A round up of reports from games involving the clubs of North and Mid Wales.
Nant Conwy 13 v Penallta 18
Following report kindly supplied by Nant Conwy RFC.
To view a picture album from this game, please click here
Sgoriau / Scores:
(3 m) Nant Conwy 0 Penallta 3: Joseph Scrivens, (20 m)5 - 3: TOM OLIVER, 7 - 3: DELWYN JONES, (42m) 10 - 3: DELWYN JONES, (44 m) 10 - 6 Joseph Scrivens
(12 m) 10 -11 Joseph Scrivens, 10 - 13 Joseph Scrivens, (70 m) 10 - 18 Cory Tucker and 13 - 18:DELWYN JONES
DYFARNWR / REFEREE: Mr Andrew Davies, Aberystwyth.
The dream of playing the final of the SWALEC Plate is over for another year. Nant losing this semi- final match to Penallta by thirteen points to eighteen.
In front of a large crowd of supporters, from both teams, it was Penallta who started off the more positive of the two sides. Within two minutes, they were ahead following a penalty awarded as a result of an infringement at the scrum. Twenty minutes into the half and Nant pressing hard on the opposition try line, Tom Oliver crossed the line to score the first try of the afternoon. Dilwyn Jones added to the score with a successful conversion from a very difficult angle. Three minutes into added time another Nant penalty saw them extend their lead. However, with seconds to go before the half time whistle, Penallta were awarded a very contentious penalty, which Joseph Scrivens slotted over successfully to bring the score at half time to Nant Conwy ten, Penallta six.
A change of tactics and personel at the outset of the second half by Penallta turned the tide in their favour. Following a period of intense pressure, eleven minutes in, Joseph Scrivens broke through the Nant defence to score and put Penallta ahead by one point. Further pressure on the Nant defence resulted in Cory Tucker scoring the second try for Penallta, which was converted successfully to put Penallta further ahead. Despite intense pressure in the last ten minutes by Nant and a successful penalty kick they were unable to add to their score. The team from the south carried the day.
Penallta had most of the play but, as always, Nant tackled as if their lives depended on it! Indeed, the team felt hard done by at the end when, Mr Davies, who had a really good game in general, appeared to award two tries that the players thought were 'not' tries. Perhaps a video / T.V screen would have settled the matters one way or another! A deserved yellow card was awarded to a player from each side - both for high tackles. But it was Penallta who won on the day and all at Nant Conwy wish them all the best at the Final.
Penallta yn cael y mwyafrif o'r chwarae ond Nant yn amddiffyn yn dda wedi dechreuad gwan. Y tim yn teimlo'n anhapus braidd ei bod yn ymddangos fod dau gais Penallta heb eu tirio'n gywir! Hwyrach y buasai camera teledu / fideo wedi dangos beth oedd y gwir. Cerdyn melyn yr un i'r ddwy ochr - y ddau am daclo'n uchel. Wedi nodi hynyna, roedd yn hynod anodd i Mr Davies, a gafodd gem gyffredinol dda iawn, weld y manylion a ddisgrifir uchod. Ond, Penallta aeth a hi heddiw a phob hwyl iddynt yn y rownd derfynol.
Mae’r freuddwyd o chwarae yn rownd derfynol Plat SWALEC yn stadiwn “Principality” drosodd am eleni. Nant yn colli’r ornest yn erbyn Penallta o dri phwynt ar ddeg yn erbyn deunaw.
O flaen torf dda iawn o gefnogwyr, yn cynrychioli’r ddau dîm, Penallta oedd yn ymosod yn y munudau cyntaf, ac yn ennill y pwyntiau cyntaf o fewn dau funud, trwy gic gosb gan Joseph Scrivens, pan gosbwyd Nant am scrymio’n annheg. Ugain munud i’r hanner, a Nant yn pwyso’n galed ar linell gais y gwrthwynebwyr, gwelwyd Tom Oliver yn sgorio cais yn nghongl y cae. Trosiad bendigedig gan Delwyn Jones o ongl anodd, yn rhoi Nant ar y blaen o saith pwynt i dri. Tri munud i mewn i amser ychwanegol, cic gosb lwyddianus i Nant yn eu rhoi ymhellach ar y blaen.Yn anffodus, eiliadau cyn diwedd yr hanner cyntaf, rhoddwydd cic gosb ddadleuol iawn i Penallta. Joseph Scrivens yn llwyddianus gyda’r gic, yn gwneud y sgôr ar hanner amser yn, Nant Conwy deg, Penallta chwech.
Newid tactegau a chwaraewyr gan Penallta yn yr ail hanner yn newid patrwm y gêm ac yn rhoi y fantais iddynt. Ar ôl cryn dipyn o ymosod, Joseph Scrivens yn torri trwy amddiffynfa Nant i sgorio cais a rhoi’r gwrthwynebwyr ar y blaen o un pwynt. Mwy o bwysau gan y gwrthwynebwyr ac ar yr hanner awr, Cory Tucker, y tro yma, yn sgorio cais a droswyd yn llwyddianus i roi Penallta ymhellach ar y blaen.
