“It was a night these boys will remember for a long time.”

That was the verdict of a jubilant head coach Dwayne Peel after seeing his side down a Springbok-stacked Cell C Sharks outfit at a bouncing Parc y Scarlets.

Peel hailed the 32-20 win as his best result since his time in charge, with the victory ranking as one of the finest home wins at the ground for a long, long time.

Sosban Fach was ringing loudly and proud at the final whistle as the Scarlets continued their unbeaten home run in 2023.

Wing Steff Evans crossed for a try in each half, while fly-half Sam Costelow kicked 22 points in an immaculate night off the tee.

Johnny Williams put in a player-of-the-match display in his first start since October, the likes of Kemsley Mathias, Shaun Evans and Josh Macleod produced tireless shifts up front, while scrum-half Gareth Davies was a constant menace, with and without the ball.

The home side were up and running early and after a brilliant length-of-the-field counter involving Davies and Steff Evans almost led to the opening try. The Scarlets’ endeavour was then rewarded in the ninth minute with a superbly-crafted try, finished off by Evans.

Tom Rogers glided round the cover to set up the attack and when the ball was recycled, Costelow lofted a pass over the defence and Vaea Fifita juggled, gathered before feeding the winger on the inside for a brilliant score. Costelow added the conversion.

A powerful surge from player of the match Williams set up another three points, which Costelow landed and the fly-half added another three points to make it 13-0.

As the half wore on, the Sharks began to gain a foothold in the game, making the most of Scarlets’ indiscipline. With the pressure telling, they claimed their first try on 27 minutes when skipper Siya Kolisi finished off a rumbling line-out drive. Fly-half Curwin Bosch added the extras.

The visitors continued to press as the first half ended, but resilient home defence kept the Sharks at bay.

Bosch added another three points, but then a trademark piece of opportunism from Evans saw him pounce for his second on 45 minutes.

Costelow’s clearance kick bounced awkwardly for the Sharks back-field and in a flash, Evans hacked through and won the race to the touchdown at the posts.

WIth the crowd in full voice, two further Costelow penalties extended the Scarlets’ lead to 26-10, but after the home side failed to deal with the restart, Sharks struck for their second try - again through a line-out drive - with South Africa hooker Bongi Mbonambi crossing the whitewash.

Bosch added a penalty to make it 26-20 with 15 minutes remaining, but the Scarlets held their nerve in the final exchanges.

Costelow continued his unblemished evening with the boot with two further penalties and the game ended with outstanding Scarlets defence preventing the Sharks gaining a late consolation.

Scarlets - Tries: Steffan Evans (2). Cons: S. Costelow. Pens: Costelow (6).

Sharks - Tries: S. Kolisi, B. Mbonambi. Cons: C. Bosch (2). Pens: Bosch (2).