Road to the NatWest 6 Nations: Bennett's back with a bang

A Scottish centre made an impressive injury return in a new city, a versatile Englishman dotted down in a big victory and a full-back pulled the strings in an enthralling Welsh derby.

BENNETT MAKES HIS MARK

After ten long months on the sidelines, Mark Bennett made his long-awaited return from injury and produced a man-of-the-match display for his new club Edinburgh.

Having joined from Glasgow Warriors over the summer, the cruciate ligament injury Bennett suffered in last year's Championship meant Edinburgh fans had to wait until now to see their star signing in action.

? | Mark Bennett. Back in the thick of it. ?#EDIvKINGS pic.twitter.com/xGT2F1XLEC

- Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) January 5, 2018

And he didn't disappoint - the outside centre running hard with ball in hand and looking solid defensively in an easy 37-7 PRO14 win over the Southern Kings.

Bennett didn't cross the whitewash but the 20-cap Scotland international did make 42 metres, beat five defenders and didn't miss a tackle in the victory.

Fellow Scottish internationals Grant Gilchrist and Dougie Fife did dot down, as did former Scotland Under-20s star Blair Kinghorn - the full-back making an initial electrifying break before Chris Dean kicked through the onrushing Kings defence, allowing Kinghorn to race away and drop on the ball in the in-goal area.

30' TRYYYY!!!! It's another for Edinburgh as Blair Kinghorn finishes off a sweeping back line move! van der Walt nails the touchline conversion (15-0)#EDIvKINGS pic.twitter.com/1TsBNb3ULj

- Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) January 5, 2018

The 20-year-old will want to push for a place in Gregor Townsend's NatWest 6 Nations squad next month and certainly didn't do his chances any harm.

WATSON ON TARGET IN WIN

Bath halted a run of three successive Premiership defeats by dispatching Worcester Warriors 46-25 in a high-scoring Friday-night encounter at Sixways and had their England full-back partly to thank for the triumph.

Anthony Watson sizzled early on when his lightning-quick break put the Worcester defence on the back foot and he also grabbed the third of six Bath tries early in the second half.

53' TRY BATH! Watson streaks away for the try after another strong break from Cook - the scrum-half is everywhere this evening. pic.twitter.com/k4Xlr0kguI

- Bath Rugby (@bathrugby) January 5, 2018

Scrum-half Chris Cook produced a well-timed pass to send the 28-cap England international over the whitewash and he also made a match-high 110 metres with ball in hand over 80 minutes.

England team-mate Jonathan Joseph showed flashes in the centres, while experienced Scotland flanker David Denton grabbed Worcester's opening try from close-range against his former club.

PATCHELL PULLS THE STRINGS

Reigning PRO14 champions the Scarlets were in seventh heaven as they cruised to a 47-13 win over Welsh rivals the Dragons at Parc y Scarlets.

Full-back Rhys Patchell was at the heart of everything good the hosts did, creating two tries and keeping the Dragons defence on the back foot with a mixture of pinpoint kicking and darting breaks.

Seren y gêm / Man of the Match @rhys_patch
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- Scarlets Rugby (@scarlets_rugby) January 5, 2018

The 24-year-old - whose most recent of five Wales caps came against South Africa last month - also kicked two conversions from two as he looks to be hitting top form ahead of the NatWest 6 Nations.

Patchell wasn't the only Welsh star to shine as hooker Ken Owens produced an exquisite offload after a cheeky show-and-go to set up Dan Jones for his side's third of seven tries.

Veteran Scottish back-rower John Barclay also made his 100th Scarlets appearance on a night of celebration in Llanelli.

Congratulations @johnbarc86 on your 100th appearance for the Scarlets! Fantastic achievement! #inthepack pic.twitter.com/HQWF7ACOgs

- Scarlets Rugby (@scarlets_rugby) January 5, 2018

James Davies, Tom Prydie, Aled Davies, Aaron Shingler, Will Boyde and Rhys Jones were also on the scoresheet as the Scarlets laid down another marker to the rest of the PRO14 and extended their lead atop Conference B.