Er holl ymdrechion Nant yn y deg munud olaf, ni allent dorri drwy amddiffynfa Penallta. Felly y îim o’r de a enilliodd y dydd.
(John Parry & Ifor Glyn)
Caernarfon 85 v Colwyn Bay 12
Following match report kindly supplied by Caernarfon RFC.
A week is a long time in rugby!! On their last outing nothing went right for the Cofis, but by contrast on this occasion everything went their way. Colwyn Bay on the other hand, who are going through a transitional period, found it difficult to contain Caernarfon’s sustained attacking approach.
The first points were recorded within the opening three minutes when a Jordan Scott charge and quick release granted centre Adam Thomas a touchdown that was bettered via Aled Jones’s conversion. A number of passes were dropped by both sides afterwards, as an effort was made by both teams to spread the ball wide. However none of these were in the danger zone and neither side was able to capitalise.
Standoff Carwyn Roberts was on song for the Cofis being strong and incisive as he showed on twelve minutes when a mid field break from forty meters saw him power over in the left hand corner. Minutes later he combined effectively from deep to give fullback Aled Jones the scoring pass to ground in the same corner.
The Bay were reliant on the guile of standoff Pat Atkinson to create whilst Dewi Hughes made a nuisance of himself when having adopted the Italian style rucking tactic occasionally effectively. Soon though, Roberts again broke free but the inside pass was not gathered cleanly, however Bay’s attempted clearance was fielded by Aled Jones and he set off on a twenty two meter dash that evaded the rearguard to score and convert a fine individual effort.
The scoreboard kept ticking over straight from the kickoff as a charge out of defence again saw Roberts feeding Jordan Scott who’s power ensured another grounding that together with another Jones conversion saw the thirty point barrier being crossed. To their credit however Colwyn Bay kept plugging away with scrum half Paul Thompson urging his forwards ever onwards and working well in tandem with Atkinson at 10. It was the quick thinking of Atkinson in taking a quick tap penalty and applying the required pressure on the through chip that allowed centre Connor Harding to win the chase for the grounding to finally ensure points on the board for Colwyn Bay and conclude the first half’s proceedings.
Caernarfon attacked from the restart and although initially halted, when they regained possession they made no mistake as Roberts again found a support player at hand, on this occasion being Derfel Thomas to touch down. A similar scenario minutes later saw replacement Griff Ifor on the score sheet followed by one of the best constructed tries of the afternoon that saw Caernarfon break out of defence and interlink the length of the field before impressive ball carrying prop Armando Morgan fed Jordan Scott who claimed his second touchdown.
Another replacement, Mac Jones picked up a lost ball and fended off the defenders in his way to score the fourth of the half. Liam Hughes then broke out of defence and via Derfel Thomas put hooker Gareth Pritchard in for the tenth Cofi try of the afternoon.
There followed a searing 70 metre break out of defence by winger Dylan Gwyn only to be equalled by the classic chase and overhaul by counterpart Alex Metcalf inches from the try line. However Cai Jones was at hand to gather the pop pass and add to Bay’s woes.
Metcalf’s heroics inspired Colwyn Bay to muster one other final effort and from a scrum some ten metres out they went blind to feed playmaker Atkinson who duly squeezed in at the corner and also struck a fine touchline conversion.
The final ten minutes however belonged to Caernarfon fullback Aled Jones as he twice outfoxed the defence to score and convert two further tries, thus bringing his personal points tally for the afternoon to forty, courtesy of having converted five from six of the earlier second half tries in addition to the others already mentioned.
Llandudno 20 v Bala 24
Following report kindly supplied by Llandudno RFC.
In this tough physical encounter, Llan will look back on not taking the opportunities to convert a number of penalties during the first half, which would have given them a home win.
Llan took an early lead with a converted penalty by Cameron Davies just on the stroke of ten minutes of play, Bala hit back from a three quarter movement that ended with a touch down by Moi Daffydd, which was converted by Owen Aled.
Llan put some pressure on the visitors defence, and eventually breached it with a try by Cameron Davies, however the visitors responded before the halftime whistle with two tries by Robin Jones and Tom Hughes with Owen Aled converting one.
The second half was a very evenly balanced contest, with both sides becoming very physical with the referee warning both team Captains that players would be leaving the field of play if it continued.
Llan began to gain the upper hand in this half, and were rewarded when winger Toby Jones touched down for a try which took them within five points of the visitors score line, the match now became one that could have gone either way, with both teams creating try scoring opportunities.
Bala increased there lead with an unconverted try by Elgan Evans, but it was Llan that pressed hard in the final quarter of play, and from a maul near the visitors try line that Lewis Griffith was driven over for the last try of a very hard fought contest, which Llan on reflection should have won.
Wrexham 17 v Dolgellau 17
Following match report kindly supplied by Dolgellau RFC.
A dramatic try from Dolgellau replacement second row, Marios Jones which was converted by stand-off Jac Roberts, with less than three minutes of the match remaining secured a memorable draw for Dolgellau here at Bryn Estyn Road against a committed Wrexham side who had led all game and looked to have done just enough to clinch the points.
