake Ball

:24:05. > :24:07.carries on but with a warning still in his years. What do the boys back

:24:08. > :24:16.in the studio make of that? Pretty harsh. At the end of the day, you

:24:17. > :24:19.take players out, it was almost a textbook sort of clear out, I

:24:20. > :24:26.think, from Jake Ball. Very unfortunate. If it is a penalty,

:24:27. > :24:33.should it be a Ricard? But I said that was a harsh decision. The fact

:24:34. > :24:35.that the Scarlets are playing decent rugby, they are more aggressive at

:24:36. > :24:41.the breakdown of this very unfortunate. I completely agree. He

:24:42. > :24:46.comes through the centre, there is no offence made there. He uses his

:24:47. > :24:50.arms, it is not just the shoulders. And like you say, if they are going

:24:51. > :24:56.to give a penalty, he is already on a yellow card, and that to me

:24:57. > :25:02.really, if it is a penalty it is another yellow card. But that

:25:03. > :25:11.certainly was not the case. Thank you, boys. Offside called. Now then,

:25:12. > :25:19.Jonny Sexton for the corner, I dare say. Harry Robinson has come on the

:25:20. > :25:27.left wing for the Scarlets for Michael Tagicakibau. And Robinson is

:25:28. > :25:30.the one who keeps it in play. Jonny Sexton been just a little bit

:25:31. > :25:34.greedy. Wanted to go right to the corner. He could have come a couple

:25:35. > :25:39.of yard short occurs it would only be five yards anyway. We have seen

:25:40. > :25:47.him doing summary times, he does have amazing ability. Bert he really

:25:48. > :25:54.did push it that little bit too far. The forwards will not be thanking

:25:55. > :25:58.him for that. A Leinster line-out. A good deal further away from the

:25:59. > :26:11.trial and they would have wanted. -- try line. Heaslip takes. It is

:26:12. > :26:19.sacked immediately. That is OK. Good defence. Sean O'Brien against --

:26:20. > :26:26.against that source by Emyr Phillips. Jonny Sexton turns it

:26:27. > :26:33.nicely back inside to Tracey. Isaac Boss. Ringrose has a goal.

:26:34. > :26:42.Nicely played initially but then sloppy pass down at the feet. Just

:26:43. > :26:46.trying to threaded through behind the defence and the Scarlets defence

:26:47. > :26:49.are very hard, trying to close the space before Leinster made any

:26:50. > :27:01.ground at all. And Ian Madigan trying to threaded through.

:27:02. > :27:12.Just trying to get in behind the defence because they are so quickly.

:27:13. > :27:22.Forced it that bit too much. Outside Kirchner and Kelleher.

:27:23. > :27:34.The wind has certainly picked up. I am not sure who it is favouring.

:27:35. > :27:39.Looks like it is favouring Leinster a little bit, I think. I do not know

:27:40. > :27:46.what I am basing that on, just the wind at my back. And the crowd noise

:27:47. > :27:47.has also picked up. You can usually tell from the way my hair moves,

:27:48. > :28:00.whether it is going left or right. I have to say, I am surprised the

:28:01. > :28:04.Scarlets have taken the scrum. Normally the line-out is a cleaner

:28:05. > :28:10.take when you are in defence. Easier for the kicker to get his chance to

:28:11. > :28:18.clear his lines. But they have managed to get it out. The ball out

:28:19. > :28:21.on the full, even those Gareth Davies was inside the 22. The

:28:22. > :28:38.line-out will be just there the whitewash.

:28:39. > :28:43.Territorially and possession wise, the second half has belonged to

:28:44. > :28:48.Leinster. Much more of a defensive battle for the Scarlets. And there

:28:49. > :28:56.is no let up yet from the home team. Ian Madigan bringing in Kirchner,

:28:57. > :29:00.great hands. The pass just dying on Ringrose. Kirchner knew it was gone

:29:01. > :29:04.to be man and ball. Yes, the pass was floated a bit from Ian Madigan.

:29:05. > :29:10.Took a little bit too long to get to Kirchner. Kirchner, very quick

:29:11. > :29:14.hands. The ball and fortunately ran out of gas before it got to

:29:15. > :29:26.Ringrose. It is Aled Thomas who has come off second best anyway.

