Scarlets suffered a heartbreaking late defeat to Emirates Lions in a nail-biting BKT United Rugby Championship clash at Parc y Scarlets.

With just two minutes left on the clock, a charged down kick saw centre Henco van Wyk cross at the posts, with the conversion from player of the match Sanele Nohamba sealing a 24-23 victory.

After leading 23-14 going into the final seven minutes, Scarlets were left to rue a string of costly errors that allowed the South African side back into the game.

There were impressive displays from Ryan Elias, Ioan Lloyd and Taine Plumtree, while Eddie James again underlined his promise, but this was one that got away.

A penalty from Lloyd had the Scarlets up and running after just three minutes and following a cagey opening quarter, the home side extended their lead thanks to a well-worked score from wing Tom Rogers.

Lloyd was the architect with a scything break, the ball was taken up to the Lions line and when the ball was recycled Vaea Fifita produced a smart outside break, fed Steff Evans, who drew the final defender before sending his fellow wing Rogers over.

Lloyd nailed the conversion and Scarlets were 10 up.

However, the Lions hauled themselves back into the contest against the run of play when centre Marius Louw took advantage of a hole in the home defence to score at the posts. Nohamba converted.

With the powerful Lions scrum gaining the ascendancy, Lions enjoyed plenty of territory and possession, but were unable to add to their tally.

At the other end, Evans and Joe Roberts came close, but the ball was spilled over the whitewash.

Lloyd extended the lead with a second penalty success to make it 13-7, but the Lions grabbed the lead for the first time on 51 minutes when a power play by the pack led to hooker PJ Botha getting the ball onto the line for a converted score.

Back came the Scarlets and a superb turnover by Teddy Leatherbarrow put his side on the offensive and another penalty decision resulted in another Lloyd three-pointer.

Then came the late drama.

With the Scarlets pack making good ground via their line-out drive, outstanding hooker Elias finished off a rumbling maul right off the training pitch. Lloyd’s conversion made it 23-14 and Scarlets were within touching distance of the finishing line.

Nohamba landed a penalty to bring the Lions back into striking distance, then in a cruel finale, Evans’ attempted clearance kick was charged down and van Wyk enjoyed an unopposed run-in to the posts. Nohamba coveted and although the Scarlets created a late opportunity from the restart, the ball was lost in the final seconds and the Lions saw out the game for their first win of the season.

Scarlets - tries: T. Rogers, R. Elias. Cons: I. Lloyd (2). Pens: Lloyd (3).

Lions - tries: M. Louw, PJ Botha, H.van Wyk. Cons: S. Nohambo. Pen: Nohamba.