2004–05 Llanelli Scarlets season

The 2004–05 season was the second season in the history of the Llanelli Scarlets rugby union team. They competed in the Celtic League, in which they finished in fifth place, as well as the Celtic Cup and Heineken Cup. They reached the final of the Celtic Cup, losing 27–16 to Munster at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, but won just two matches in their Heineken Cup pool, finishing third behind Toulouse and Northampton Saints.

Llanelli Scarlets
2004–05 season
ChairmanStuart Gallacher
Head coachGareth Jenkins
Celtic League5th
Celtic CupFinal
Heineken CupPool stage, 3rd
Highest home attendance8,266 vs Neath–Swansea Ospreys (7 May 2005)
Lowest home attendance4,129 vs Borders (17 December 2004)

Celtic League

Matches

Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance
3 September 2004 Borders A 26–15 Tries: Finau, Wyatt, G. Thomas, Easterby
Conversions: Bowen (3)
2,000
10 September 2004 Neath–Swansea Ospreys H 6–23 Penalties: A. Thomas (2) 8,173
17 September 2004 Newport Gwent Dragons A 0–15 5,182
25 September 2004 Edinburgh H 37–16 Tries: Selley, Watkins, A. Thomas, Taylor, G. Evans
Conversions: A. Thomas (2), Bowen
Penalties: A. Thomas, Bowen
7,648
3 October 2004 Munster A 13–19 Tries: G. Evans, Phillips
Penalty: Bowen
9,000
9 October 2004 Connacht H 21–29 Tries: Peel, D. Jones
Conversions: Bowen
Penalties: Bowen (3)
6,281
7 November 2004 Cardiff Blues A 10–14 Try: B. Davies
Conversion: Bowen
Penalty: Bowen
4,832
14 November 2004 Leinster H 24–22 Tries: Watkins, Havili, B. Davies
Conversions: Bowen (3)
Penalty: Bowen
4,200
19 November 2004 Glasgow A 29–40 Tries: B. Davies, Finau, Phillips, G. Evans
Conversions: Bowen (3)
Penalty: Bowen
1,751
28 November 2004 Ulster H 22–9 Try: John
Conversion: Bowen
Penalties: Bowen (5)
5,334
17 December 2004 Borders H 39–22 Tries: Bowen, Havili (2), D. Jones, Selley, Watkins
Conversions: Bowen (2), A. Thomas
Penalty: Bowen
4,129
26 December 2004 Neath–Swansea Ospreys A 7–28 Try: Mills
Conversion: Bowen
10,280
1 January 2005 Newport Gwent Dragons H 35–26 Tries: Watkins (2), Jones (2)
Conversions: Bowen (3)
Penalties: Bowen (3)
6,372
21 January 2005 Edinburgh A 0–23 1,628
29 January 2005 Munster H 32–17 Tries: Watkins, Powell, Havili, Wyatt
Conversions: Bowen (3)
Penalties: Bowen (2)
7,530
18 February 2005 Connacht A 18–11 Tries: Phillips (2)
Conversion: Bowen
Penalties: Bowen (2)
1,660
20 March 2005 Cardiff Blues H 25–13 Tries: John, Powell, Cooper
Conversions: Bowen (2)
Penalties: Bowen (2)
6,116
25 March 2005 Leinster A 25–31 Try: Selley
Conversion: Bowen
Penalties: Bowen (5)
Drop goal: Bowen
4,200
9 April 2005 Glasgow H 30–57 Tries: Havili (2), Selley, Wyatt, B. Davies
Conversion: Bowen
Penalty: Bowen
6,480
15 April 2005 Ulster A 3–16 Penalty: Bowen 7,948

Table

Pos. Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TBP LBP Pts
3Ireland Leinster 201217455350+10546324357
4Wales Newport Gwent Dragons 201109381436−5539434250
5Wales Llanelli Scarlets 209011402446−4448427346
6Scotland Glasgow Warriors 208111465466−140584745
7Scotland Edinburgh 209011409407+247404444

