Having led 16-6 at half-time, the Scarlets lost Josh Turnbull to the sin-bin and conceded 10 points while he was away as the recent conquerors of Munster in the RaboDirect PRO12 levelled the scores at 16-16.
But two more tries for the visitors, from highly impressive full back Liam Williams and England No 8 Ben Morgan, set the Scarlets back on course for the bonus point win they were seeking to put even more pressure on Ulster and Glasgow for a top four finish.
They got close, but not close enough, and the game ended with Giulio Toniolatti streaking clear to score a consolation try for Aironi that earned them a losing bonus point. The win enabled the Scarlets to reach 55 points and close the gap on the three teams above them and stay in the hunt for a Play-Off place.
With two home games to round off the regular PRO12 campaign, against Munster and Cardiff Blues, the Scarlets still have a great chance of catching Ulster (fifth with 56 points), Glasgow (fourth with 57) and even Munster (third with 60 points).
Wales Grand Slam centre Jonathan Davies pulled out of the game just before kick-off with a minor groin strain and Turnbull took over the captain’s armband. Johnathan Edwards grabbed the first try and Rhys Priestland kicked well in the first half to land three penalties and a conversion.
After the break, though, he twice hit the upright with conversion attempts and those misses kept the pressure on his side in the closing stages. They came close to getting the bonus point try, but weren’t accurate enough at the vital moment and conceded a silly penalty at the breakdown.
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