Evan Lloyd seals Cardiff derby victory over Scarlets

Cardiff beat Scarlets 21-15 in Llanelli to win the first Welsh derby of the United Rugby Championship season, with replacement hooker Evan Lloyd scoring the decisive try. According to BBC Sport's match report, all three Cardiff tries came from driving line-outs, giving the visitors a route to victory despite an effective first-half attacking display from the hosts.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy9XwLEM89g

Scarlets opened the scoring through Joe Roberts after scrum-half Dane Blacker broke through and Sam Lousi supplied the offload. Cardiff answered through Dan Thomas, who finished from a maul. Blair Murray then restored the home side's advantage with a try created by Eddie James, whose pass put the full-back into space. Taine Basham, subsequently named player of the match, crossed for Cardiff before the interval, and two Callum Sheedy conversions helped establish a 14-12 half-time lead.

The home side moved back in front after Gareth Anscombe was replaced early in the second half. Joe Hawkins came on and kicked a penalty, taking Scarlets into a 15-14 lead. Those were their only points after the break. Cardiff also turned to their bench, introducing returning fly-half Jarrod Evans, who had rejoined from Harlequins, alongside replacements including Wales flanker James Botham.

A touchline decision then gave Cardiff the position from which they scored the winning try. Murray's kick was ruled out on the full after striking the touchline, with referee Adam Jones consulting the television match official. Cardiff capitalised through another driving line-out, with Lloyd finishing and Evans adding the conversion to make it 21-15 as rain affected the second half.

Evans subsequently missed a long-range penalty that would have put Cardiff more than a converted try ahead. Scarlets still had an opportunity to respond when James made another break, but Lloyd followed his scoring contribution with a turnover that ended the home attack. The hosts were unable to recover the six-point deficit.

The match drew 7,073 spectators and marked Scarlets hooker Ryan Elias's 200th appearance. Cardiff gave debuts to summer recruits Scott Sio and Le Roux Malan while missing injured wing Josh Adams. The visitors had finished sixth and reached the play-offs last season, whereas Scarlets ended the 2025-26 campaign in 14th place.