Trebanos 24 Cwmavon 32
Saturday 1st October 2011
Cwmavon rally to stun Trebanos
Strong autumn sunshine greeted both teams as they ran out at Trebanos Park and the game was to be played in unseasonal scorching conditions that really tested the fitness and endurance of both teams.
After the previous week's loss in Resolven, Trebanos were strengthened by the return of their stag weekend revellers, but were still missing several players due to injuries. Jordan Hopkins' late withdrawal meant a last minute reshuffle with Michael Morris moving to full back and Ceri Davies showed his versatility by moving to left wing.
Cwmavon kicked off and, after Trebanos failed to gather, broke down the blind side, were awarded a penalty at the subsequent ruck and the outside half slotted it over to put the visitors 3-0 up after only a minute.
The restart from Trebanos just carried the ten metres before bouncing into touch. Cwmavon won ball at the lineout and spun the ball along their backline. A thumping tackle by captain Rhod Thomas stopped his opposite number in his tracks and the referee this time penalised Cwmavon for diving over the ruck. Scrum half Kris Jones kicked the penalty from 30 yards out to even up the score at 3 points each.
A kick and chase by right wing Matthew Edwards gave 'Banos great field position deep inside the Cwmavon 22 and after a couple of untidy scrums, the referee lost patience and awarded a penalty to Trebanos. Kris Jones was just off target with the penalty attempt. Trebanos lost the ball at the restart from the 22 and was kicked ahead by the Cwmavon scrum half. Trebanos gathered and attempted to run back but a high tackle halted any progress and the referee rightly decided that this merited ten minutes in the bin for one of the Cwmavon players (believed to be one of the centres).
Cwmavon dropped a goal to take the lead on 22 minutes after a patient build-up, then made a mess of the restart which resulted in a penalty to Trebanos. Kris Jones was off target from 30 yards out. Cwmavon's scrum half restarted the game with a quick tap on the 22 and made ten yards before losing the ball forward. Trebanos secured possession at the resulting scrum, scrum half Jones fed his namesake Rhoss at outside half and a couple of dummy runners confused the Cwmavon defence enough for centre Daniel Docherty to slice straight through and go over untouched from 35 yards out. The conversion was missed to make the score 8-6.
Shortly afterwards, a wheeled scrum on Trebanos' 10 yard line ended with scrum half Kris Jones making a clean break down the blind side. On the 22m line he passed inside to the supporting Rhys Carney who had done well to keep pace with Kris and be up in support. Rhys made 10 yards before giving the return pass for Kris to cross in the corner. The conversion from the touchline failed, to give 'Banos a 13-6 lead after half an hour.
'Banos disrupted a Cwmavon scrum on the visitors 22 and after Kris Jones tackled the No. 8, the ball went loose. Some neat footwork by Chris Balfe saw 'Banos advance and then gather possession. The ball was spun right, where there was an overlap, and eventually came to speedster Matthew Edwards who beat one man on the outside before executing a classic 'in and out' to beat another and cross in the corner for 'Banos' third try. Edwards took over the kicking duties, hit the difficult conversion well but just drifted to the left of the posts. Trebanos 18 Cwmavon 6.
'Banos were cruising at this point; the big boys among the Cwmavon pack were blowing hard and did not seem to enjoy the warm weather. To the watching 'Banos faithful, it just seemed a question of how many Trebanos would win by. Then, inexplicably, the game changed. 'Banos conceded a penalty under their own posts for offside, which Cwmavon kicked to make the score 18-9 and then almost immediately benefitted from a huge gap in the normally solid 'Banos defence to cross for an easy try under the posts. The conversion made it 18-16.
Trebanos should have answered almost immediately. A long throw to a lineout was gathered by flanker Rhod Williams. In the absence of support, he went to the deck. Cwmavon's defence was up too quickly and Kris Jones was able to break with ease and get behind the defence. He passed on to skipper Rhod Thomas but, with the line at their mercy, the final pass to Ceri Davies was not gathered. Cwmavon counter-attacked and went 70 yards upfield before good covering by Matthew Edwards rescued the situation. However, from the subsequent lineout, Trebanos were again penalised for offside. The referee binned Rhys Carney for the offence and Cwmavon kicked a simple penalty from in front of the posts to give them a 19-18 lead at half time.
