Captain Macleod’s Two Tries Lead Scarlets to Victory Over Black Lion

Johnny Williams scored Scarlets’ third try against Black Lion European Challenge Cup: Scarlets (19) 36 Tries: G Davies, Macleod 2, J Williams, A Hughes Cons: Costelow 4 Pen: Costelow Black Lion (11) 18 Tries: Ivanishvili, Babunashvili Cons: Tsirekidze Pens: Matkava 2 Scarlets captain Josh Macleod contributed two tries, enabling his team to avenge last season’s Challenge Cup defeat against the Georgian side Black Lion in Llanelli. Dwayne Peel’s team secured a bonus-point victory, capitalizing on a red card issued to Lado Chachanidze in the 41st minute. The Black Lion lock received a red card for a dangerous clearout on Macleod, which involved throwing the Scarlets captain into the air, resulting in him landing on his head. Gareth Davies, Johnny Williams, and Archie Hughes also scored tries, with Sam Costelow adding 11 points from kicks. Number eight Vaea Fifita delivered an outstanding performance in both attack and the line-out. Black Lion’s points came from tries scored by Luka Ivanishvili and Mikheil Babunashvili. At times, the game nearly descended into disarray, extending beyond two hours due to French referee Kevin Bralley and his officiating team repeatedly prolonging proceedings by consulting the television match official (TMO). The Georgians had commenced their current campaign by achieving their first-ever victory against a Top 14 team, securing a 22-19 win over a weakened Vannes side in Tbilisi the previous weekend. These two teams had previously faced each other precisely one year prior, when Black Lion surprised Scarlets with an unexpected 23-7 victory in Llanelli during the previous year’s competition. This outcome was not replicated in the current match, as Scarlets consequently moved up to third place in their pool. Their upcoming fixtures include an away game against Gloucester and a home match against Vannes in January. Scarlets implemented nine changes to the team that had played against Bayonne, with prop Henry Thomas replacing Sam Wainwright, who is scheduled for ankle surgery. Black Lion prop Giorgi Chkhartishvili sustained a facial injury early in the game; however, referee Bralley declined to halt play, which displeased Black Lion coach Richard Cockerill. Wing Ellis Mee capitalized on this, executing a strong run and an inside pass to scrum-half Davies, followed by a conversion from Costelow. The TMO concluded that the stray elbow from Scarlets hooker Marnus van der Merwe involved no foul play, deeming it accidental. Georgian fly-half Luka Matkava successfully kicked two penalties. He was then issued a yellow card for a high tackle on Scarlets centre Williams, and from the subsequent driving line-out, captain Macleod scored a try. Inaccurate kicks from Costelow and Joe Roberts prevented Scarlets from fully exploiting their numerical advantage. However, upon Matkava’s return, the home team scored a well-executed third try via centre Williams. Scarlets’ defensive line was caught off guard when Black Lion’s number eight Ivanishvili took a quick penalty and scored a try, leaving Black Lion trailing 19-11 at the half-time interval. Lock Chachanidze was shown a red card 56 seconds into the second half, with Macleod being the player involved in the incident. Subsequently, the Scarlets flanker scored his second try from another driving line-out. Matkava’s evasive run then caught Scarlets lock Max Douglas off guard, with Douglas’s head making contact with the Black Lion fly-half. Douglas received a yellow card for the dangerous tackle. He was not sent off because the officials determined that Matkava’s late change of direction provided mitigation. This offered no comfort to Matkava, who had to leave the field. The TMO was then consulted once more regarding a possible Black Lion try, which was disallowed, prior to lock Babunashvili scoring. A superb try-saving tackle by Ivanishvili prevented Scarlets full-back Ioan Nicholas from scoring. Costelow then kicked a penalty, bringing some stability, before replacement scrum-half Archie Hughes scored the final try. Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel: “It was the game we expected. It was a difficult and physical match.” “We started brightly before we let them back into the game but we collected ourselves well at half-time and we were clinical and that is the growth in this group.” “In the end it was job done and we got the five points.” Black Lion head coach Richard Cockerill: “I wish we had disconnected the TMO and let the referee get on with things. It was ridiculous.” “It was a good game and the best team won.” “I am proud of the performance and the way we stuck in and we showed we are a competitive bunch.” “But we deserved the red card and if we make those silly mistakes in a proper competition like this, it costs your team and it cost us today.” Scarlets: Nicholas; Rogers, Roberts, J Williams, Mee; Costelow, G Davies; Mathias, van der Merwe, Thomas, Douglas, Lousi, Plumtree, Macleod (capt), Fifita. Replacements: S Evans, Hepburn, Holz, J Price, Taylor, Hughes, Lloyd, James. Sin-bin: Douglas 56 Black Lion: Tsirekidze; Tabutsadze, Tapladze, Kakhoidze, Shvangiradze; Matkava (capt), Peranidze; Kakovin, IKvatadze, Chkhartishvili, Chachanidze, Babunashvili, Mamamtavrishvili, Tsutskiridze, Ivanishvili. Replacements: Zamtaradze, Abdushelishvili, Tchumbadze, Epremidze, Sinauridze, Khuroshvili, Metreveli, Todua. Red card: Chachanidze 41 Sin-bin: Matkava 16 Referee: Kevin Bralley (FFR) Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco Baque & Flavien Hourquet (FFR) TMO: Cedric Marchat (FFR)