:29:27. > :29:34.Kirchner back from World Cup duty with South Africa. Yes, a bronze

:29:35. > :29:37.medal in his pocket, a happy man. A few people did not expect him to get

:29:38. > :29:43.the call-out. But certainly, it himself no harm whatsoever and he

:29:44. > :29:48.will be very happy. So few people have any medal coming out of a World

:29:49. > :29:54.Cup. If you are hanging around Sonny Bill Williams, you might get one.

:29:55. > :29:58.But yes, he has been a great player, a great addition to the Leinster

:29:59. > :30:05.squad since he has come over here and a player that can play in

:30:06. > :30:11.several different possessions. -- positions. Just to remind you that

:30:12. > :30:17.the rest of the fixtures this weekend involving the Welsh regions,

:30:18. > :30:23.Ospreys are hosting Zebre. The Blues are hosting Glasgow. And on S4C on

:30:24. > :30:27.Sunday afternoon, it is the Dragons against Ulster. One of the game

:30:28. > :30:32.being played this evening, Connacht are leading Benetton Treviso by 23

:30:33. > :30:40.points to 12. Connacht could find themselves going top this evening.

:30:41. > :30:46.They are scoring tries. They were 20 tries coming into this weekend, the

:30:47. > :30:51.top try scorers in the Pro12. Another new recruit for the Scarlets

:30:52. > :31:05.our goal, Michael Collins. There is a name to be conjured within these

:31:06. > :31:07.parts. Great Irish name. Three more for Ian Madigan, three more for

:31:08. > :31:15.Leinster. They have dominated the third quarter and what was a 9-15

:31:16. > :31:21.deficit has turned into a 19-15 advantage. Another new recruit for

:31:22. > :31:28.the Scarlets. Maselino Paulino. Seven times capped by Sam well.

:31:29. > :31:37.Is You called it right, Leinster have an pace -- have increased the

:31:38. > :31:40.pace and intensity. We knew this would happen, the Scarlets have to

:31:41. > :31:44.rise to the occasion because we knew that Leinster would start to get

:31:45. > :31:47.their rhythm. They were disjointed in the first half and things were

:31:48. > :31:55.going the wrong way and Scarlets took advantage. Now they are getting

:31:56. > :32:01.together, Scarlets have to improve their defence. Looking for the

:32:02. > :32:09.inside ball. Just knocked on. Almost an interception. Genuine attempt to

:32:10. > :32:17.catch the ball. Not forwards. Dan Jones. A good effort, nothing wrong

:32:18. > :32:25.with that. So many one-handed interception efforts, called a

:32:26. > :32:29.deliberate knock-on. You can see if he's trying to gather it, they

:32:30. > :32:40.should be given every opportunity. Just a knock-on, nothing more to it.

:32:41. > :32:53.Ken Owens is in the middle of that scrum now. The referee drives you

:32:54. > :32:59.mad, there is a perfectly good scrum there, putting the ball in. No idea

:33:00. > :33:03.of the pressure is going through the front row, the fun and games going

:33:04. > :33:09.on there. He's looking at the back row to seek. -- to see. Get the ball

:33:10. > :33:34.going, get it going again. Well, that is a very impressive

:33:35. > :33:37.Leinster scrum. Absolutely, you can see by the way they were scrummaging

:33:38. > :33:41.in the first half, they expected to be on top but the Scarlets were

:33:42. > :33:47.fighting hard, even down to seven men, fighting hard in the scrum. It

:33:48. > :33:54.looks like the other hand is starting to show. Both props have

:33:55. > :33:58.been changed, and Marty Moore is on, and Jack McGrath is at the

:33:59. > :34:03.loosehead. It seems that the fresh blood is working. That shows the

:34:04. > :34:07.difference in the squads and benches, if you can take and Ross

:34:08. > :34:11.and Ross and bring an Jack McGrath and Marty Moore. And the others are

:34:12. > :34:42.tiring now, Rob Evans. Absolutely. Ryan is at the ready. So is Hayden

:34:43. > :34:53.Triggs. The New Zealander who has joined Leinster. Rumbling on again,

:34:54. > :35:02.led by Heaslip initially. More tackling to be done by the Scarlets.

