14-man Scarlets pull away from Dragons as tempers flare in Llanelli

The Scarlets overcame a first-half Sione Kalamafoni red card to squeeze past the Dragons in Llanelli 33-17.

What started as a bit of pushing between Sam Lousi and Dragons wing Ashton Hewitt escalated very quickly into something unsavoury.

As players from both sides piled in Ross Moriarty decided to pull Kalamafoni's scrum cap off. The Tongan No 8 lost complete control, throwing a punch at the Wales star, which left referee Ben Whitehouse with no choice but to give the 34-year-old his marching orders.

READ MORE: Chaos breaks out and punches thrown as Sione Kalamafoni sees red for Ross Moriarty incident

Moriarty was also punished but with 10 minutes in the sin bin. This is the second time in successive games the West Walians have had a player red carded following Tomas Lezana's sending off against the Ospreys on Boxing Day, only this time it didn't stop them from coming out on top.

Dwayne Peel's side played 40 minutes with 14 men but their scrum dominance and their emotional edge allowed them to come out on top for just their second United Rugby Championship victory of the season.

This may have been a fiercely contested Welsh derby but the standard was hardly pristine quality, and Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan will have been frustrated at the amount of unforced errors which undermined his sides chances of coming out on top.

Watching back home in New Zealand Warren Gatland would have been quietly impressed with the performance of Leigh Halfpenny who contributed 18 points from the kicking tee while Taine Basham and Aaron Wainwright impressed for the Dragons.

The Scarlets almost made the perfect start when Johnny McNicholl took a superb high ball before racing forwards into the Dragons 22. Kalamafoni powered clear from the ruck to