A 4th minute Ian Keatley penalty from inside the Connacht half fell just short of the posts but with just 13 minutes gone Frank Murphy made the most of a Mike McComish pick from the base of the scrum, a deft loop with Keatley left a gap for the scrumhalf to dive over in the corner. The conversion drifted wide as the wind picked up and Connacht were forced to defend for large tracts of the first half as the Scarlets chose to pick and drive from virtually every ruck. Their patients in attack paid off when Connacht were deemed to have been off their feet in front of the posts and Dan Newton made no mistake with the 3 points. The Connacht defence stood tall with captain Johnny O’Connor, Mike McCarthy, Michael Swift and Adrian Flavin all putting in huge hits to deny the Scarlets territory. A promising backline move was stopped when winger Brian Tuohy floored Darren Daniel with a bone shuddering tackle and the Scarlets were forced back into their own half again. It looked like the first half would end 5-3 to the hone side but Frank Murphy saw Martin Roberts take his time clearing the ball and forced the penalty which outhalf Keatley kicked, Half time at the Sportsground Connacht 8 3 Scarlets.

3 second half penalties from Ian Keatley, along with powerful displays from subtitutes Ray Ofisa and Rodney Ah You extended Connachts lead to 17-10 after Gareth Maule scored and Newton converted. Scarlets Scott Williams spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin for persistant infringment and the scarlets had only a solitary Dan Newton penalty to show for their efforts. Head Coach Eric Elwood said afterwards that he was proud of the effort the team put in the second half and hopefully they can use the victory as a springboard for next weekend.

The final score Connacht 17-13 Scarlets