A round-up of reports from games played this weekend.
If you have a report you'd like added to this round-up, please email to gwcymru1@aol.com - many thanks
Llandudno 22 v Colwyn Bay 3
Following report kindly supplied by Llandudno RFC.
This much anticipated local Derby for a number of seasons, took place at Maesdu Road with a large crowd of spectators from both clubs, and it was the home side that came out on top, with a first half performance that looked as if they would run away with the match, having scored nineteen of their twenty two points before the half time whistle.
Cameron Davies had an outstanding match at scrum half scoring all of the home side three tries earning him the Man of the Match Award. Llan throughout the match always looked the most dangerous of the two sides, and created many try scoring opportunities which they failed to turn into points. Cameron Davies crossed for his first try, when from a line out near the Bay try line he touched down near the corner flag, and this was converted from a very difficult angle by Ryan Pike.
The Bay came back at the home side for a short period of time, and were awarded a penalty in front of the posts which Pat Atkinson converted giving them there only points of the match. Llan began to dominate for long periods of play during this half keeping play well within the Bay half of play, and a quickly taken penalty by Cameron Davies caught them off guard for him to cross the white wash for his second try.
This first half saw the home side gain more control of proceedings with plenty of ball possession, and a telling break by the three quarters from within their own half took them right up to the Bay try line with Cameron Davies taking the final pass for his third and last try of the match, with Ryan Pike converting just before the half time whistle.
The second half was an anti climax to the home supporters, who now expected Llan to build up a sizeable match winning score line, but to the credit of the Bay there defence held solid throughout this second half.
Llan failed to turn the amount of pressure that they had on the Bay defence into points, and only managed to score there final match winning points with a converted penalty by Ryan Pike.
Overall Llan were the better of the two sides, and the visitors never created or looked like crossing their try line for points.
Man of the Match Cameron Davies.
Next Saturday Llandudno entertain Blaenavon at home in the second round of the Swalec Plate, Kick Off 2.30.
Match Report by Howie.
Pwllheli 71 v Ruthin 3
Following report kindly supplied by Ruthin RFC.
Ruthin were only able to take 16 players to high flying Pwllheli and by the second half the lack of fresh legs showed as the home side won by 71 points to 3 in an entertaining game.
Ruthin were first out of the blocks with early pressure and a penalty goal from second row Deian Lloyd Williams after 7 minutes.
Pwllheli responded quickly however with intelligent play out to the wing leading to two two converted tries in 8 minutes.
For the next 10 minutes the Blues defended well against a robust Pwllheli attack but eventually after 30 minutes play the home side went over for another converted try.
Ruthin responded with some good play and pressure but as in recent league games were not able to convert the pressure into points.
Just before half time Pwllheli cleared their lines and were back in the visitor’s 22 and on 40 minutes got their bonus point try, also converted.
In the 2nd half Ruthin played their hearts out for the full 40 minutes but were unable to contain the impressive free flowing rugby from Pwllheli.
There was no respite for the Blues in the scrum as Pwllhlei also had ascendancy in the second half.
Towards the end of the second half the home side were able almost to score tries at will and ran in 7 of their 11 tries in that period, 4 of which were converted.
This will probably be Ruthin’s toughest encounter of the season but credit has to go the players who made the journey for their club and played with such commitment.
Special mention goes to fly half Iestyn Davies who travelled from Loughborough to play for his team.
Bethesda 0 v Nant Conwy 57
Following report kindly supplied by Nant Conwy RFC.
This fixture in the Division One calendar is one that is eagerly awaited by both sets of supporters as they are usually assured of an exciting and skilful game played with a passion and intensity that are a feature of local derbies. This was no exception.
Nant showed from the beginning their attacking intentions and could easily have been three tries up within ten minutes if it hadn’t been for heroic defending and unforced errors.
With ten minutes on the clock, Cai jones opened the scoring with a fine individual effort and Delwyn Jones adding to the score with a magnificent conversion from a very tight angle. This seemed to spur Nant on to greater heights with attacking moves that scythed through the home team’s heroic defence.
On the half hour second row forward Maredydd Pyrs crossed the try line to score the second try and a few minutes later Cai Jones extended the lead to make the score at half time twenty one points to nil.
The second half started much as the first had finished with Nant playing fast open rugby scything through the opposition defence with their ability to create openings and superb ball handling. Within ten minutes the dam burst and Cai Jones yet again scoring a superb try.
Try as they might, Bethesda could not stem the flow of tries, Nant scoring an additional five tries to seal the match and gain the bonus point.
Mae gêm rhwng y ddau dîm yma wastad yn achlysur gyda’r cefnogwyr yn edrych ymlaen ati oherwydd y safon o rygbi a chwaraeir, y nwyd a’r cyflwyniad a ddangosir gan yr oll o’r chwaraewyr. ‘Doedd y gêm yma ddim yn eithriad i’r arferol.
