Scarlets made sure that their March 2 clash with Leinster will see the victor take pole position in the battle for a home PRO14 semifinal with a thumping 34-10 win over Ulster.

Despite having faced an early barrage in which Ireland centre Stuart McCloskey touched down inside two minutes, Scarlets fought back and dominated their rivals.

But for a TMO decision Ulster would have been further ahead by halftime after Dan Jones' tenth-minute penalty. But in the lead up to Nick Timoney touching down, the TMO adjudged that Matthew Rea had held Jonathan Evans at the breakdown on halfway and the referee felt Evans would have plugged the gap which allowed the break.

But a very different Scarlets team took to the field in the second half and Ioan Nicholas found a gap in the left corner to put Scarlets in front four minutes after the restart and despite a penalty from John Cooney, Scarlets dominated.

Replacement Ryan Conbeer got the ball wide left on his own 10 metre line, he bounced off one Ulster players and swerved his way past three more to touch down to give Scarlets some breathing space at 20-10.

A delightful chip over the top inside the Ulster 22 was gathered by Paul Asquith to touch down for a third try before Tadhg Beirne secured a bonus point win with three minutes remaining.

The win moves Scarlets within three points of Leinster and with just five games remaining, their clash in the next round of matches will be crucial in deciding the outcome of a home semifinal.