Following report by Gary Williams, Oval Zone Rugby.
What a super game at St Helens, Swansea this afternoon. With the lead changing hands on a number of occasions the result was in doubt until the final whistle.
The Blues started the game like a house on fire, gaining their first three points within two minutes, a Robyn Wilkins penalty.
Once RGC settled they enjoyed some good periods of possession and it was Rhodd Parry who crossed out wide for their first try and a lead of 5-3.
It didn’t take the Blues long to grab back the initiative and lively winger Rafiuke Taylor crossed the whitewash to regain the lead at 5-8.
The next twenty minutes was a stop-start affair littered with a number of handling errors and injuries which slowed the game down.
The game came alive in the thirty second minute when centre Molly Philpott scored the Blues second try of the afternoon.
Two minutes later, RGC hit back with a great try by Elinor Isaac, converted by Iona Evans which reduced the deficit to 12-13.
With half time nearing, Jess Kavanagh showed what blistering pace she has to out-run the Blues defence and give the North Walians a 17-13 lead.
It was the Blues, however, who would have the final say of the half when Manon Johnes skipped through the RGC defence to score and take a one-point lead, which increased to three points when Millie Williams converted to give an interval scoreline of 17-20 to the Blues.
The second half started in a similar vein to the first with the Blues snatching a quick score when Rafiuke Taylor pounced for her second try of the game and gave the Blues a lead of 17-25.
Ten minutes later it was Taylor again on the scoresheet, her third try of the afternoon and putting some daylight between the two teams at 17-30.
RGC were not going down without a fight and after calmly collecting a high ball, Bethan Davies set on a mazy run, leaving Blues defenders wrong-footed, touching down and reducing the deficit to 22-30.
Indiscipline cost RGC dear when they had two players sin-binned in quick succession and played with 13 players for eight minutes or so. During this time, Rafiuke Taylor capped a wonderful individual performance with her fourth try of the game, a killer blow which put the Blues well clear at 22-35 with twelve minutes left on the clock.
Two minutes later and Jess Kavanagh worked her magic once again, giving RGC hope when her sizzling second try brought the scores to 27-35 and ensured that the crowd would be treated to a frantic final ten minutes.
The Blues played intelligent rugby in running down the clock and holding on to that crucial eight point gap and despite the efforts of RGC in the final minutes, the Blues defence was comfortable in keeping the Gogs out and claiming a deserved win.
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