Nant yn pwyso ar amddiffyn Bethesda o’r cychwyn, ac yn chwarae y deg munud cyntaf yn chwarter olaf y tîm cartref. Yn wir, fe allai Nant wedi bod ar y blaen o dri chais yn y munudau cyntaf heblaw am gangymeriadau sylweddol. Er hyn, ar y deg munud, Cai Jones yn agor y sgôr gyda chais bendigedig a Delwyn Jones yn ychwanegu at y cyfanswn gyda throsiad anodd. Wedi ei sbarduno gan hyn, fe welwyd Nant yn hollti trwy amddiffynfa Bethesda dro ar ôl tro a dim ond amddiffyn ysbrydol a mân gamgymeriadau yn eu rhwystro. Yna, ychydig wedi hanner awr o chwarae, fe dorrwyd yr argae, pan sgoriodd Maredydd Pyrs yr ail gais yn cael ei ddilyn funudau wedyn pan sgoriodd Cai Jones unwaith eto i wneud y sgôr ar yr hanner amser yn un pwynt ar hugain i Nant a dim i Fethesda.
Yn yr ail hanner, gwelwyd yr un patrwm gyda Nant yn chware rygbi cyflym a nerthol, gyda phob aelod o’r tîm yn dangos lefelau o sgiliau uchel yn creu agoriadau, pasio a dal y bêl ag ati. Yn anffodus i Bethesda, ni allent fyw gyda’r lefel o angerdd yma ac o fewn deng munud Cai Jones yn croesi y llinell gais unwaith eto. Gyda eu pennau i lawr, ac er ei holl ymdrechion, fe aeth pethau o ddrwg i waeth i Bethesda gyda Nant yn sgorio pum cais arall cyn diwedd y gêm i ennill gyda pwynt bonws.
Sgorwyr/Scores
Ceisiau/Tries
Cai Jones x 3
Jack Moriarty x 2
Maredydd Pyrs x 1
Aeron Jones x 1
Arthur Lennon x 1
Sion Pringle x 1
Trosiadau/Conversions
Delwyn Jones x 6
[John Parry]
Caernarfon 53 v COBRA 5
Following report kindly supplied by Caernarfon RFC.
Caernarfon were comfortable victors of this league encounter on the excellent Morfa playing surface. From the off they showed their intentions with the ball being spread wide at every opportunity. The first try on four minutes was however gifted to them as pressure from a lineout near Cobra's line resulted in the ball being dislodged and falling kindly to flanker Dafydd Hughes to open the scoring. Guto Pierce duly added the conversion and also succeeded with a penalty for a hands in the ruck offence after twenty minutes. During the first quarter the Cofis had looked sharp but had created few genuine scoring opportunities against a scrambling Cobra defence.
Luckily a flowing backs move brought play into the danger zone and prop Armando Morgan fooled the defence to pirouette and crash over on twenty six minutes with Pierce again converting. Centre Dafydd Lloyd Hughes was proving a handful with his strong charges and following one break, quick hands to the blindside found opposite wing Liam Hughes in support to score a well worked try that was once again added to by Pierce. Cobra found it difficult to sustain any forward momentum although Richard Jones and Bryn Davies made a few telling runs out of defence.
The second half opened profitably for Caernarfon with scrum half Bryn Granville taking a quick penalty and finding flanker Mac Jones at his side to charge over for the bonus point try. Indeed Jones was close to the play all afternoon, chasing and harassing with purpose. Prop Rhobat John was also impressive with ball in hand as was fellow front row member Gareth Pritchard. Cobra were restricted to just one run out of defence by Iolo White during the third period, a period that was to end with wing Liam Hughes fielding a ball on the halfway line and setting off on a determined run that saw him waltz pass numerous would be tacklers to score his second, with this being a fine individual effort.
Cobra to their credit kept plugging away and finally gained some forward momentum, Jack Jukes and Iwan Vaughan tenacious and robust with their forceful thrusts.
However luck was not on their side as a clearance kick out of defence was charged down to allow Bryn Granville the simplest of tasks to grab his five pointer.
Caernarfon had thought that their line would be held intact but with five minutes or so remaining Cobra got their just reward when a lineout take resulted in a forward rumble that resulted in prop Hywel Jones being credited with the touchdown.
Caernarfon replacements, namely Michael Downey and Cai Jones were keen to get in on the act and it was their joint effort that paved the way for Mac Jones to charge over for his second of the day as fulltime approached. Guto Pierce got back into the kicking groove to convert, as he did again a minute or so later when a Dom Yau flick presented Iolo Hughes with the gap required to sprint over and bring an entertaining game to a close.
Dolgellau 14 v Llangefni 9
Following report kindly supplied by Dolgellau RFC.
Dolgellau remain top of the divsion following this huge and richly deserved victory against 2nd placed Llangefni, but they had to survive the last nervous minutes of this encounter with only thirteen men, which they did by the skin of their teeth, as the visitors probed continiuously for the equalising try.
Dolgellau started brightly and were thretening, but failed to breach the gain line often enough to trouble the visitors' defence, and it was Llangefni who went ahead after twelve minutes, with full back Owain Thomas slotting over a penalty from in front of the posts.
