In another game that went down the wire, Scarlets were denied victory on French soil by a late penalty in a gritty EPCR Challenge Cup contest in wind-swept Bayonne.
A superbly-struck long-range penalty from Ioan Lloyd had nudged a battling Scarlets side 16-14 ahead with six minutes left on the clock, but ill-discipline in the final minutes cost the Welsh side dear, with replacement Joris Segonds restoring the home advantage three minutes before time to run out 17-16 victors.
In difficult conditions in the south of France, Dwayne Peel’s side spent most of the game in defensive mode, three times holding the hosts up over the line to the frustration of the Stade Jean Dauger crowd.
Bayonne, playing with a huge amount of confidence, looked like running away with it in the early stages, answering an early Lloyd penalty kick with tries from flanker Rodrigo Bruni and skipper Camille Lopez.
But the outstanding Shaun Evans drove over on the stroke of half-time to reduce the lead to a point and the second half became a story of errors, penalties and chances missed.
Scarlets were led out by Ioan Nicholas on his 100th appearance and were on the board early when a scrum penalty allowed Lloyd to put the visitors in front. However, Bayonne, flying high in the Top14, then took a grip on the game with relentless pressure on the visitors’ line.
Eventually, they were over courtesy of the powerful Bruni on 14 minutes, with Lopez adding the extras.
Scarlets lost tight-head prop Sam Wainwright to injury with Archer Holz coming on for his debut and his first experience in a Scarlets jersey was to be part of a backs-to-the-wall defensive effort.
It needed an incredible try-saving tackle from wing Ellis Mee to deny Bayonne their second, but back came the wave of French attacks and it was Lopez himself who dummied over for the second try on 24 minutes.
After a strong run by Jarrod Taylor, Lloyd reduced the deficit with his second penalty success, then Scarlets took advantage of a rash reaction from the experienced French international Lopez – who lashed out at Tom Rogers – to score their opening try.
A series of forward drives from a tap penalty took play to the home line and it was Evans, on his first appearance of the season, who showed good strength to drive over. Lloyd added the conversion with the last kick of the half to make it 14-13 at the break.
The second half followed a similar pattern with Bayonne enjoying the bulk of possession and territory, only for the scrambling Scarlets defence to keep them at bay.
Vaea Fifita produced a couple of crucial defensive line-out steals and after Taylor won a breakdown penalty from 45 metres out, up stepped Lloyd to nudge Scarlets ahead.
In another nail-biting finale – a feature of the Scarlets’ season so far – Bayonne had a try chalked off by the television match official – then came the late drama when Italian referee Gianluca Gnecchi overturned a penalty decision for an off-the-ball push which allowed Segonds to step up to nail the late penalty and secure the win.
With a losing bonus point as consolation, Scarlets will look to bounce back when they host Georgian side Black Lion at Parc y Scarlets on Sunday lunchtime.
Scorers
Aviron Bayonnais – Tries: R. Bruni, C. Lopez. Cons: Lopez (2). Pen: J. Segponds
Scarlets – Try: S. Evans. Con: I. Lloyd. Pens: Lloyd (3)
Scarlets: Ioan Nicholas; Tom Rogers (repl Charlie Titcombe 72), Joe Roberts (repl Macs Page 65), Eddie James, Ellis Mee; Ioan Lloyd, Efan Jones (repl Archie Hughes 61); Kemsley Mathias (repl Sam O’Connor 51), Shaun Evans, Sam Wainwright (repl Archer Holz 13), Alex Craig (capt), Jac Price (repl Sam Lousi 51), Jarrod Taylor, Dan Davis (repl Max Douglas 51), Vaea Fifita.
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)