Wrexham were well up for the stern challenge that Dolgellau provided and went ahead after nine minutes as wing Eddie Evans gathered a neat chip ahead to touchdown. Centre James Pryce added the conversion to go 7-0 ahead. Dolgellau responded ten minutes later with a push over try from prop Geraint Evans form a five metre lineout. However after twenty five minutes Wrexham went further ahead when their hard working forwards released flanker Rob Moore in for the score to make it 12-5. Dolgellau came agonisingly close scoring at the end of the half but second rows Berwyn Hughes and Rhys Roberts were halted on the try-line, and the half ended with no further score.
Wrexham were penalised for being off-side fifteen minutes into a very even second period resulting in another catch a drive from the visiting forwards that saw Geraint Evans cross for his second try of the game. Centre Gareth Hughes’ conversion going agonisingly wide again. With the tension mounting, Wrexham had a try disallowed for a forward pass, and Dolgellau brought on Jac Kelly for his senior debut and second row Marios Jones.
With ten minutes remaining, Wrexham were awarded a kickable penalty and opted for the touch. Dolgellau managed to clear their lines but Wrexham prop, John Gill gathered the clearance on the right touchline to squeeze over in the corner to make the score 17-10. But with time running out, and to Dolgellau’s immense credit, they carved an opening when centre Gareth Hughes broke down the left side and into the red zone and was aided by wing Rob Pugh, who was hauled down on the try line. However replacement Marios Jones was at hand to touch down. This time stand-off Jac Roberts coolly slotted over the conversion to secure the visitors a draw that had looked unlikely, but what their resolve deserved.
Referee : Ed Brown [Denbigh]
Denbigh 57 v Llangollen 7
Following report kindly supplied by Denbigh RFC.
Giving a dogged defensive performance throughout Llangollen restricted Dinbych to two tries in the first half when they only trailed by ten points. In the second half however the floodgates opened as Dinbych added six further tries for a bonus point victory.
A bulkier Llangollen pack posed problems in the set scrums but Dinbych used their possession from lines out and turn over possession to release their dangerous wingers resulting in right wing Aidyn Jones crossing for a hat trick of tries and left wing Kieran Boner adding a brace. Other tries were scored by centre Owain Davies, full back Sion Rowlands and outside half Dan O'Sullivan who also kicked seven conversions and a penalty in a match total of twenty two points.
Dinbych dominated the game territorially in the first half but spurned a number of scoring opportunities through a combination of handling errors and some desperate defending by Llangollen. Dinbych opened the scoring in the eighth minute when they won a line out just inside the Llangollen 22 and after good work by No 8 Liam Allsup Jones and flanker Narmer el Lamie slick handling by Dan O'Sullivan and centre Dan Lawrence gave Owain Davies the opportunity to sidestep through t score a try under the posts leaving an easy conversion for Dan O'Sullivan.
The outside half then added a penalty after twenty three minutes when Llangollen offended just inside their 22. Dinbych increased their lead three minutes before the interval when scrum half Jordan Wynne fed Aidyn Jone on the narrow side of a scrum inside the visitor's 22 for the wing to use his strength to go over in the corner for a try despite the close attention of a couple of Llangollen defenders. Dan O'Sullivan converted with an excellent kick from the touchline. The visitors replied two minutes into injury time in their only incursion into the Dinbych 22 in the first half when flanker Cameron Lumbsden forced his way over for a try following a line out which was converted by outside half Mike Powell.
Leading by seventeen points to seven at the interval Dinbych continued to dominate and better handling and support play resulted in the hosts using the pace of their backs to score all their second half tries from distance. Seven minutes into the half Aidyn Jones added his second try again converted by Dan O'Sullivan by using his pace to outflank the defence after capitalising from a break by Sion Rowlands from a scrum fifteen metres inside the Dinbych half. Sion Rowlands then turned over possession near the Dinbych ten metre line after a strong burst by the Llangollen full back. Supporting lock Gareth Beach managed to find Kieran Bonar with a bouncing pass for the winger to speed down the touchline beating covering defenders before touching down under the posts. Llangollen showed their determined resistance by charging down Dan O'Sullivan's conversion attempt.
Dinbych added their next try shortly afterwards when Dan O'Sullivan reacted quickly when a Llangollen attack broke down just inside their half to kick through and re-gather possession for a try which he then converted. By now Dinbych fielded their replacements from the bench and flankers Dafydd Evans and Jonathan Morgan were involved at the start of Dinbych's best combined try of the match from deep inside their own half. Replacement centre Mat Hulse and Owain Davies carried on the move before Kieran Bonar beat two defenders to send Aidyn Jones over for his hat trick try.
Replacement scrum half Dave Underwood then rescued the ball at a retreating scrum near half way to feed Sion Rowlands on the narrow side for the full back to step inside the defence and outpace the cover for a try under the posts. Dinbych's final try was set up by No 8 Liam Allsup Jones who broke down the narrow side of a scrum just inside the Dinbych half before releasing Kieran Bonar on another touch line dash beating covering defenders before touching down under the posts. Dan O'Sullivan added the conversion points for the three final tries to cap a good all round display..
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