Swansea won the big west Wales derby against their greatest rivals to get their season back on track.

The All Whites looked set to run up a cricket score at St Helen's, racing to a 22-0 lead at half time.

Early in the second half, though, Paul Moriarty was sent off for throwing a punch at a ruck, after he had been sin-binned in the first half for a dangerous tackle.

That was the cue for a furious Scarlets fightback. The Whites were left desperately clinging to their lead at the death, but heroic defence and powerful scrummaging were enough to secure the victory.

Lock trouble

Moriarty - playing at lock after the injury-enforced absence of Andy Moore, Tyrone Maullin and James Griffiths - was sent to the sin bin in the third minute for a high tackle on Matt Cardey.

Maullin and Griffiths were both sin binned in the midweek game at Newport, and in the 18th minute Swansea's other second row Lee Jones was also sent to the cooler.

Despite these problems the home side finally looked like fulfilling their pre-season promise.

Looking to play an expansive game, Swansea span the ball wide on numerous occasions and some impressive handling in midfield freed wing Matthew Robinson for two first-half tries in the corner.

The Whites had a new half-back pairing in Cerith Rees and Tongan international scrum-half Sililo Martens, an 18th-minute replacement for Rhodri Jones.

They got the back line moving well, and Martens put in some trademark Tongan heavy hits.

It was all Swansea as Llanelli struggled to get into the game, and when Scott Gibbs crossed for a short-range try on the stroke of half time it looked to be all over at 22-0.

Comeback

A Rees penalty built the lead to 25-0 early in the second half, but a stylish Llanelli move involving Guy Easterby and Matt Cardey freed Garan Evans for a try that started the fightback.

Moriarty's moment of madness came in the 52nd minute - the red card for a flailing arm at a ruck looked harsh, but he could have few complaints after his earlier sin binning.

Llanelli began to run everything in order to stretch their depleted opponents and an excellent touchline burst by Evans allowed him to free the supporting Cardey for a try.

The visitors' attacks were relentless. From recycled ball in the 64th minute Scott Quinnell threw out a wild pass, collected by Evans in midfield who went through for hs second try.

With plenty of time left and the deficit reduced to four points it seemed unlikely that Swansea could hold out.

But the home side dug in for a mighty effort, notably from the seven-man pack who continued to scrummage with authority.

Their endeavours won a last-minute penalty, slotted over by replacement Arwel Thomas to seal a memorable win.

Scorers - Swansea: Tries M Robinson (2), S Gibbs; Cons: C Rees (2); Pens: C Rees (2), A Thomas

Llanelli: Tries: G Evans (2), M Cardey; Cons: S Jones (2)

Teams

Swansea: K Morgan, G Henson, M Taylor, S Gibbs, M Robinson, C Rees, R Jones, D Morris, G Jenkins, B Evans, L Jones, P Moriarty, C Charvis, G Lewis, D Thomas
Replacements: S Martens, A Thomas, D Weatherley, C Wells, C Anthony, H Jenkins, J Bater

Llanelli: M Cardey, M Jones, D James, S Finau, G Evans, S Jones, G Easterby, P Booth, R McBryde, J Davies, V Cooper, C Wyatt, A Bennett, I Boobyer, S Quinnell (capt)
Replacements: M Madden, M Thomas, C Gillies, M Buckingham, D Peel, A Lawson, N Boobyer

Referee: Nigel Williams (Bryncoch)