A round-up of reports from games played this weekend.
If you have a report you'd like to share, please email to gwcymru1@aol.com and it will be included with pleasure - many thanks
Dolgellau 35 v Wrexham 17
Following report kindly supplied by Dolgellau RFC.
Dolgellau continue to press for promotion with a bonus point victory over Wrexham on the Marian this afternoon.
Wrexham showed plenty of intent in the opening exchanges forcing Dolgellau to defend deep into their twenty two area, before Gerwyn Thomas managed a clearance to ease the pressure and allow the home team to settle into the game.
It was however Dolgellau who opened the scoring after some eight minutes, with a try by Danny Evans, converted by Henri Roberts. Dolgellau extended their lead through the boot of Henri Roberts six minutes later to put the home team ten points to the good following a Wrexham infringement on the Dolgellau 10m line.
Henri Roberts added seven further points on the twenty minute mark to put Dolgellau into what looked like a commanding lead.
Wrexham broke back however with a hat-trick of tries to their right wing. One before the interval and two within five minutes of the second half restart. With only one successful conversion from three, the score line stood at 17 all. Wrexham were unable to push into the lead when 10, Armani Roberts was adjudged to have knocked on over the Dolgellau line. Dolgellau cleared from the resulting scrum and started to regain composure.
Henri Roberts added to his personal tally shortly afterwards after an infringement five metres from the Wrexham try line resulted in a penalty. Dolgellau were back into a narrow lead at 20:17. Wrexham discipline at the breakdown resulted in two further penalties with Henri Roberts adding three points from the boot to lead by 23:17.
Dolgellau's lead was extended by scrum haf Jac Roberts almost thirty minutes into the second period, when he gathered the ball at the base of a ruck and dived over to put Dolgellau into contention for a bonus point.
Gerwyn Thomas combined with centre Gareth Hughes to clinch an important bonus point at the death, which was converted by Henri Roberts to put his personal tally at 20 points for the afternoon.
Next fixture for Dolgellau 1st 15 is away to Llangollen on the 29th April
Tries: Danny Evans, Henri Roberts, Jac Roberts, Gareth Roberts
Cons: Henri Roberts (3)
Pens: Henri Roberts (3)
Bro Ffestiniog 0 v Nant Conwy 38
Following report kindly supplied by Nant Conwy RFC.
Bro Ffestiniog nil, Nant Conwy thirty eight. Although the final score suggests that this was an easy victory for Nant, the reality is different. The home side proved to be stiff opposition and difficult to break down.
An early blow for Nant was the injury sustained in the opening seconds, to the second row forward Tom Oliver, who was tackled in the air and sustained a serious back injury.
In the opening minutes Bro seemed a serious threat, spending a considerable time in the opposition half but unable to penetrate beyond the twenty five metre line. On the counter attack, their defence was resolute until the Delwyn Jones scythed his way through, to score the first try of the match, twenty minutes into the half, following a scrum on the ten metre line.
From then on Bro were on the back foot, with Nant beginning to show their superiority, however they still defended exceptionally well until thirty minutes in, Gareth Davies, who’s had an exceptional year, scored the second Nant try, to put them ahead by twelve points to nil at half time.
Following the interval, Bro did not pose an attacking threat, but still defended resolutely and were very difficult to break down. However, as the minutes ticked away and fitness levels were tested to their extreme, the task of defending wave after wave of attacks proved difficult and gave the initiative to Nant.
Gethin Vaughan, another young man who’s had an outstanding year, opened the scoring after eight minutes. Five minutes later, Carwyn Davies, yet another talent, extended the lead with a fine try. Not to be outdone, in the last minute, Carwyn Ellis scored the final try of the game with Delwyn Jones successfully converting the last of his four conversions for the evening.
Bro Ffestiniog dim, Nant Conwy tri deg wyth. Mae’r sgôr derfynol yn awgrymu bod y fuddugoliaeth wedi bod yn un hawdd. Mewn gwirionedd, gêm anodd oedd hi gyda Nant yn gorfod ymladd yn galed iawn, i drechu bechgyn styfnig Bro.
Colled mawr i Nant yn yr eiliadau cyntaf, pan daclwyd Tom Oliver â’i draed oddi ar y tir, ac yntau yn derbyn anafiad i’w gefn, ac yn ei orfodi i adael y cae.
