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Scarlets vs Newcastle: seven-try win soured by Sam Costelow injury

The Wales fly-half scored the opening try and then went off in the first half, days before Steve Tandy names his squad for the Autumn Nations Championship.

By RuckBee Newsroom1 min read
A grimacing player in a red kit clutches his thigh as a man in a black hoodie helps him off at Parc y Scarlets.
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The Scarlets ran up a big score against the Newcastle Red Bulls, but the main talking point afterwards was Sam Costelow. The Wales fly-half went off before half-time with what looked like a hamstring injury, only days before the national coach picks his autumn squad.

The final score at Parc y Scarlets was 47-14. The hosts scored seven tries to open their European Challenge Cup campaign with a bonus-point win, watched by a crowd of 5,629.

Costelow scored the first of those tries. Later in the first half he limped off, and the timing is bad for him. Steve Tandy is about to name his Wales squad for next month's Autumn Nations Championship campaign, and Costelow's fitness now becomes a question for that selection.

Page marks his 50th game with two tries

By the break the Scarlets were 26-0 up. Wing Macs Page scored two tries on his 50th appearance for the club. Fletcher Anderson, Johnny Williams, Gareth Davies and Ellis Mee also crossed the line.

There was better injury news elsewhere for Wales. Back-rower Taine Plumtree came off the bench to play his first game of the season after recovering from shoulder surgery.

Newcastle scored two late tries through Oliver Spencer and Ollie Leatherbarrow, but they were only consolations. The English side have now lost four in a row, following three defeats in the Premiership, and they have yet to win this season.

The game also brought together two old team-mates. Stephen Jones, the former Scarlets and Wales fly-half who is now a Newcastle assistant coach, was up against Dwayne Peel, his old half-back partner and now the Scarlets head coach.

Scarlets head to South Africa next

The win builds on a slow start to the Scarlets' season. They lost two Welsh derbies before scraping past Benetton 27-26 the previous weekend.

Next up is a United Rugby Championship double-header in South Africa against the Stormers and the Bulls. The Challenge Cup resumes in December. Newcastle go back to the Premiership with a home game against Sale.

Sources

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