:35:03. > :35:16.Sexton, to Madigan. The Scarlets, keeping them at bay.

:35:17. > :35:23.The Scarlets are camped in their own 22, concerted pressure from

:35:24. > :35:29.Leinster. Sexton, the different option this time. A nicely weighted

:35:30. > :35:33.kick too to Kelaher. Very close to being on the end of it. Sexton had

:35:34. > :35:40.to do that because the game was going against them and the defence

:35:41. > :35:43.is still working hard into Leinster's faces and he had no

:35:44. > :35:49.option but to try and find some space in another way. You sense that

:35:50. > :36:04.Tom Williams had crept a yard infield. Shingler, battling for it.

:36:05. > :36:13.Devin Toner steals it. So, here comes the pressure again.

:36:14. > :36:26.Reid on the straight run. The Scarlets winning the penalty. Good

:36:27. > :36:39.defence, James Davies leading the way. Well done, some lovely

:36:40. > :36:48.interplay. Noel getting the ball away nicely but you can't be

:36:49. > :36:51.isolated in the ruck. Good defensive work from James Davies and it had to

:36:52. > :36:56.be because they've been under the cosh for pretty much all of the

:36:57. > :37:00.second half. Leinster have had almost three quarters of the

:37:01. > :37:05.possession. It's clear to see, much more in the first half, even

:37:06. > :37:09.favouring the Scarlets in terms of possession but that hasn't been the

:37:10. > :37:15.story in the second half. James Tracy deserves the applause he gets

:37:16. > :37:24.as he leaves. Oh, yes, great effort. Replaced by Bryan Byrne. Ken Owens,

:37:25. > :37:28.the Scarlets looking to try and get some possession, keep hold of the

:37:29. > :37:37.ball and work their way down the field. Gareth Davies looking,

:37:38. > :37:43.freeing his hands. The ball is stripped from his grasp, Heaslip

:37:44. > :37:49.with the important tackle. Little chip from Sexton is a bit far. That

:37:50. > :38:02.was just kicking the ball back into their possession. Gareth Davies, oh,

:38:03. > :38:05.a great run, just dragged back. The Scarlets are still causing one or

:38:06. > :38:08.two problems when they get the chance. Absolutely, Leinster have

:38:09. > :38:12.found a way through, they have scored in the second half but the

:38:13. > :38:17.effort and aggression from the Scarlets is still there in defence

:38:18. > :38:23.and attack. They are not doing much wrong. Oh, just the slightest

:38:24. > :38:32.knock-on. There you go, almost exactly as I said. So unlucky, very

:38:33. > :38:36.little in it from Shingler. In fairness, that's exactly what the

:38:37. > :38:42.Scarlets can't do in the second half. As Leinster have started

:38:43. > :38:45.finding their feet. As the Scarlets get into the Leinster half they have

:38:46. > :38:50.to retain the ball and get through the phases. Shingler has taken a

:38:51. > :39:08.knock. Let's go down to the pitch side. A lot of traffic jams tomorrow

:39:09. > :39:21.on the B4556. A game going on in the Premiership. And tomorrow's

:39:22. > :39:28.fixtures... Bridgend, three from three, they are the form team at the

:39:29. > :39:34.moment, at home to Pontypridd. Llanelli being coached by Phil John,

:39:35. > :39:35.we heard from him early on. A big one at Rodney Parade, the Gwent

:39:36. > :39:52.derby. Where are some of those places? The

:39:53. > :39:57.look on your face! A main thoroughfare, I presume. If you

:39:58. > :40:08.haven't been there, you haven't lived. Fair enough!

:40:09. > :40:19.Michael Cole instructing back, he wants it to go dead and it obliges.

