Lloyd try gives Cardiff 21–15 derby win at Scarlets

Evan Lloyd’s 65th-minute try gave Cardiff Rugby a 21–15 win at Scarlets in the opening round of the United Rugby Championship. Jarrod Evans converted to put Cardiff six points clear after Joe Hawkins had briefly restored the home lead.

Basham puts Cardiff ahead before half-time

Joe Roberts scored the opening try for Scarlets after six minutes, with Gareth Anscombe missing the conversion. Cardiff moved ahead through Dan Thomas in the 18th minute and Callum Sheedy’s conversion. Blair Murray replied for Scarlets five minutes later. Anscombe added the extras to make it 12–7, but Taine Basham crossed in the 38th minute and Sheedy converted again. Cardiff therefore took a 14–12 lead into the break. Both teams had scored twice, with Cardiff’s extra conversion separating the sides at the interval.

The replacements supply the decisive score

Hawkins replaced Anscombe early in the second half and kicked a penalty in the 52nd minute to put Scarlets 15–14 ahead. Cardiff then introduced Lloyd and Evans among a group of replacements in the 55th minute. Lloyd scored ten minutes after coming on and Evans converted in the 66th minute. Evans missed a later penalty, but neither side added another point. Cardiff finished with three tries to Scarlets’ two.

Cardiff have more ball and territory

The URC match centre records Cardiff with 61% possession and 64% territory. Cardiff gained 421 metres to Scarlets’ 276 and won five turnovers to two, providing numerical context for the away victory. Scarlets made 172 tackles compared with Cardiff’s 104. Cardiff also won 19 lineouts and lost one, while Scarlets won 13 and lost two. These are the competition’s figures, with the same provider used throughout the match centre. The official scoring timeline, all confirmed starters and replacements, and the two-sided statistics accompany the report. Adam Jones refereed the derby at Parc y Scarlets.