Director of Rugby Nigel Davies admitted errors and fine margins cost his Scarlets side dear in their opening BKT United Rugby Championship match of the season against Cardiff.
Speaking to the media after the 21-15 defeat, Davies admitted his side were unable to maintain the accuracy and energy of the opening half hour in which they scored two cracking tries through Joe Roberts and Blair Murray.
He said: “There was plenty of effort and endeavor, particularly in that first half; in that first 30 minutes we looked like the team we want to be. But then some errors started creeping into our game. Cardiff took their tries well but they didn’t really have to work for them. It was more about our errors giving them three entries into our 22 and they scored from three line-outs.
“We lost a bit of energy as well, which was disappointing. The boys battled to the end, we exposed a lot of young players tonight and I thought in the main those boys did really well and will be better players for it.”
A pivotal moment came midway through the second half when a clearance kick from Murray which looked like giving Scarlets an attacking platform in the Cardiff 22 was adjudged to have kissed the touchline, which eventually led to the visitors’ match-winning try.
“It was a big moment and there were a few moments like that which turned the game on its head,” admitted Davies. “There were five or six moments which we got wrong, which was the game, ultimately.
“Margins are so fine at this level, it is the start of the season, everyone is finding their feet and you need those small margins to go your way and to make sure your error count isn’t as high as it was in that second half.
“We had a team strong enough to win that game and a lott of young boys would have learned a lot, particularly up front. For us, it is about accelerating their growth and development and we are working hard to do that.
“You take the errors away from it, it is a different result, but credit to Cardiff for grinding out a result. It is the first game of the season, we have identified a few things we need to put right quickly and we have a huge derby match again against Dragons next week.”