United Rugby Championship
Scarlets (17) 38
Tries: Murray, Penalty try, Fifita, J Roberts, James, Plumtree Cons: Lloyd 3
Ospreys (17) 22
Tries: Morris, Hopkins, Edwards Cons: Edwards 2 Pens: Edwards
Scarlets kept alive their United Rugby Championship (URC) play-off hopes and dented the Ospreys' chances with a bonus-point victory in the first of a derby double-header.
In front of 11,384 fans in Llanelli, Dwayne Peel's side recorded a first win against Ospreys since January 2022 with the six-try performance.
Ospreys opened up a 17-point lead in 15 minutes with tries from number eight Morgan Morris and full-back Iestyn Hopkins before the visitors were undone by ill-discipline.
Hooker George McGuigan and scrum-half Kieran Hardy were shown yellow cards as Scarlets levelled the scores at half-time with a penalty try and further efforts from Blair Murray and Vaea Fifita.
Second-half scores from Wales trio Joe Roberts, Eddie James and Taine Plumtree sealed the win.
Ospreys fly-half Dan Edwards scored a fine try in a 12-point display but his side left Parc y Scarlets with nothing.
Scarlets and Ospreys are level on 33 points with both teams outside the top eight play-off places in 10th and 11th places respectively.
The two sides will meet again in eight days with the European Challenge Cup last-16 tie in Swansea on Sunday, 6 April.
Struggling Welsh rugby needs some positives with the precarious financial climate hitting this week as both sides recorded annual losses of more than £2m.
A five-figure crowd should lift some spirits for an occasion that saw friends of 30 years go against each other, in the shape of opposite head coaches Peel and Mark Jones, who were former Scarlets and Wales team-mates.
Jones' first game in charge was against Scarlets just before Christmas as Ospreys secured a dramatic last-gasp 23-22 victory with a Iestyn Hopkins try.
This defeat in Llanelli was just a second in nine games since he took over as head coach from Toby Booth.
Full-back Hopkins was one of eight changes from the side that beat Connacht 43-40 with the back three of Jack Walsh, Keelan Giles and Daniel Kasende rested.
Wales captain Jac Morgan was back to lead the side with prop Gareth Thomas also starting, while Wales full-back Murray returned for Scarlets after recovering from a calf injury.
Ospreys late but Scarlets start slowly
Welsh singer Dafydd Iwan galvanised the crowd with his rousing rendition of "Yma o Hyd".
The Ospreys had been late arriving to the Llanelli ground because of an accident just outside the ground with the kick-off delayed by five minutes.
It was the Scarlets who were caught cold from the kick-off with a disastrous opening quarter which started with conceding a try after 49 seconds.
Wales wing Ellis Mee failed to take the restart before his horribly slicked kick set up an attacking lineout.
Ospreys originally lost the set-piece but a strong Morgan tackle on Scarlets lock Alex Craig saw the ball dislodged with Morris pouncing on possession to score.
Edwards converted and slotted over a penalty before the visitors took advantage of another glaring error from the hosts.
A break from Ospreys wing Luke Morgan allowed Hopkins to collect his own chip after Scarlets fly-half Ioan Lloyd inexplicably failed to gather possession.
Scarlets, with captain Josh Macleod disrupting the Ospreys' breakdown, finally woke up with a well-worked try for Murray following a long looping Lloyd pass.
South African referee Griffin Brandon Colby then decided not to give a yellow card to Fifita for ...
