Pro14 Judgement Day: Dragons 8-33 Scarlets

Scarlets strolled to a bonus-point Judgement Day win over Dragons to secure a home Pro14 play-off.

Ryan Elias scored the only try of a turgid first half to put the reigning champions in front.

They seized control after the break, extending their lead with a penalty try and two scores for Tadhg Beirne.

Despite a fine finish from Jared Rosser in the corner, Steff Evans scored Scarlets' fifth to leave Dragons winless in 16 games.

By contrast, Scarlets can look forward to a home quarter-final play-off against Cheetahs next Saturday, keeping alive their hopes of winning a second successive Pro14 title after they were blown away by Leinster in last weekend's Champions Cup semi-final.

That was a chastening experience but, reverting to domestic competition for the sixth instalment of Judgement Day, Scarlets were comforted by the knowledge they had won their last eight meetings with Dragons, with six of those victories coming with a try bonus point.

Tadhg Beirne scored two tries in the second half for Scarlets

Bruised but not bowed by their battering in Dublin, Scarlets fielded 10 internationals in a strong side which saw Leigh Halfpenny move to full-back and Rhys Patchell returning to fly-half.

One Wales player rested was hooker Ken Owens, but he had an able deputy in the form of Elias, who collected the ball from the back of a rolling maul to score the game's opening try after six minutes.

That early score was expected to start a procession for the Scarlets, but they were frustrated by their dogged opponents in a disjointed first half punctuated by errors.

The Llanelli-based region thought they had a second try shortly before the interval when Halfpenny touched down out wide. But it was disallowed when replays showed scrum-half Gareth Davies had knocked on at the preceding ruck.

Jared Rosser dived over in the corner to score Dragons' only try

Given the Scarlets' usual potency with ball in hand, the scrappy nature of this contest suited Dragons, whose combative approach was personified by back-rower James Benjamin, a fiendish nuisance at the breakdown.

He was off the field, however, when the Scarlets scored their second try, having been taken off temporarily to make way for prop Dan Suter, who was reintroduced after his replacement Chris Coleman was sin-binned a minute into his debut.

Coleman's 10-minute absence was to prove costly, with Beirne scoring two tries to secure the Scarlets' bonus point with plenty of time to spare.

And although Rosser's athletic touchdown in the corner brought the Dragons' fans some cheer, there was a familiar sinking feeling when Steff Evans' try sent them to a 19th defeat in 20 matches against the Scarlets.

Man of the match Rob Evans gets away from Dragons captain Elliot Dee

Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac said: "We came to get five points, we didn't hide from that fact.

"We got it, so we're happy with that, but it's probably the only thing we're happy with really."

He said he and his players were "very frustrated" with the scrum in the first half and tried to get a message across to the referee.

"I don't think we had a ball come out of the scrum, they were all reset, free kicks or penalties," Pivac said.

After the defeat to what he called a "rampant Leinster", he said the players felt like they let the fans down and a home quarter-final was a chance to "repay them".

"This game was important to get on the right side of the draw, to get back home and give the fans another opportunity to see the boys."

Dragons head coach Bernard Jackman said despite Scarlets "getting at them a little bit at scrum time" they felt "really comfortable" going in 7-3 at the break.

"If we had scored first after half-time they might have started to question themselves, but once we got the yellow and they got two tries in quick succession, it was difficult.

"Scarlets are a very good side. We admire them and they were the best team on the day by far."

Jackman praised the youngsters in his side, adding: "In the end we were still attacking, which showed our bravery and courage."

Scarlets: Halfpenny; Nicholas, S Williams (capt), Parkes, S Evans; Patchell, G Davies; R Evans, Elias, Lee, Rawlins, Cummins, Beirne, J Davies, Boyde.

Replacements: Owens, Price, Kruger, Bulbring, Barclay, J Evans, D Jones, Hughes.

Dragons: Amos; Hewitt, Kirchner, Edwards, Rosser; Robson, C Davies; T Davies, Dee (capt), Suter, J Davies, Landman, Keddie, Wainwright, Benjamin.

Replacements: Belcher, Garrett, Coleman, M Williams, Basham, Pretorius, Warren, Goodchild.

Referee: Lloyd Linton

Assistant referees: Adam Jones, Gwyn Morris

TMO: Leo Colgan