Yn y munudau cyntaf, y tîm cartref yn edrych yn beryglus a llawn hyder, ac er eu bod wedi treulio tipyn o amser yn hanner Nant o’r cae, methu’n glir oeddent o gyrraedd y chwarter olaf. Amddiffynfa Bro yn styfnig iawn tan, ar ôl yr ugain munud, croesodd Delwyn Jones y llinell gais i sgorio cais cyntaf y gêm wedi sgrym yn chwarter olaf Bro. O hyn ymlaen, Bro oedd ar y droed ôl, gyda Nant yn dechrau dangos ei ragoriaeth. Er hynny, y tîm cartref yn amddiffyn yn dda ac yn rhwystro nifer o ymosodiadau. Hanner awr wedi mynd, ac yna Gareth Davies,sydd wedi cael tymor rhagorol, yn ymestyn y sgôr gyda’r ail gais, i roi Nant ar y blaen ar yr egwyl, o ddeuddeg pwynt i ddim.
Yn yr ail hanner, nid oedd y tîm cartref yn dangos llawer o berygl yn ymosod, ond roedd yr amddiffyn yn rhagorol. Fel yr aeth y munudau ymlaen, a blinder yn dechrau, daeth y dasg o amddiffyn yn galetach i Bro a rhoi’r mantais i Nant. Gethin Vaughan, bachgen ifanc arall sydd yn chwarae yn rhagorol, yn croesi’r llinell cais wedi wyth munud o’r ail hanner. Pum munud ymhellach, talent rhagorol arall, Carwyn Davies y tro hwn, yn ymestyn y sgôr ymhellach.
Fel daeth y chwarae yn fwy agored, daeth mwy o gyfleoedd, a does neb gwell na Jack Moriarty i fanteisio. I lawr y cae ac ef fel milgi ar yr asgell chwith, i sgorio yn y gornel, a rhoi Nant ar y blaen o dri deg un pwynt iddim. Yn y munud olaf Carwyn Ellis yn cael y cais olaf a Delwyn Jones yn trosi yn llwyddianus am y pedwerydd tro yn y gêm.
[John Parry]
Mold 29 v Caernarfon 20
Match report kindly supplied by Caernarfon RFC.
Caernarfon will be a little aggrieved with themselves for letting this game slip from their grasp at the death and therefore give Bala renewed hope of being able to snatch the third place league slot from them when they next meet. Mold on the other hand could and should probably have shown more composure to have ensured a far more comfortable path to victory.
The opening exchanges were evenly enough fought with no individual stamping their authority on the game and the penalty count, courtesy of both sides, higher than expected considering the near perfect playing conditions.
Aled Jones opened the Cofi account from the tee after seven minutes but Mold forward pressure minutes later following two consecutive Cofi infringements led to a lineout take and aggressive forward rumble that saw number 8 Chris Lewis plough over to score. Centre Cai Edwards added the extras for a seven-three Mold lead with a quarter of an hour played.
The see-saw effect prevailed with Caernarfon's next foray into the danger zone again resulting in a try. From clean lineout ball and a forward drive by prop Armando Morgan the ball returned to the blind side and with a perfectly timed pass from Aled Jones, centre Adam Thomas split the static defence to restore the Cofi lead that was again improved upon by the standoff.
The absence of a few Cofi stalwarts could possibly have been responsible for the lack of concentration that saw Mold almost immediately regain the lead. Active replacement fullback Jack Martin gathered and charged through the defence before finding wing Laurence Jones at hand to run in over the final twenty meters to score a good opportunist try. Edwards maintained the 100% strike rate from the tee.
Another Mold forward drive crossed the try line but the grounding was prevented and Martin once again caused chaos before play was brought back for a lineout. The Cofis, via Gruff Ifor and Cai Jones nearly squeezed in at the corner to draw the first half to a close.
Mold began the second half with the slope and with more urgency. They soon got their reward following an infringement that prevented the quick taking of a penalty. From the resultant touch finder, a simple front of lineout move saw prop Rob Griffiths charge down the tramline to score.
The following ten minutes saw Mold gain the ascendency with standoff Tom Davies playing well, especially when choosing to execute some telling lengthy touch finders. However, before they were able to capitalise, one dropped ball in midfield led to eagle eyed Cofi wing Dylan Gwyn sweep up and outsprint all to score and once again afford Aled Jones another conversion. Minutes later he stepped up to the tee again to convert a lengthy penalty with plenty to spare and nudge the Cofis into a one point lead.
Mold still had twenty five minutes to seek a riposte and their cohesive forward drives were expected to be their saviour, however they made heavy weather of the comeback and Caernarfon were not duly troubled until the final minutes.
Again, it was an uncalled transgression that led to Mold camping in the danger zone and it was fullback Martin that charged from midfield to within yards of the line before being able to pop up the ball to on rushing Ryan Kirby who extended beyond the line, much to the approval of the Mold faithful with three minutes to play. Cai Edwards's conversion meant that Caernarfon had a six point margin to overcome but in their final desperate bid to regain the ball they even lost their losing bonus when another penalty call led to Edwards extending the lead to nine points on the final whistle.
