WRU Division 4 East

NEWPORT SARACENS 27  GWERNYFED 24

Gwernyfed travelled to league leaders Newport Saracens. The hosts were odds-on for promotion and freshly-crowned as Wales Division 4 Champions after victory at The Principality Stadium last weekend. The home side fielded a team of experienced giants and expected an easy afternoon – a great game that spoke volumes for the commitment of players representing their Club’s badge without thought of monetary recompense ensued.

The game started badly for the visitors from Talgarth. A long clearance was gathered by the hosts’ fly half, a danger throughout, who, when faced with the advancing defence, chipped over, gathered what was a lucky bounce and released his speedy winger for a first minute try, converted with aplomb

It looked to be a long afternoon for the healthy contingent travelling southward to support the green, white and blacks. However, there is a real metal in the Talgarth side these days and they looked to use speed and width to outwit the mighty men of the Saracens. Half backs Luke Eckley and evergreen Gareth Dodd released their threequarters early and after Tom Morgan failed to get his fingertips to an ambitious pass when the line beckoned, Impressive centre Gethin Davies timed his pass to perfection to put Morgan clear, the Llandefalle man needing no further invitation.

Attack caused panic in the Saracens ranks all afternoon and within minutes of the first score Craig Parry added a second try. Locks Lloyd Powell and Scott Rees consistently punched holes in the defensive line, the onslaught stopped only by transgression that allowed Dodd to push the resultant penalty into the corner. Rees plucked the ball out of the air from an unerring throw by Cellan Skyrme and the pack did the rest with Parry getting the final touch to establish a three-point lead.

The home side were stung, reacting by launching a campaign of sound and fury on Gwernyfed’ s try line. They met with the stiffest resistance from a resilient defensive line where Prys Eckley, Sam Clegg and ‘Chuck’ Norris were prominent in chopping down giants. The siege was relieved after ten minutes. However, ironically after failing with the bludgeon, Saracens moved the ball and scored out wide on the left to regain the lead as the half-time whistle beckoned.

On the restart, fifteen minutes of attack by the home side culminated in a third try at which point the vociferous home support celebrated what looked to be an unassailable lead. Gwernyfed saw it differently and some great tackling by Gethin Davies and Tom Morgan as the hosts tried to come out of defence, together with some impressive kicking out of hand by Davies, created opportunity. Lloyd Powell, Prys Eckley and Aston Barrell punctured the defence once again, their unstinting effort rewarded when scrum half Luke Eckley spotted a defensive misalignment and nipped in to score. Dodd converted to level the scores and silence the crowd.

Saracens showed just why they have dominated the league by bombarding the line repeatedly, heroic defence with left wing Cori Phillips regularly bringing down an opposite number almost twice the Bronllys man’s stature a particular feature. Once again, when Saracens concluded that head down charges produced no dividends, the rapier was deployed with their top class fly-half taking responsibility, going over under the posts to establish a seven point lead. That lead was extended by a penalty from the same player when Gwernyfed strayed offside and that looked to be it – Gwernyfed saw things differently.

With five minutes to go another offensive saw the green, white and blacks camp in the opposition twenty-two and once again cause panic in the mighty defenders. Close calls came and went as Lloyd Powell and Chuck Norris came close but their efforts were backed up by Prys Eckley who capped an excellent performance by bulldozing through under the posts, Dodd adding the two points.

Any objective analysis of the game would conclude that Saracens earned the win by virtue of possession and territorial advantage. However, all present, including the opposition, agreed that Gwernyfed thoroughly deserved the two bonus points that this great performance in a superb game of rugby delivered.

At home Jamie Coles’s Athletic XV took on Tref y Clawdd in a hastily arranged fixture, both sides having been let down by their league opponents. It was a win for the Knighton side, but while Gwernyfed fielded a couple of vastly experienced heads in Messrs Roberts and Bateman, the presence of so many youngsters bodes well for future campaigns at The Brian Jones Memorial Field.