Another batch of reports are in from the clubs of North and Mid Wales.
Denbigh 14 v Ruthin 36
Following match report kindly supplied by Ruthin RFC.
Ruthin started well in this local derby against Denbigh and were 12-0 up after 15 minutes with two tries by centre Harri Morgan one of which was converted by fly half Callum Bennett.
The home side responded but were unable to get past a solid Blues defence with an outstanding display by flanker Cai Edwards.
Ruthin returned to the attack and after a period of pressure captain Chris Davies offloaded to wing Josh Wilson who went over the whitewash for a fine tray converted by Bennett.
Again Dinbych responded and after Ruthin missed collecting the ball from their own line out Denbigh intercepted and scored a converted try.
There was no further score and at half time the visitors were 19-7 ahead. The Blues resumed their attack after the restart and after good work by wing Huw Parry, Wilson forced his way through the Dinbych defence for a try.
Within 5 minutes Wilson was over the line again for his hat-trick after being fed a great ball out to the wing by scrum half Will Michelmore.
Again Dinbych tried to claw back the points and after a period of sustained attack in the visitors 22 were rewarded by a converted try.
At 29-7 ahead the last 15 minutes belonged to Ruthin and although they went down to 14 men with a sin bin play was almost all in the home sides 22 rewarded by a great solo try by Gareth Morgan who kicked forward collected the ball and scored with conversion by Bennett.
The whistle blew with Ruthin winning 36-14
Llandudno 18 v COBRA 24
Llandudno suffered an unexpected home defeat at home to Cobra.
The visitors opened the scoring, when from a line out near the home side try line, that they secured the ball, and drove over the try line, and they went further ahead, when the home side failed to clear a loose ball, allowing winger Lloyd Bright to touch down near the corner flag.
It took Llan some time to register any points, even when they had put pressure on the visitors defence ,but as in previous matches, they were guilty of poor passing, and losing the ball in contact when they had try scoring opportunities.
They finally managed to break out of defence,and with a combination of forwards and backs that they were able to take play into the visitors half, with Josh Roberts taking the final pass for a touch down.
Cobra at this stage were playing as a complete unit, with the forwards proving quick ball from rucks and mauls, which the backs were able to use to cross the gain line, and from such play that they extended there lead, with a try by centre Richard Jones.
Lloyd Griffith kept Llan in touch with the visitors score line with a converted penalty, just before half time ,but lost full back Ryan Parry who had to leave the field with a dislocated collarbone, being replaced by Wes Jones.
Llan came back strongly at the start of the second half, and it was from the kick off that managed to secure the ball, which was then fed along the backs reaching winger James Gregson who rounded his opposite number, to touch down for an unconverted try.
Referring decisions seamed to go against Llan throughout the match, particularly when in try scoring positions, but it was mainly their own handling errors that contributed to losing this home league fixture.
Cobra played better as a unit, putting up a solid and sound defence, and also gaining match winning points when in attack, and with referring decisions going there way, that they put match out of reached of the home side with three converted penalties by Lloyd Williams.
Llan did have the final say of the match, with hooker Nick Earlam scoring a consolation try in the final moments of play.
Match Report by Howie.
Next Sat at home to Bethesda in the first round of ther Swalec Bowl, KO 2.30.
Denbigh 14 v Ruthin 36
Following report kindly supplied by Denbigh RFC
Ruthin eased to a bonus point victory in this local derby thanks to the dominance of their forwards in gaining quality possession at the set piece especially at scrums which allowed their free running backs plenty of space to expose deficiencies in Dinbych's defence as they ran in six tries.
Dinbych on the other hand were always on the back foot as they struggled for possession and found it difficult to penetrate an aggressive Ruthin defence.
Centre Harri Morgan gave Ruthin the ideal start with two tries in the opening quarter of an hour, the first as a result of a long break from his own half beating several defenders and the second after taking a crash ball through the middle from a short range scrum near the left touchline with the try converted by outside half Callum Bennett.
The visitors extended their lead with their third try by right wing Josh Wilson after the visitors attacked down the left touch before recycling the ball in midfield and then down on the right. This was again converted by Bennett before Dinbych eventually replied just before the interval through a try by skipper Mat Hulse who took advantage of Ruthin losing possession at a five metre line out. Outside half Dan O'Sullivan converted to leave Dinbych trailing by nineteen points to seven at the interval.
Ruthin went further ahead early in the second half with two tries by Josh Wilson, both started from near half way , the first when Dinbych failed to find touch with a penalty allowing the visitors to counter attack for the wing to score in the opposite corner.
The second and Wilson's own hat trick try was launched from a scrum on half way with Wil Mitchelmore able to make an incisive break down the middle before finding the wing with a long looping pass enabling him to outflank the covering defence to cross in the corner.
Dinbych replied with second try by Mat Hulse who went over after taking a clever inside pass from outside half Llion Edwards following a short range scrum. Dan O'Sullivan converted and with Ruthin losing two players to the sin bin Dinbych were able to exert some territorial pressure and were unfortunate to be denied a third try with the referee unsighted.
