Scarlets will leave South Africa with another losing bonus-point in the bag after crossing for four tries in a gutsy display against one of the URC’s powerhouses.
Missing a host of players through international duty and injuries, the west Walians gave the much-vaunted Bulls side a scare when they levelled the scores at 26-26 after 56 minutes.
But the power of the home side’s juggernaut pack eventually took its toll on the young Scarlets as the Bulls ran in eight tries in a 54-26 triumph on the Highveldt.
There were tireless efforts from the likes of centre Joe Roberts – who has had an outstanding two-week tour – No. 8 Fletcher Anderson and skipper Josh Macleod, with the Scarlets claiming a second successive try bonus thanks tries from hooker John McKee, lock Sam Lousi, emergency wing Archie Hughes and Roberts.
The match would also have been a valuable learning exercise for a number of the club’s emerging youngsters with Gabe Macdonald and Isaac Murray-Macgregor stepping up in their first URC starts.
Scarlets were forced to make a late change before kick-off with scrum-half Hughes drafted in for wing duties for the injured Ioan Jones (hamstring).
Looking to unleash the same attacking threat as the previous week in Cape Town, the Scarlets spent the opening 10 minutes on the defensive, soaking up wave upon wave of home pressure which eventually led to flanker and player of the match Jeandre Rudolph driving over from short range.
Scarlets almost hit back immediately, Macleod claimed a brilliant turnover from the restart, centre McDonald carried strongly, but a Gareth Davies snipe was held up over the line.
The Bulls extended their advantage on 17 minutes with a second try, finished off impressively by Springbok veteran Willie le Roux, then wing Dylan Maart crossed for a superbly-crafted length-of-the-field third as the score pushed out to 19-0 and it started to look ominous for the visitors.
However, just like against the Stormers, the Scarlets refused to buckle and surged back into the contest with two brilliantly-worked tries.
The first came after the visitors had won the ball back from disrupting the restart. New arrival Tom Allen and Anderson were involved before McDonald showed lovely handling skills to send McKee over wide out for his first try in a Scarlets jersey.
It then got better for the west Walians as the forwards showed off their handling skills to pave the way for a dazzling try by Lousi.
Corey Domachowski’s deft off-load sent Alex Groves striding upfield; the South African lock found Gareth Davies, he popped the ball to Anderson who fed Lousi on his outside with the giant lock stretching over one-handed for the touchdown. Unfortunately, the Tongan was injured in the process of scoring and was replaced by Dan Davis.
Leggatt-Jones converted and the Scarlets were back in it, trailing by just 19-12 at half-time.
In a frantic opening to the second half, Scarlets had two potential tries chalked off – one by Gareth Davies for offside and another by Hughes, with the TMO adjudging he and defender had their hands on the ball at the same time in the process of grounding a kick through.
In between, replacement Marcell Coetzee crossed for the home side to make it 26-12.
Back though came the Scarlets in blistering fashion.
Bulls were reduced to 14 men when centre Stedman Gans was shown yellow for a trip on Macleod and the Scarlets and Hughes got the try they deserved; Leggatt-Jones drifting around the defence before feeding his winger. The fly-half’s conversion brought the visitors back into the game
Moments later they were level – Roberts finishing off in style after a break from Nicholas.
But after the Scarlets failed to deal with the restart, Bulls went up a gear with a second by Coetzee and then another from fellow sub Sebastian de Klerk, who sliced through for try number six.
With the Bulls gaining a grip on the set-piece and Scarlets tiring, the home side added two more late tries through replacement Johan Grobelaar and another from Maart, who twisted over for his second.
As the Scarlets fly back home, the URC goes into hibernation until the first weekend of December, when Connacht are the visitors to Parc y Scarlets on Saturday, December 5.
Vodacom Bulls – tries: J. Rudolph, W. le Roux, D. Maart (2), M. Coetzee (2), S. de Klerk, J. Grobelaar. Cons: C. Bosch (7).
Scarlets – tries: J. McKee, S. Lousi. A. Hughes, J. Roberts. Cons: C. Leggatt-Jones (2).
Scarlets: Ioan Nicholas, Archie Hughes, Joe Roberts, Gabriel MacDonald, Isaac Murray-MacGregor (repl Jac Davies 68), Carwyn Leggat-Jones (repl Gareth Anscombe 63, Gareth Davies (repl Dane Blacker 51); Corey Domachowski (repl Sam O’Connor 53), John Mckee (repl Isaac Young 73), Harri O’Connor (repl Gabe Hawley 25), Tom Allen, Alex Groves (repl Harvey Cuckson 54), Sam Lousi (repl Dan Davis 37), Josh MacLoed (capt) , Fletcher Anderson
Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
Attendance: 9026