Head Coach Chris Horsman spoke to RGC News about the turnaround after the halftime team talk in the win against Tondu.
The following report kindly supplied by Scott Lawson of RGC.
"Pleasing with the result and to pick up the win, but we were disappointed with the performance in the 1st half as we were sloppy and disjointed in the opening 40 minutes. Myself and Josh spoke at half time about control, as we needed to control the game and where, when and what to do.
The response was excellent from the boys, and it showed in how we played in that last 40 minutes.
I thought both sides tried to play rugby, even with the stop/start nature of the game and but we were the only ones that looked like winning. Credit to all the players who scored 23 points and nilled Tondu in the 2nd half.
I have to give a special mention to Afon Bagshaw today who was excellent in defence and attack. He has been on form over the past 3 games and is getting back to the performances that won him Wales U20’s call up.
It is another 5 points and we look forward to another good performance at Narberth next weekend"
RGC put in a strong 2nd half performance to claim a bonus point win in a sun drenched Eirias. Scoring an unanswered 23 points after the half time break with strong running and clinical finishing.
It was the visitors that started the game brighter, and after a minute Tondu had already missed a penalty. They were gifted an easy try when a James Lang pass was intercepted and the Waterwheelers ran in under the posts for the score and easy conversion.
RGC continued with the lacklustre play, but winning a scrum against the head gave the Eirias crowd something to cheer about.
The Gogs opted for a simple 3 points from the boot of James Lang to get a score on the board, and RGC began to settle down and play some rugby and after a great break from Andrew Williams the ball went through hands to release Afon Bagshaw for the try. Lang hit the conversion.
Tondu answered back with another try, and during the analysis sessions the RGC defence will look back at this as a soft score. The added extras were kicked.
James Lang was looking impressive with the boot, but it was big run from the fly-half that lead to the Gogs second try and after he was held up on the line, the ball was recycled and Maredydd Francis picked up the score. Lang added the conversion.
On the 30 minute mark Captain Kelvin Davies made it try number three, as he dived over in the corner to stretch the lead.
Tondu were still in the game when the added a penalty and as the half time whistle approached a scuffle involving both sets of players led to both sides having a player sin binned – try scores Francis yellow carded by the referee.
The Eirias crowd were fully entertained in that first half with some great open rugby, though from a coaching point of few the RGC dressing room would look to point out a few defensive issues.
Once of the big pluses this season has been the return of Huw Grundy, as he big centre adds a powerful dimension to the RGC backline, and he was breaking through the gainline again on a number of occasions.
It was pace and quick feet that gave RGC the bonus point try, with a superb individual effort from Carwyn Ap Myrddin. The winger picked up the ball in his own have and raced down the line before dancing past the defensive tackles to go in at the corner. Already this early in the season it will be a contender for try of the season.
The 27-17 lead soon became 30 point when James Lang kicked a penalty, and showed in terms of game management they have matured on the pitch as they opted for the points.
Afon Bagshaw was putting in an impressive display both in attack and defence as he chased and tackled every runner that went up against him. The Wales U20s effort was rewarded with his 2nd try of the game after he spotted a gap in the visitor’s backline to run through under the posts which also meant a simple conversion.
The frenetic pace of the half began to slow down, which was understandable and RGC were to play the remaining 10 minutes with 14 men after hooker Andy Baston was yellow carded. The incentive to use the man advantage in the pack was clear for Tondu, and the camped on the RGC line but were unable to break through.
The final score was a textbook play after an RGC scrum, the ball was sent wide for Tom Blackwell to go over for another one of his clinical finishes.
Once again a lot of credit has to go to that RGC pack, as they dominated to scrum for the whole 80 minutes. The exciting running from the backline may take a lot of the headlines but the groundwork is built upfront and that doesn’t go unnoticed by the Eirias crowd.
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