Half time: Trebanos 18 Cwmavon 19
The half time interval witnessed the move of the match, as ex-'Banos winger Colin Jenkins suddenly produced four ice cold 'Bows to counteract the scorching conditions.
The second half started with Cwmavon trying to run back from the opening kickoff only to be pinged for holding on at the ruck. Edwards kicked the penalty to restore Trebanos' lead at 21-19.
However, the lead was short lived. A break along the left hand touchline took play up to Trebanos' 22. Cwmavon recycled the ball quickly and, with numbers and an overlap on the left, they were able to cross in the corner. Cwmavon's outside half, who kicked superbly all afternoon, converted from the touchline to give the visitors a 26-21 lead with half an hour remaining.
Trebanos had an opportunity to reduce the deficit soon after, when they were awarded a penalty for the tackler not releasing after a superb 30 yard break by Kris Jones. However, for once, it was not the best of days for Trebanos' kickers as Edwards sent the kickable penalty wide. The restart from the Cwmavon 22 sent 'Banos 70 yards backwards, into their own 22, where it was gathered by Kris Jones who fed Rhoss Jones. He chipped the advancing defence only to be taken out late and with a "no arms" tackle/shoulder charge, for which the referee had no hesitation in producing a straight red card and sending off a Cwmavon player.
But Cwmavon extended their lead when Trebanos conceded a penalty on their own 22. The scrum hadn't formed, there was little sign of anything going on so quite why the penalty was awarded was unclear. However, the successful penalty took the score to 29-21.
With twenty minutes to go, an injury to second row Declan Bale, saw experienced campaigner Amer Hussain enter the fray, with Rhod Davies switching to second row to accommodate Amer at 8.
Trebanos narrowed the gap shortly after this when ball won at a scrum reached Rhoiss Jones. With dummy runners again causing confusion, the ball reached centre Rhod Thomas who showed strength to break a tackle and set up a ruck at which Cwmavon were again penalised for not releasing the tackled player. Matthew Edwards' kick was successful to make the score Trebanos 24 Cwmavon 29 with twenty minutes remaining.
Trebanos conceded a penalty straight from the restart as the referee pinged Trebanos for the exact same offence of not releasing the tacked player. Uncharacteristically, Cwmavon's outside half missed the kickable penalty, his first miss of the afternoon. However, Cwmavon kept the pressure on in Trebanos' 22 and, when another penalty was awarded soon after, the outside half made no mistake to restore the eight point gap, 24-32.
Trebanos started chasing the game but the fourteen men of Cwmavon were clearly suffering at this point and every break in play saw one or more go down injured. In fairness, the referee recognised this and played a fair amount of "injury" time at the end of the game but the constant breaks in play certainly did Trebanos no favours.
With time running out, 'Banos went in search of a try that would at least give them something from the game. Given a penalty, they kicked to within 5 metres of the line. After a catch and drive, hooker Dai Davies seemed to everyone to have got over the line and grounded the ball. Unfortunately, the man who mattered most was looking the wrong way and the referee just awarded a scrum to Trebanos. Cwmavon were penalised at that and 'Banos opted for the reset. The next went down as well. But 'Banos conceded a penalty for driving upwards at the next scrum and Cwmavon were able to clear their lines and hold on for victory.
Disappointment, then, for Trebanos' players and supporters but the boys have already shown enough this season for us to know that they will be competitive and a match for most teams in this higher division.
Full time: Trebanos 24 Cwmavon 32
Trebanos RFC |
|
|---|---|
| 15 | Michael Morris |
| 14 | Matthew Edwards |
| 13 | Rhodri Thomas (Capt.) |
| 12 | Daniel Docherty |
| 11 | Ceri Davies |
| 10 | Rhoss Jones |
| 9 | Kristian Jones |
| 1 | Gareth Lynch |
| 2 | Dai Davies |
| 3 | Chris Balfe |
| 4 | Declan Bale |
| 5 | Steve Morgan |
| 6 | Rhys Carney |
| 8 | Rhodri Davies |
| 7 | Rhodri Williams |
| Replacements: | Amer Hussain for Declan Bale |
Today's other SWALEC League Division 4 SW Results:
Abercrave 18 Pontardawe 43
Briton Ferry 26 Birchgrove 19
Glyncorrwg 11 Nantyffyllon 15
Maesteg Celtic 10 Pyle 9
Neath Athletic 17 Resolven 19