Celtic Cup

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance
22 April 2005 Quarter-finals Newport Gwent Dragons A 49–19 Tries: Selley (3), Havili (2), G. Evans
Conversions: C. Thomas (5)
Penalties: C. Thomas (2), B. Davies
3,120
29 April 2005 Semi-finals Neath–Swansea Ospreys H 23–15 Tries: J. Davies, G. Quinnell
Conversions: C. Thomas (2)
Penalties: C. Thomas (2), B. Davies
8,266
6 May 2005 Final Munster N 16–27 Try: Phillips 34' c
Conversion: C. Thomas
Penalties: C. Thomas (3) 12', 42', 59'
11,500

Heineken Cup

Pool stage

The Scarlets were drawn into Pool 3 for the 2004–05 Heineken Cup. For the second season in a row, they were paired with Northampton Saints, along with Toulouse from France and Glasgow from Scotland.[1] They began the pool stage on 22 October with a narrow 9–6 defeat at home to Toulouse, a game they should have won thanks to two missed try-scoring opportunities.[2] The following week they faced Northampton, whom they had beaten twice the previous season, but this time they managed just a penalty as Northampton recorded a 25–3 win.[3]

In December, the Scarlets recorded their first wins, home and away against Glasgow. In the away leg on 5 December, the Scarlets claimed the bonus point before half-time thanks to tries from Gavin Thomas, Matthew Watkins (2) and Garan Evans, and held off a comeback by Glasgow to claim a 29–26 win.[4] Another bonus-point victory at Stradey Park the following week, thanks to braces from Aisea Havili, Tal Selley and another try from Vernon Cooper, kept the Scarlets in with a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.[5]

That chance was extinguished when European rugby resumed in January 2005, as a last-minute try from World Cup-winning England hooker Steve Thompson gave Northampton a 22–20 win. Although the Scarlets could finish second in their pool with victory over Toulouse the following week, their points total would not be enough to be one of the two best runners-up.[6] Although the Scarlets scored five tries against Toulouse, including a double from Chris Wyatt, the French side scored eight of their own to win 53–36, confirming a third-place finish for the Scarlets.[7]

Date Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers Attendance Pool
position
22 October 2004 Toulouse H 6–9 Penalties: A. Thomas (2) 7,867 3rd
30 October 2004 Northampton Saints A 3–25 Penalty: A. Thomas 11,939 3rd
5 December 2004 Glasgow A 29–26 Tries: G. Thomas, Watkins (2), G. Evans
Conversions: Bowen (3)
Penalty: Bowen
2,281 3rd
12 December 2004 Glasgow H 38–22 Tries: Havili (2), Selley (2), Cooper
Conversions: Watkins, Bowen
Penalties: Bowen (3)
4,500 3rd
9 January 2005 Northampton Saints H 20–22 Try: G. Thomas
Penalties: Bowen (5)
7,197 3rd
14 January 2005 Toulouse A 36–53 Tries: Wyatt (2), J. Davies, Powell, Selley
Conversions: Bowen (4)
Penalty: Bowen
16,900 3rd
Team P W D L TF TA TD PF PA PD TBP LBP Pts
France Toulouse (2) 650121912181104+773124
England Northampton Saints (7) 65011174128101+271021
Wales Llanelli Scarlets 62041517−2132157−253213
Scotland Glasgow 60061125−14107186−79022

References

  1. "Toulouse wary of Scarlets". BBC Sport. 30 June 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. "Scarlets 6-9 Toulouse". BBC Sport. 22 October 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  3. "Northampton 25-3 Scarlets". BBC Sport. 30 October 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  4. "Glasgow 26-29 Scarlets". BBC Sport. 5 December 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  5. "Scarlets 38-22 Glasgow". BBC Sport. 12 December 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  6. "Scarlets 20-22 Northampton". BBC Sport. 9 January 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  7. "Toulouse 53-36 Scarlets". BBC Sport. 14 January 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
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