RaboDirect PRO12 leaders Munster lost for the first time in Wales this season as the Scarlets claimed a 18-13 win at Parc Y Scarlets.

Tries from Gareth Davies and John Barclay were enough for Simon Easterby’s side despite some opportunistic finishing from Munster in the first half.

After an edgy opening quarter of an hour, it was the Scarlets who took the lead through new signing Olly Barkley who knocked over a simple penalty.

Munster responded immediately with a penalty of their own through Ian Keatley but it was the home side who were dominating possession and territory.

Despite being on the back foot, the Munster defence was holding firm until just before the half-hour when RaboDirect PRO12 top-scorer Davies produced a moment of magic.

The scrum-half had a go himself off the back of a Scarlets maul, skipping past James Coughlan before stepping the desperate Munster cover defence to score his seventh try of the campaign. Barkley was off-target with the tricky conversion but the Scarlets led 8-3.

Munster almost hit back immediately after some lovely soft hands by Casey Laulala but Tommy O’Donnell could not find a teammate in the Scarlets 22.

However, it did not take long for Munster to get their first try, and when it came, it was from a moment of fortune.

Davies once more showed his quick feet as he broke off the back of a Scarlets scrum, but with Munster looking stretched, Barkley could not collect a low pass, and Gerhard Van der Heever was able to scoop it up and run in unopposed from halfway. Keatley’s conversion made it 10-8 to the visitors against the run of play.

That seemed to the spark that Munster needed and they kept the pressure on the Scarlets with another attack before the break that led to Phil John going off his feet. Keatley’s simple penalty made it 13-8 at half-time.

The Scarlets made a nightmare start to the second half giving away a penalty from the kick-off, but from out wide Keatley’s penalty drifted just to the left.

Aled Thomas, taking over the kicking duties from Barkley, was next on the scoreboard, knocking over a simple penalty after Munster were caught offside, to reduce the deficit to two.

And almost immediately, the quick thinking of Barclay put the Scarlets back in front. The Scottish international sprinted off the back of a Munster lineout to collect Duncan Williams’ long pass before showing his pace to race over from more than 60m. Thomas slotted a tricky conversion to make it 18-13.

Van der Heever thought he had scored his second try when he went over on the right, but the try was called back for a knock-on by Williams earlier in the move.

Still, the visitors were in the ascendancy and after some quick feet from Simon Zebo, they earned a penalty when Josh Turnbull kicked the ball out of Duncan Casey’s hands, and the Scarlets flanker was sent to the sin-bin.

With the extra man Munster drove towards the line, but after consultation with the TMO it was not clear if a try had been scored. The visitors chose to take a five-metre scrum.

But the visitors were unable to control the ball at the back of the scrum and when Rhodri Davies broke away Coughlan tackled him high, only for the penalty to be reversed for retaliating by George Earle.

Munster then had a great chance when Laulala produced a glorious break but Van der Heever wasn’t able to hang on to his pass and the Scarlets were able to hang on.

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