There must be something in Heineken because the sponsors are certainly getting value for their European rugby money this year, with Scarlets‘ away win against well-fancied London Irish providing both a shock and a cracking encounter.
At the Scarlet‘s site, three Joneses: Dafydd, captain Mark and winning points-scorer Stephen credit the travelling faithful with for their part in succesful meeting with one of Europe’s form sides. Stephen says: “Saturday was an absolutely brilliant game for the Scarlets. The boys worked very hard, were fired-up and we have got what we deserved out of that game. Our thanks to all those that travelled to Reading and kept the Scarlets spirit going throughout.”
It’s been a confidence boosting win for Scarlets‘ number 8 David Lyons, who tells BBC Sport that his young team have finally shown what they can do over 80 minutes and can get even better.
“That’s the greatest thing about this side at the moment – we’re quite a young side, but we’ve got confidence that we’ve got the ability to beat anyone,” says Lyons, who acknowledges that Scarlets have to hit the heights again against Leinster in their next tie.
The Daily Telegraph‘s Gavin Mairs calls the win ‘sensational’ and is particularly thrilled with Daniel Evans’ ‘wonderful’ try. Irish coach Toby Booth puts the surprise loss down to an error-strewn home performance, while Nigel Davies tells the Telegraph his team can now go forward in an open group with confidence.
At the London Irish site, they reckon a lack of tempo let in the Scarlets, while Stephen Jones’ big match nerves were crucial in the final desperate minutes.
Too many errors is the verdict at The Craic supporters’ site, they’re not happy with some of their restarts and a bit dubious about the penalty decision that let Jones kick the winning points.
The Times‘ Mark Baldwin was impressed by Scarlets‘ young stars, but particularly Daniel Evans, whose individual brilliance, he says, shone at crucial moments. Nigel Davies reckons working away from the spotlight has helped his youthful side, but says they’ll be on the telly next time out against Leinster.