Dolgellau defended well too, and centre Dylan Evans added another try saving tackle to his name to keep the visitors at bay. Prop Dan Brazier pulled Dolgellau lefel after half an hour, and in the closing stages, centre Gareth Hughes came close to scoring. Dolgellau were awarded a penalty and Brazier slotted over his second penalty to give Dolgellau a slended 6-3 lead at the interval.
The second half was just as keenly contested as the first, but Dolgellau edged further ahead after quarter of an hour thanks to Brazier's third penalty. Dolgellau were dominating by now and ten minutes later they scored the only try of the match, as their forwards drove on from a penalty, replacement hooker, Geraint Evans surged over, the referee was unsighted, but the ball was worked to second row Rhys Roberts to be awared with the touchdown to give the home side some breathing space with the score 14-3.
However Llangefni, with stand off Sior Grieves now orchestrating co-ordinated attacks with his tight forwards, clawed their way back, and full back Owain Thomas put over two penalties to make it 14-9 and set up a nail biting last ten minutes. As the tension mounted, Dolgellau lost flanker, Dylan Llewelyn and skipper, Dewi Thomas to yellow cards, but Llangefni lacked the poise to make their superior numbers count and Dolgellau held on for a memorable victory.
Referee : Bobi Beach
Abergele 20 v Bro Ffestiniog 48
Following report kindly supplied by Abergele RFC.
Abergele 20 – 48 Bro Ffestiniog
Gele will be rueing weak tackling, it’s not enough to make contact, the ball carrier must go to ground.
The home side opened well taking the lead through an early penalty but let the visitors take control of the game through a missed tackle, a loose pass which was intercepted and a weak tackle allowing Bro to offload, all three were converted which gave Gele an uphill task.
To be fair it was a lot closer contest than the score suggests, the Gele forwards competing well with the line-out and scrum both operating well. Tom Bond and Josh Woods covered the ground well both in attack and defence and Chris Meyers and Joe Lavin kept the line-out ball coming. The bonus try came just before half time from a good break by their No. 8.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, the home forwards battling hard for the possession but weak tackling across the 15 allowed Bro to gain territory. Gele did get some reward for their efforts, some great handling and recycling gave Tomo Coathup the chance to cross twice and Owain Davies completed the scoring with a try. Bro answered with another 3 tries and a penalty, to bring an exciting and competitive game to an end.
Next week Gele entertain Old Illtydians from Splott in the WRU Plate
Menai Bridge 31 v Benllech 5
Following report kindly supplied by Menai Bridge RFC.
It was another island derby for Bridge this week, against old rivals Benllech. Bridge were keen to build on last week's win and duly obliged the home support with a bonus point win. Centre Dave Williams scored the first try for Bridge and was soon followed by in form winger Aled Thomas who rounded off a slick passing move touching down in the corner.
Bridge's indiscipline at the breakdown led to a succession of penalties, which gave Benllech possession and territorial advantage for long periods of the half, but no points. It was Williams who broke the deadlock, snatching a pass from the air and switching direction to wrong foot the defence for a superb try. The try was converted by Iwan Jones, for a half time score of 17 - 0 to Bridge.
The second half followed a similar pattern, both teams struggled for continuity of play. Eventually Bridge put in a good phase of passing play between forwards which saw flanker James Jones cross out wide. Veteran fly half Jones slotted a great touch line conversion to bring the score to 24- 0. Benllech were determined to get on the score sheet and succeeded from driving forward play, characteristic of their game plan and earning a well deserved try.
Bridge's final try was scored by scrum half Pat Roberts, who bamboozled everyone; players, spectators and probably himself, with a twisting turning run, reminiscent of a Tornado's spiral which scattered everything in his path as he danced over the line with everyone fleeing the whirling frenzy.
The conversion was slotted by Jones for a final score of 31 - 5.
Excitement is building at the club in preparation for next weeks visit of Trimsaran Rfc in the 3 round of the National Bowl. All welcome, to what should be a thrilling North v West encounter.
Wrexham 2nds 5 v Shotton Steel 2nds 52
Following report kindly supplied by Shotton Steel RFC.
Shotton 2nds dominated all aspects of their encounter with Wrexham at Bryn Estyn Road.
The Steelmen were 14 nil up in as many minutes through tries created with probing runs from Centre Craig Higgins and Winger Jason Parry, the extras coming from the boot of Higgins.
Higgins was on fire as he surged forward again after sterling work from the forwards, eluding numerous attempts at being tackled to touch down under the posts making the conversion a given.
Second row Peter Ketland scorched through with an elusive run to score on the half hour mark, finding form again after taking a season out last year.
Higgins scored again just before half time after picking up a loose ball out wide to give Shotton a
38-5 half time lead after Wrexham scored their only points with a consolation try.
Craig Higgins proved too hot to handle as he scored his fourth try virtually from the kick off.
Peter Ketland streaked away for another score as did Captain, Richard Grace, extras being nicely clipped over from the boot of Higgins once more.
A serious injury to one of the Wrexham team saw the referee blow up early after 70 minutes.
A comprehensive victory for Shotton who dominated all aspects of the game winning all their own ball at the scrum and Wrexham’s too.
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