Rhys Priestland starred with the boot for Scarlets as they got back to winning ways by downing the Ospreys 22-14 in their Pro12 Welsh derby at Parc y Scarlets on Monday.

The Wales pivot's accurate goal-kicking and a Rhys Thomas try gave the home side a comfortable 16-3 lead at the interval, with just a Dan Biggar penalty in response.

And although the Ospreys were much improved in the second-half, Biggar kicking two early penalties before Barry Davies touched down, Scarlets held their nerve to snap a winless run of three games in all competitions.

The Scarlets had not beaten Ospreys since December 27 2007, but after 15 minutes they found themselves 6-0 ahead thanks to two Priestland penalties.

It took the visitors until the 28th minute to get on the scoresheet, thanks to a Biggar penalty, but Tommy Bowe wasted a glorious chance to score the first try of the game when he knocked on with the touchline just metres ahead on the right.

Instead that honour went to Scarlets' Thomas who barged his way over following a scrum after two Kahn Fotuali'i kicks were charged down.

Priestland added the extras and kicked another penalty before the interval for a comfortable lead, the Scarlets looking to extend their impressive run against Welsh rivals, having not lost in their last four derby clashes.

The Ospreys on the other hand hadn't won in their last four games against Welsh teams but did their best to turn things around as they came flying out of the blocks in the second half and reduced the deficit through two Biggar penalties.

And on 55 minutes the Scarlets' lead was reduced to just two points as fullback Davies went over in the right corner, Biggar unable to make the conversion.

On the hour mark Priestland missed an opportunity to extend the lead when he missed a penalty, but made no mistake with his next two efforts to help the majority of the home crowd to relax.

Ospreys replacement flyhalf Matthew Morgan missed a kick of his own with eight minutes left that would have made for a tense finish.

And although Priestland missed a last-gasp attempt at the posts, his 17-point haul was instrumental in a first Scarlets win over the Ospreys in nearly four years.

The scorers:

For Scarlets:
Try: Thomas
Con: Priestland
Pens: Thomas, Priestland 5

For Ospreys:
Try: Davies
Pens: Biggar 3

The teams:

Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jon Davies, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Rob McCusker, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Lou Reed, 3 Rhys Thomas, 2 Matthew Rees (captain), 1 Rhodri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Phil John, 18 Deacon Manu, 19 Sione Timani, 20 Johnathan Edwards, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Stephen Jones, 23 Iongi Viliame.

Ospreys: 15 Barry Davies, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Joe Bearman, 7 Justin Tipuric (captain), 6 Ryan Jones, 5 Jonathan Thomas, 4 James King, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Mefin Davies, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Tom Smith, 20 George Stowers, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Matthew Morgan, 23 Hanno Dirksen.

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Neil Hennessy (Wales), Jon Mason (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)