Caernarfon 2nds 5 v Menai Bridge 30 - Gwynedd Cup
Following report kindly supplied by Menai Bridge RFC.
Old rivalries were reignited when Bridge travelled to Cernarfon for their first meeting in many years for this Gwynedd Cup match.
From the off, both teams played a similar style looking to get their backs in space and run the ball at every opportunity. Bridge opened the scoring when Dion McGrath ghosted through the home defence to sore a great opening try which he converted. Further pressure from Bridge led to a couple of penalties that McGrath eagerly slotted. On half time the score stood at 13 - 0 to Bridge.
With the advantage of the slight slope Bridge piled on the pressure and Pat Roberts barged over from close range for his first try. This was soon followed by a clever dart from the back of the scrum by Roberts for his second try. He was also instrumental in providing a clever cross field grubber that enabled James Jones to extend the Bridge advantage to 30 points.
Despite being on the wrong end of the score line Caernarfon continued to attack at every opportunity and we're rewarded with a try for centre Tomos Jones who powered through the Bridge defence for a well earned try. Bridge ended strongly but were unable to extend their lead.
They will hope to carry on this form into their local derby with Bangor next week and the next round of the cup.
Llangollen 28 v Denbigh 51
Following report kindly supplied by Denbigh RFC.
Despite Llangollen's bulky pack dominating the scrums and with their ability to go through multiple phases with the driving play of their forwards Dinbych nevertheless claimed a bonus point victory to keep up their challenge at the top of Division 2 North.
With a minimum of possession Dinbych's aggressive defence, with their ability to turn over possession in the loose, allied to a sound line out led by Gareth Beach, gave them enough of the ball for the speed and skill of the backs to run in eight tries.
Chief executioner was centre Owain Davies who was a constant threat to the Llangollen defence who failed to cope with his strength and elusive running as he crossed for four tries as well as having a hand in several of the others. This was another match in which five youth players including Gethin Higginson and Dafydd Roberts who were both making their senior debuts gained valuable experience in difficult circumstances.
Dinbych started poorly as they failed to secure the kick off and compounded this by conceding a penalty which the hosts kicked to set up a short range line out. Despite strong defence by Dinbych the Llangollen forwards' powerful driving play resulted in flanker Adam Thomas going over for a try converted by outside half Iestyn Hughes.
Dinbych replied in the thirteenth minute when lock Gareth Beach stole a line out fifteen metres from the Llangollen line from which fellow lock Narmer el Lamie drove hard towards the posts and rapid recycling gave Owain Davies the opportunity to scythe through the defence for a try converted by outside half Dan O'Sullivan.
They went into the lead five minutes later when they launched an attack from deep in their half with full back Gruff Roberts making a long break down the left hand touch before the ball was recycled for Owain Davies to go over for his second try after beating several defenders. Dan O'Sullivan added the conversion points.
Dinbych increased their lead following another good line out with Dan O'Sullivan crossing for a try which he converted himself after Owain Davies had again caused havoc in the Llangollen defence with his elusive running. Llangollen reduced the deficit five minutes before half time when centre Chris Davies capitalised on a period of intense pressure near the Dinbych line by crossing for a try converted by Iestyn Hughes.
Dinbych hit back immediately when Owain Davies waltzed through on the blind side of a short range scrum for his hat trick try crossing near the corner which was unconverted.
Trailing by 26 points to 14 at the interval Llangollen brought themselves within striking distance as they took advantage of rare slack defence by the visitors deep in their 22 for lock Iwan Lloyd Jones to force his way over for a try converted by Iestyn Hughes.
Dinbych replied when they turned over possession just inside the Llangollen half for Owain Davies to baffle the hosts defence with an elusive run to cross near the corner for an unconverted try. This was soon followed by their sixth try when Owain Davies latched on to a neat chip head by Dan O'Sullivan just inside the Dinbych half before breaking upfield with No 8 Liam Allsup Jones in support who went over an unconverted try, Dan O'Sullivan then increased Dinbych's lead with a penalty before a rare period of intense pressure near the Llangollen line paid dividends when replacement centre Mat Hulse went over for a try converted by Dan O'Sullivan.
Despite the mounting scores Llangollen still dominated possession and territory and got a consolation try just before the end when flanker Adam Thomas forcing his way over for a try again converted by Iestyn Hughes. Dinbych however still had time for their final try when they ran a number of tap penalties conceded by the hosts for Gruff Roberts to outflank the defence to cross wide out for an unconverted try.
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