:40:20. > :40:29.The 22-year-old. Born in Queenstown in the South Island. Clearly strong

:40:30. > :40:48.Irish ancestry. -- Michael Collins. Kerzner, trying to launch another

:40:49. > :41:04.Leinster attack. -- Kirchner. It is good, aggressive defence by

:41:05. > :41:26.the Scarlets. And again, look at this from

:41:27. > :41:30.Sexton. Whatever game plan he was playing, it might it have been a bad

:41:31. > :41:39.decision if they were ready for it, but unfortunately they weren't.

:41:40. > :42:01.Hadleigh Parkes just wants to get the Scarlets back downfield. Still

:42:02. > :42:07.in play. Robinson is struggling in midfield for the Scarlets now. He is

:42:08. > :42:11.hobbling. I think he's suffering from cramp, he was trying to get it

:42:12. > :42:16.out of his leg. Fair play to him, he's doing his bit. It is Stan

:42:17. > :42:32.Jones, actually. Aled Davies, the only back

:42:33. > :42:43.replacement. The scrum-half. He may be called into action. Just under

:42:44. > :42:53.ten minutes to go. The penalties are racking up against the Scarlets.

:42:54. > :43:01.That of course results, the pressure applied in the second half from the

:43:02. > :43:05.home team. Finding out during the game in the first half, the coaching

:43:06. > :43:09.staff already pointing out that penalties are an issue and it really

:43:10. > :43:13.is growing, as the pressure comes on in the second half against Scarlets,

:43:14. > :43:17.it's really growing. The one thing from Leinster that I would like to

:43:18. > :43:21.see that we haven't seen in the game, being a bit patient, as is

:43:22. > :43:26.Scarlets were in the first half. Retain the ball, don't always go for

:43:27. > :43:32.the kick. Sexton likes to keep the ball moving forwards, but if not,

:43:33. > :43:39.just recycle it, keep it. Just under 15,000 at the RDS, as Heaslip takes

:43:40. > :43:44.his team into the Scarlets's 22. It has been one-way traffic in the

:43:45. > :43:51.second half. Opening up with the runaround from Johnny Sexton. And

:43:52. > :43:59.it's as easy as that in the end. The RDS crowd coming alive to greet

:44:00. > :44:04.Johnny Sexton's try. I think it was Parkes, breaking the line, which you

:44:05. > :44:09.can't do. He broke the line and gave Sexton the gap. As he does, he took

:44:10. > :44:10.the opportunity, doing the dummy pass and the defence was left

:44:11. > :44:25.behind. Initiating contact, is can we see

:44:26. > :44:36.who it was. -- can we see who it was? That is it, it is Reid on

:44:37. > :44:42.Gareth Owen. 12 initiated contact, obstruction, no try. No try is going

:44:43. > :44:50.to be given. Just watching the last one. I've got it, thanks. Noel Reid

:44:51. > :44:54.knocked into Gareth Owen 's, and the try does not count -- Gareth Owen.

:44:55. > :45:01.If he kept his hands up, dropping the shoulder into it, as the referee

:45:02. > :45:08.saying, he initiated contact. The gap would have been there anyway

:45:09. > :45:12.probably. The blood around -- the wraparound would have worked. The

:45:13. > :45:18.video session is not going well for him. A let off for the Scarlets as

:45:19. > :45:21.they try to hang onto the losing bonus point. Seven and a half

:45:22. > :45:43.minutes is a long time, though. Gareth Davies going aerial. The

:45:44. > :45:52.knock-on. Another one following. There will be a scrum. First

:45:53. > :45:58.knock-on, blue. The Scarlets are still in it. They scored two tries

:45:59. > :46:04.early on, what do they need to get a third? STUDIO: They need to get

:46:05. > :46:10.their hands on the ball, there was the opportunity on the handover and

:46:11. > :46:15.the backs look like dangerous, getting over the gain line when they

:46:16. > :46:19.have been running in midfield. In the second half it has all been

:46:20. > :46:22.Leinster but they are only four points in front, with seven minutes

:46:23. > :46:26.to play, so the Scarlets are in the game. The important point is that

:46:27. > :46:30.they are still in the game, they still have an opportunity, only four

:46:31. > :46:35.behind. They are where they want to be. So they had every opportunity to

:46:36. > :46:41.get a result and it would be a fantastic result. COMMENTATOR: The

:46:42. > :46:47.confidence that Scarlets had in the first half is what they need now in

:46:48. > :46:51.these last five or six minutes. It is, you have to say that the switch

:46:52. > :46:54.around in the game, you talk about how dominant Scarlets were in the

:46:55. > :46:59.first half and suddenly they were behind. How dominant Leinster have

:47:00. > :47:10.been in this half, the Scarlets are still only ones school away. Just

:47:11. > :47:15.one try will do. -- one score away. Gareth Davies, good footwork.

