Celtic League title hopefuls Llanelli had to work hard to resist a brave Caerphilly fightback after storming into a 26-point lead at Virginia Park on Saturday.

The part-timers seemed overawed as the visiting aristocrats smoothly slipped into gear to pile up five tries.

But a massive turnaround saw the home side craft five touchdowns of their own to give Llanelli a stern second-half test.

It had been a case of keeping up with the Jones' in the first half as the Scarlets wracked up the points with consummate ease.

Flying wing Mark Jones swept over for a brace of early scores before fly-half Stephen Jones cashed in on some shoddy defensive work to add a third touchdown.

Luke Richards stemmed the tide with a penalty but the rampant Scarlets resumed normal service with tries from back-row duo Ian Boobyer and a wonder score from Dafydd Jones.

It looked bleak for the home side, facing a 29-3 deficit after 25 minutes, but the Cheesemen launched a defiant mini revival.

They posted tries through former Scarlet Paul Jones and fellow lock Mark Workman to peg the visitors back to 29-15 at half-time.