James made a dramatic impact either side of half-time

>Blues (17) 35
Tries: N Robinson, James, Stcherbina, Blair
Cons: Blair (3)
Pens: Blair (2)
DG: N Robinson
Scarlets (14) 26
Tries: Peel, J Davies, M Jones, Stoddart
Cons: S Jones (3)

Cardiff Blues twice came from behind to edge a thrilling Arms Park derby and stay as the top Welsh league side.

Early tries from Dwayne Peel and Jon Davies sent the Scarlets 14-0 clear, before Nicky Robinson and man of the match Tom James hit back for the Blues.

James set up Marc Stcherbina to extend the lead to 24-19 after half-time.

Morgan Stoddart sent in Mark Jones then got a try of his own to edge Scarlets ahead 26-24, before Ben Blair's penalty and try and a Robinson drop-goal.

606: DEBATE What a cracking game! Welshdragon164

The win moves third-placed Blues four points clear of their west Wales rivals in the table and provides revenge after Dai Young's side's 35-17 loss at Stradey Park last month.

Turnovers and a disjointed defensive line cost the home side in the opening exchanges, Ceiron Thomas sending Regan King into acres of space from a fourth-minute scrum inside the Scarlets half.

The Kiwi surged forward before finding Peel with an inside ball that sent the scrum-half on a 30-yard canter to the line.

Dwayne Peel got the Scarlets off to a flying start with a try

From the next phase of play Thomas broke near his own 22 and fed Stephen Jones, the fly-half carrying towards the line before sending Davies over with an inside pass.

The Blues' misery increased, Jamie Robinson bursting through the Scarlets defence and heading for the line, then pulling up sharply with an injury that saw him leaving the field clutching his groin.

As play continued, Robinson's brother Nicky knocked on in the right corner with the line begging the fly-half to cross.

The Blues slowly rallied and saw Scarlets number eight Alix Popham sin-binned for killing the ball in the shadow of his own posts, Blair landing the resultant penalty.

With Davies injured and about to limp off, Gareth Thomas found space against the 13-man Scarlets, a neat off-load freeing Nicky Robinson for a try converted by Blair.

The Cardiff side again stretched the under-strength visitors out wide, only to see Tom Shanklin hauled down inches short in the last play before Popham's return.

The Blues remained encamped in the Llanelli side's 22, Gareth Thomas held up over the line by Ceiron Thomas.

On the stroke of half-time the pressure finally told, James taking the ball at pace from close range and powering over for a converted try that made it 17-14 to the Blues.

My next aim is to try to prove a point ready for Wales' summer tour of South Africa Tom James

James' power and pace again did the damage after the break, the wing bursting through the line on halfway and easing outside, then passing inside to the supporting Stcherbina, the centre scoring in his first game for seven months after a shoulder injury.

The momentum was with the Blues until the introduction from the bench of Stoddart and Jason Spice's sin-binning for slowing the ball.

From the next phase of play, Stoddart found a delightful line to split the defence, then sent Mark Jones on a clear run to the left corner.

The Scarlets attacked from their own 22 on the restart, a delightful passage of play ending when Peel's long pass gave Stoddart the chance to power in on the right wing and secure a bonus point.

Stephen Jones' conversion gave the visitors a 26-24 advantage, as the breathless, end-to-end action continued.

Blues replacement scrum-half Richie Rees broke from a scrum, forcing Mark Jones to kill the ball, costing him a yellow card and his side a penalty converted by Blair.

The Blues full-back then crossed for a crucial try, the Scarlets losing line-out ball on their own 22, and swift, simple passing across the line sending the Kiwi over for a bonus-point score.

Blair missed the conversion, but Robinson's drop goal took his team two scores clear at 35-26.

Blues: Blair, G. Thomas, J. Robinson, Stcherbina, James, N. Robinson, Spice, Yapp, R. Thomas, G. Powell, D. Jones, Morgan, Molitika, M. Williams, Lewis.
Replacements: G. Williams for G. Thomas (68), Shanklin for J. Robinson (13), Rees for Spice (64), Filise for G. Powell (61), Tito for Morgan (64), Rush for Lewis (57). Not Used: Flanagan.

Scarlets: C. Thomas, James, King, J. Davies, M. Jones, S. Jones, Peel, I. Thomas, Rees, Douglas, Cooper, MacLeod, D. Jones, G. Thomas, Popham.
Replacements: Stoddart for C. Thomas (40), Priestlend for J. Davies (33), Cattle for Peel (70), John for I. Thomas (43), Owen for Rees (70), Easterby for D. Jones (44), N. Thomas for Popham (72).

Att: 10,216

Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)