:47:16. > :47:35.Hadleigh Parkes, in support again. Taken on by Dylan Evans, fresh legs.

:47:36. > :47:38.Madigan with the tackle. The Scarlets are putting a few phases

:47:39. > :47:41.together which they haven't managed to do in the second half. I think

:47:42. > :47:46.this is the longest they have had the ball in their hands. They are

:47:47. > :47:53.edging towards the Leinster 22. Can they find a bit of magic from

:47:54. > :47:59.somewhere? Inside ball. Asking too much, though, it was knocked on by

:48:00. > :48:02.Collins. It looked as if they were building up to what they were doing

:48:03. > :48:07.in the first half. Massive retention of the ball, slowly but surely

:48:08. > :48:14.getting over the gain line and putting Leinster under pressure. But

:48:15. > :48:17.the forced pass. The gaps that were there in the first half will not be

:48:18. > :48:23.there in the second, the Leinster defence has tightened up. It is more

:48:24. > :48:26.difficult to do when you are tired and chasing the game. Of course,

:48:27. > :48:45.especially when you are passing to a prop. Very tired. Dan Leavy coming

:48:46. > :48:51.on. Both benches, as all of them are these days, such an important role

:48:52. > :48:55.to play. It is a 23 man game now. Absolutely. Part of the debate about

:48:56. > :49:02.the game, isn't it, whether it should be that the fresh legs can

:49:03. > :49:07.come on, if substitutions were not so easily made, would the game open

:49:08. > :49:12.up? Right now, squads are so important. Everyone on the bench has

:49:13. > :49:20.a huge role to play. Gareth Davies has played his part. Aled Davies has

:49:21. > :49:40.around five minutes to make his impression.

:49:41. > :49:58.Long kick, easily taken by Collins. He needs to put in a decent reply.

:49:59. > :50:04.Kirchner, back again. Tom Williams. On the ten metre line. One of those

:50:05. > :50:08.hard decisions for the full-backs when there is such a big distance

:50:09. > :50:13.and the kicks are going backwards and forwards. Does he try running

:50:14. > :50:20.out of the 22 and get some back or does he take the safety, of going

:50:21. > :50:26.into touch? Treviso, that match is 26-12, almost finished. Henshaw is

:50:27. > :50:32.back after the World Cup and scored a try and so has Tom McCartney, the

:50:33. > :50:37.winger. Superb for Connacht, in such a good position. And they have the

:50:38. > :50:43.advantage of Henshaw coming back, one of their stars. The line-out

:50:44. > :50:46.letting them down, the Scarlets have a chance to attack with less than

:50:47. > :51:02.three minutes to play. Looking for one score of any kind, a tribe that

:51:03. > :51:08.is. Robinson over halfway. Dan Jones, suffering badly with crab

:51:09. > :51:16.early on. He has stayed out there. -- with cramp.

:51:17. > :51:24.They can't afford to be isolated now. They have to really follow the

:51:25. > :51:27.ball and the ball carrier around. Absolutely, they need to have a bit

:51:28. > :51:32.of patience and control that they had in the first half. Retaining the

:51:33. > :51:44.ball is so important now. So much to play for. Slip from Evans. That's

:51:45. > :51:48.good work from Shingler. They have been forced backwards and that's a

:51:49. > :51:56.dangerous ball from Ken Owens. Aled Davies is under pressure now. The

:51:57. > :52:01.Scarlets get away with it though. That was like an amateur are from

:52:02. > :52:05.Sean O'Brien. Never let the man up at all. You have to get them some

:52:06. > :52:10.opportunity to get back on their feet. Very surprised with that for a

