Sweeney points spree ends era

Swansea 52 Llanelli 4

Robert Cole
Monday 12 May 2003 00:00 BST
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You could not have asked for a better send-off to one of the world's great rugby fixtures. There were 12 tries, buckets of entertainment and a rare victory this season for Swansea over their bitterest rivals.

These teams have been slugging it out up to four times a season for the past 127 years, but it will not be the same next season. The Swansea players are joining forces with Neath to form a new regional side to play in the Heineken Cup and Celtic League, while Llanelli will be reinforced with a few newcomers as they also become a regional outfit.

The Scarlets ran in four tries in the first quarter to take a 26-8 lead, but then an unlikely hero emerged for Swansea. The 20-year-old Welsh Guardsman Rob Sweeney entered the fray as a replacement after 26 minutes and the young outside-half transformed the game with a burst of 28 points in 20 minutes. Sweeney ended his first and last West Wales derby with a record 34 points, including a hat-trick of tries.

Swansea: Tries R Sweeney 3, S Payne 2, G Swales; Conversions R Sweeney 5; Penalties R Sweeney 3, A Thomas. Llanelli: Tries M Phillips, G Bowen, S Finau, T Seley, L Gross, A Yelland; Conversions G Bowen 5.

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