The newly structured Magners League kicked off this weekend as Italian sides made their debut and Benetton Treviso picked up an upset win as they beat Scarlets 34-28 at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo.
The Welsh side rested a few big names for the trip across, and despite leading 22-9 at halftime, succumbed to a historic performance from the Celtic League new boys.
They racked up 18 unanswered points at the start of the second half, turning the game in their favour, and which surprised Scarlets captain Rob McCusker.
“We planned for all hands on deck, getting bombarded from all angles from the word go, but it didnt happen in the first half. They came out in the second half with more of what we expected, but the game should have been out of sight by then. We could have had a bonus point by half-time,” he said.
Coach Nigel Davies was criticised for not playing his more senior players, but he denied that that was the reason for the loss.
“Unfortunately people will probably say we lost because we didnt play the experienced players, but its not the case. Rhys Priestland is as good as anyone at the moment and weve seen that against Treviso,” said Davies.
“The team selected were good enough to win the game if they played well. We played well in the first half, we didnt in the second half,” he added.
This clip is of one of Trevisos best tries of the match, scored by Ezio Galon. Theyve shown theyre not going to be the whipping boys in their first season.
Elsewhere though, other Italian side Aironi went down 33-17 to Munster.
Do you think the Italian teams being included in this seasons Magners League will add another much needed dimension to the tournament, or did you prefer it before? Scarlets fans aren’t allowed to comment
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