:52:11. > :52:13.man of his experience. Given a good opportunity for the Scarlets to get

:52:14. > :52:26.down into the corner now and have a go. The Scarlets, only one win and

:52:27. > :52:30.the RDS, and that was in 2007. Still within one score of doing it again

:52:31. > :52:32.as we go into the final minute of the game. This will be the final

:52:33. > :52:50.chance for the Scarlets now. One more shot from the Scarlets as

:52:51. > :52:54.they go into the Leinster 22. This is where they want to be, they are

:52:55. > :52:58.applying the pressure even know they have been under the cosh in the

:52:59. > :53:07.second half. One more chance to get a win from here.

:53:08. > :53:13.The crowd are starting to wake up, cheering on the Leinster defence.

:53:14. > :53:22.They know what's at stake here, the Leinster fans. Penalty given away.

:53:23. > :53:26.Penalty advantage. Aled Davies looking for somebody on the angle

:53:27. > :53:33.but the pass was given away. A long advantage was played. The clock has

:53:34. > :53:41.gone red but they will continue. They will have to tap and go if they

:53:42. > :53:46.want to have a go. The time is up. There we go, then, one last effort

:53:47. > :53:51.from the Scarlets. Apart from the penalty, that's it. We'll be

:53:52. > :53:54.Scarlets finish with a flourish? It has been a great effort. Paulino

:53:55. > :54:01.takes it on and nearly bursting through the tackle. The try line is

:54:02. > :54:06.now there. Within reach. Collins, sending it back to Aled Davies.

:54:07. > :54:11.Those long way around. Paulino, but the ball was lost for words. There

:54:12. > :54:15.may be relief -- there may be relief for the Leinster fans. The Scarlets

:54:16. > :54:21.giving it everything. Coming so close. In the end, they have to come

:54:22. > :54:26.away with the losing bonus point. Great effort from the Scarlets,

:54:27. > :54:30.early tries, but a blank sheet in the second half. Leinster, they

:54:31. > :54:35.improved as the game went on and it is Leinster who come away with the

:54:36. > :54:40.victory and the Scarlets have to lick their wounds and settle for a

:54:41. > :54:44.first defeat of the season, and the losing bonus point at the RDS. Great

:54:45. > :54:49.effort from Leinster in the end, just a bit too good in the second

:54:50. > :54:57.half. They have the victory over the Scarlets, 19-15. STUDIO: There it

:54:58. > :55:01.is, the Scarlets have Scarlets, 19-15. STUDIO: There it

:55:02. > :55:05.unbeaten record. They started brilliantly, Hadleigh Parkes

:55:06. > :55:11.crossing within five minutes at the RDS and then they were two to the

:55:12. > :55:15.good before half-time, Gareth efforts -- Gareth Owen crossing for

:55:16. > :55:18.the second. But Leinster immersed in the second half they changed team

:55:19. > :55:26.and Mike Ross bundled his way over. A series of pick and goes. Ever

:55:27. > :55:30.reliable with the boot, Ryan. Getting eventually the unassailable

:55:31. > :55:35.lead, 19-15, despite a dramatic final flourish. It would have been

:55:36. > :55:40.against the run of play, but the Scarlets would have taken it all day

:55:41. > :55:44.long. Yes, they were in the game throughout, the second half was all

:55:45. > :55:48.Leinster. Nearly smothering the ball, not allowing Scarlets to have

:55:49. > :55:54.much of the ball, retaining the ball on the breakdown. As we saw, the

:55:55. > :55:57.Scarlets could have taken it. When they had the ball they were

:55:58. > :56:00.effective and they got over the gain line quite well but they tried

:56:01. > :56:08.forcing the ball a couple of times, if you turnover is. -- turnovers.

