Llanelli 45 - 15 Glasgow (original) (raw)

A sterling second-half performance, often inspired by Dwayne Peel, ensured that Llanelli are on the Heineken trail again. Last year they made the semi-finals, losing to Leicester by a solitary point. Here they started their campaign with an emphatic victory against Glasgow. Just as well. The perceived wisdom is that you have to win your home games.

The first half was scrappy, though evenly contested, but once Llanelli established a lead in the second, their confidence grew, the passes went to hand and they ended up clear-cut winners. The crowd departed satisfied rather than euphoric. Llanelli will meet tougher opposition in this tournament.

This was not quite the Stradey Park of my imaginings. Thirty years ago, 24,000 were crammed in amid the mist and the steam of the players' shirts. They were there when Delme Thomas's boys humbled Ian Kirkpatrick's All Blacks 9-3. Coach Carwyn James celebrated the momentous event with a fag in the car park. They even cheered in Swansea.

The scene was different yesterday. The sun shone serenely; the stands were barely half full. The ball passed through countless pairs of hands - far more frequently than in October 1972 - yet there was an absence of tension, of occasion, which led to plaintiff requests from the PA man at half-time to 'get behind the boys'. I don't think that was necessary when the All Blacks were here.

Mind you, there was not too much to cheer about in that first half. It was forgettable stuff. Llanelli had most of the ball, but that barely gave them any advantage. They tossed it around and were tackled, often losing ground in the process, although they may have been hindered by the referee's liberal view of the offside law. Tacklers appeared to be waiting to intervene on the shoulder of their opposite number.

After a period of sustained pressure, the reliable right boot of Stephen Jones gave the home side the lead. Llanelli attacked again but this time Glasgow stole the ball in their own 22 and counter-attacked so effectively that Jason White could drive himself over for the try, which Tommy Hayes converted.

Llanelli responded swiftly with the slickest move of the match. Quick hands gave Garan Evans the chance to race over in the right corner for his 100th try for Llanelli. There was an exchange of penalties and Llanelli were nervously defending a one-point lead at half-time.

But it all started to click in the second half. Llanelli pinioned their opponents in their own half and were eventually rewarded when Ian Boobyer was bundled over for a try.

A minute later, Peel, who had been sparky throughout at scrum-half, grabbed the ball immediately for a tapped penalty and sprinted 40 metres to the line almost unopposed. That was clever.

Cleverer still was the way he fashioned his second try. He spied a gap on the halfway line, snuck through it and, when confronted with the full-back, he chipped the ball over his head and regathered before bounding over the tryline.

Just as popular was the effort of Martyn Madden in between the Peel tries. Madden is a prop of the barn-door variety but he essayed a sidestep that Phil Bennett might not have been proud of, but he may have been satisfied with it.

In any case, an increasingly hapless Glaswegian defence bought it and he went over to good-humoured applause. It will be trickier in France next week.

Llanelli: Evans; M Jones, Watkins, Davies (capt), Finau; S Jones (Bowne 60), Peel; Thomas (J Davies), McBryde, Madden, Cooper (Gross 60), Wyatt, S Easterby (Hodges 23), Boobyer, Quinnell.

Glasgow: Moffat; Steel, A Bulloch, Henderson, Metcalfe; Hayes, Beveridge (Nicol 65); Blades, G Bulloch, Harrison, Hall (Ross 65), White (capt), Wilson, Macfadyen, Petrie.

Referee: Giulio De Santis (Italy)