Ruthin then closed the scoring in the dying minutes after a period of pressure with an opportunist try by Gareth Morgan who took advantage of a wicked bounce which eluded the Dinbych defence. Bennett added the conversion points with an excellent kick from the touchline to seal a convincing victory for the visitors.
On Saturday the Firsts host Dolgellau in the SWALEC Plate whilst the Youth entertain Nantymoel in the Welsh Youth Cup both games kicking off at 2.30 p.m. at Caeau Les Phillips.
Rhyl 12 v Llangefni 48
Rhyl put up a terrific fight against high flying Llangefni who came down with a massive pack and Rhyl fielding probably their smallest pack of the season.
It was a game for the brave hearted and our young front row heroically took them on and did themselves proud.
It was Llangefni who dominated the first half scoring 4 tries and 2 conversions but that's not to say Rhyl didn't perform well as they took on the Llangefni pack, not taking a backward step.
Were it not for a few dropped balls in crucial positions it could have been a closer score at half time rather than 0-24 at the turn around.
Against a strong wind in the second period Rhyl did the opposite to previous performances and turned the switch full on instead of off.
They came out all guns blazing Cal Morris scored an excellent try converted by Mark Price, which shell shocked Llangefni but they responded with two back to back tries.
However Rhyl continued the pressure with young prop Harry Lowe crashing over for his first try of the season and this sparked a period when Rhyl were never out of the Llangefni 22 and were unlucky to not have scored several more tries but the visitors showed why they are top of the table with some great defending and they scored two more tries, one converted, making the final score 12-48, a score which in truth flattered Llangefni.
Rhyl were easily the better side in the second half. It was a team performance too, all 15 working thire socks off, making it very difficult to give man off the match but Budso Jones just pipped it.
Abergele 13 v Machynlleth 13
Gele struggle to make home advantage count
An organised Machynlleth outfit disrupt Gele's usual style of play, resulting in a hard fought draw
This was a game that both sides will think they should have won, whilst both will also be thankful that they didn’t lose. Both sides missed kickable penalties that would have given them the win but in the end the draw was a fair result.
Abergele dominated in the tight and the loose winning most of their own ball and a good percentage of Mach’s ball too. Mach’s strength was in their defensive set up, which was able to cope with most of what Gele could throw at them, but when Gele did break through, they tended to give away penalties.
With a stiff breeze throughout both sides used it to their advantage kicking well although the plaudits must go to the Machynlleth No.10, who in the second half continually relieved their lines with kicks that pushed Gele back towards their own 22m line. In fact that was the pattern for the second half, Gele winning ball, working their way up field, losing it in the tackle and then having to run back to start the process all over again.
The match was only seven minutes old when the Machynlleth backs managed to break the Gele line, probably for the only time in the game, allowing their influential inside centre to score a converted try, 0-7. Around five minutes later, they were awarded and converted a penalty around 25m out to increase the score to 0-10. Up to that point, Gele were finding it hard to find their rhythm but the penalty seemed to galvanise them and they scored a good try five minutes later. It came from a scrum won on the halfway line with the ball quickly going out to the backs, a good line break by outside centre Richard Medlicott found centre partner Danny Lawrence who offloaded in the tackle to winger Mike Bagnall who finished off a slick passage of play, going over in the line and Gareth Evans converting, 7-10.
The rest of the first half had only three penalty kicks to show for it. First Mach missed a 35m penalty then on 32mins Gareth Evans slotted over from 25m to draw the scores level at 10-10. Then with the last play of the half he attempted a kick from the halfway line and came up short for the Half Time score to be level.
For the first 15 minutes of the second half Mach began to pressure Gele and were awarded two kickable penalties. The first was missed from 22m, but the next one was under the posts and could not be missed, 10-13. Five minutes after this Gele made things harder for themselves when Richard Medlicott was sent to the bin for a deliberate knock-on. With a man advantage Mach would have been expected to turn the screw but the yellow card seemed to galvanise Gele. Chris Meyers came on and replaced injured MOM Will Turner and added new life to the forwards, and within five minutes Gele won a penalty on the 22m which Gaz Evans converted to even the scores again, 13-13.
The last fifteen minutes saw Gele winning a lot of ball and working their way towards the Mach line only to see the ball kicked back over their heads or for them to give away a relieving penalty. The game looked to be heading towards a draw until the 80th minute when Gele won a penalty around 25m and to the right of the posts. The players and crowd from both sides held their breath as Gareth Evans lined up the kick, but it swerved to the right at the last minute and sighs of relief form Machynlleth, and desperation from Gele were heard around the ground. A draw was the right result in the end.
Except for giving away needless penalties and not being able to convert forward pressure into points, Gele did little wrong – they had met an almost unmovable object in the form of the Machynlleth defence and on the day the defence had won. Back to the drawing board for the Green Army, starting at training this week!
They have the opportunity to work on this at training on Thursday and against Bangor in the Cup next Saturday – KO 2:00.
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