:56:09. > :56:13.You could see the pressure building and building, Heaslip played well in

:56:14. > :56:17.the second half. You look at the substitutes they can bring on,

:56:18. > :56:21.Sexton, they controlled the second half, but great effort from the

:56:22. > :56:25.Scarlets. We will look at the final few phrases now, how close did the

:56:26. > :56:31.Scarlets come to crossing the line and how panicked would Leinster have

:56:32. > :56:36.been? A little bit fortunate there, but I think the work ethic, the

:56:37. > :56:42.aggressive nature of the attack and the breakdown in particular was very

:56:43. > :56:46.impressive. I think they'll be disappointed with the result, but

:56:47. > :56:48.delighted with the effort and performance overall, considering

:56:49. > :56:55.that they didn't come fully loaded, the guests -- up against the

:56:56. > :56:58.experienced team. The last few minutes, it's all about being

:56:59. > :57:02.patient and controlling the ball. You can run the clock as long as you

:57:03. > :57:06.want, you have to hold onto the ball and eventually you should find

:57:07. > :57:11.space. Perhaps a bit panicky at times, using possession. -- losing

:57:12. > :57:20.possession. They have the bonus point. The Scarlets captain for the

:57:21. > :57:24.night John Barclay joins us. Bad luck on the defeat, magnificent

:57:25. > :57:30.effort. Where did you think it just pipped you? A little bit

:57:31. > :57:37.disappointing, giving away the ball a bit of it -- a bit too cheaply

:57:38. > :57:41.sometimes. Good to get a bonus point but we are disappointed to lose. It

:57:42. > :57:46.says something that you are disappointed come away from Leinster

:57:47. > :57:50.with a losing bonus point. This is one of the hardest places to play,

:57:51. > :57:55.they have a great record here. The bonus point is good, but these games

:57:56. > :58:03.at the end of the season, you look back and you wonder what if? It is

:58:04. > :58:09.encouraging. We are winning a lot of games. Going to Europe and then back

:58:10. > :58:16.for the Pro12, it's going all right. Well done and good luck in Europe.

:58:17. > :58:26.Let's look at the table. The Connacht Treviso game has just

:58:27. > :58:36.finished. 33-12. Not a bonus point, just three tries for Connacht. We

:58:37. > :58:46.have a new Pro12 leader, Connacht usurping the Scarlets at the top of

:58:47. > :58:50.the table. A full round of fixtures on Saturday and Sunday. Two tomorrow

:58:51. > :58:55.featuring two Welsh regions. The Ospreys are facing Zebre, on the

:58:56. > :59:01.verge of losing three in a row but surely they won't do that to Zebre,

:59:02. > :59:05.will bathe? I hope not, they have a bit of experience -- will they. They

:59:06. > :59:11.have the likes of Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Biggar in the squad. They need a

:59:12. > :59:18.victory. They needed big victory as well, a bit of a push. Probably in a

:59:19. > :59:24.tough place at the moment, so it's hard to start the season. Not having

:59:25. > :59:28.any success. The likes of Alun Wyn Jones, he is going to boost the pack

:59:29. > :59:30.and lead from the front and Alan pick-up pulling the strings behind

:59:31. > :59:36.him, unsure they will get the victory. -- Alun Wyn Jones pulling

:59:37. > :59:44.the strings. And how our Glasgow going to be beaten? Eight big ask,

:59:45. > :59:48.Glasgow have a strong squad. -- a big ask. They have no momentum,

:59:49. > :59:53.let's hope it goes the way of the Blues. Indeed, best of luck for

:59:54. > :59:56.those teams. That's all we have time for. Commiserations to the Scarlets,

:59:57. > :00:01.they have lost their unbeaten record, but to a very good Leinster

:00:02. > :00:02.second-half performance. Congratulations to them, it is

:00:03. > :00:52.Europe next. Good night. Scrum V on BBC Wales, a live match

:00:53. > :00:55.every Friday on Pro12 weekend. Referee camera, high motion cameras,

:00:56. > :01:05.you won't miss a thing. You never know what may happen. That is one of

:01:06. > :01:06.the season highlights. And Scrum V Sunday, for Jack, in-depth analysis,

:01:07. > :01:10.Pro12 Premiership highlights. The knives are sharpened and the heat

:01:11. > :01:13.is on. It can only mean one thing. Britain's best chefs

:01:14. > :01:18.are back in town. They're here because they want

:01:19. > :01:23.this title. I'm really excited. MasterChef: The Professionals

:01:24. > :01:28.starts cooking...