Quins reversed the defeat at the hands of Llanelli in the first round of qualifying for the British and Irish Cup just two weeks ago.
On that occasion Carmarthen let their opportunities slip past, but it was Llanelli that will be thinking what could have been after missing two golden try scoring chances before the break, while winger Gareth Walters failed to convert either of Llanelli’s two penalties late on.
Both sides fielded much changed line-ups from their respective opening day Premiership wins over Neath and Bridgend, but right from the get go, the young guns were intent on playing expansive, running rugby, despite perhaps being guilty of overplaying at times.
Llanelli had the better of the opening 15 minutes and butchered two golden chances, with the best falling to flanker Dan Thomas.
Centre Johnny Lewis started the move with a break inside his own half before feeding Wales 7s star Craig Price, who in turn set Dan Thomas free.
With a two on one with Howard Thomas, the Quins full back, the Llanelli flanker threw a dummy and looked set to go over, only for the full back to scrag him at the last moment. Some good work at the breakdown from the Quins' scramble defence then saw referee Neil Hennessey award them a penalty and a chance to clear their lines.
Quins began to grown into the match, with scrum-half Rhodri Wells making a number of breaks around the fringes while the forwards pummelled the Llanelli defence, and it was the visitors that opened the scoring.
Fly-half Craig Evans produced a beautifully weighted cross field kick that winger Tomos Rees gathered and offloaded in almost the same motion to send young flanker Will Boyde clear. Evans added the extras and ten minutes later extended the Quins' lead to 10-0 with a penalty.
However, Llanelli hit back immediately with ironic cheers greeting Hennessey’s awarding of a penalty to the hosts, after Anthony Buchanan’s men had been pinged nine times in the first half to Quins’ two. Fly half Josh Lewis fired home the penalty and it was not long till they were on level terms.
The hosts' full back Steffan Evans posed a threat for the Quins defence all evening, and it was the 19-year old that proved to be the catalyst for Llanelli’s only try of the night.
Evans gathered the ball in his own half before slipping a number of tackles to drive Llanelli into Quins territory, and a few phases later, Evans was once again on hand to make a half break before the ball was recycled for flanker Duane Eager to go over. Lewis drew the sides level with a well-taken conversion.
After the interval, it was the visitors that started the better and despite full back Howard Thomas butchering a two on one metres from the line, the Quins managed to retain possession, eventually working it out-wide for centre Dylan Morgans to cross with Evans on target with the extras from the left hand touch line.
In a complete reversal of the opening 40 minutes, referee Hennessey now had major issues with the visitors at the breakdown and Josh Lewis slotted two more penalties to draw Llanelli within one point.
Hennessey’s whistle was now playing a fine tune and it saw Llanelli’s Johnny Lewis and Quins' Carwyn Jones both sent to the sin bin, while Evans added another three pointer for the Quins, before winger Gareth Walters once again drew the hosts to within a point with a penalty of his own after Josh Lewis left the field following a knock.
The frantic, final ten minutes once again saw Llanelli on top though unable to land the killer blow from the tee or in open play, but it was nonetheless an exhilarating end to a highly entertaining match.
Star Man: Craig Evans (Carmarthen Quins)
Referee : Neil Hennessey (Cardiff).
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