Dan Jones emerged the victor in the battle of the fly-halves at Parc y Scarlets, scoring 15 points to Ian McKinley’s eight to claim a win for the hosts.

Stepping in for Rhys Patchell while Scarlets’ first-choice fly-half is away on national duty, Jones’ quick-thinking saw him score the first try of the match.

All Scarlets’ points belonged to the No.10 in the first half, but McKinley gave hope to the visitors with a try of his own after the break.

Jones showed his vision once more, sending a kick through for skipper Scott Williams to claim an unrecoverable lead.

The fly-half got Scarlets on the scoreboard with a penalty early on and his accuracy from the tee was unwavering as the night continued.

Then Wayne Pivac’s men spread the Treviso defence, creating width out of the scrum and Jones was the man to go over – giving a dummy pass before stepping through a gap in the wall of green.

But McKinley, named in the Italy squad for the first time last month, kept the visitors in it with a first-half penalty.

As the half-time whistle approached, Scarlets hovered on the 5m line, but in the end they settled for just a penalty – with Jones on target once more.

Benetton never really threatened to take the win, with the men in red buoyed by the return of Williams, Hadleigh Parkes and John Barclay – who were released from their respective national sides for the match.

But McKinley found a moment of magic and seemed to repel Scarlets tackles as he dashed through their defensive line to steal the first points after the break.

Williams’ try in the 66^th minute proved decisive, though, and Scarlets continued their unbeaten Guinness PRO14 run which dates back to September’s defeat at the hands of Ulster.

And the ten changes made to Kieran Crowley’s side after last week’s loss to Edinburgh made little difference as the Italian team failed to secure a second away win of the season.

The victory keeps Scarlets at the top of Conference B and the Welsh team now heads south to take on Southern Kings and Toyota Cheetahs.

Guinness PRO14 Final 2018 Ticket Information: Fans can save up to 20% on selected tickets, and prices start at just €30 for adults and €5 for children, and can be booked via www.ticketmaster.ie