RGC notched up a 54-20 bonus point win away at Mountain Ash on Saturday racking up 8 tries. Head Coach Chris Horseman credited team for the display “It was a fantastic performance especially in the 2nd half where we put 40 points on the board”
RGC looked to dominate from the front as the pack put pressure on the home side. A few penalties kicked into the corner built the base for the RGC attacks. The 1st try came after a quick tap from Afon Bagshaw led to captain Kelvin Davies going over for the 5 points. Mitch McGahan converted for a 7-nil lead. A penalty from Mountain Ash’s Luke James got the home side on the scoreboard minutes later.
Fly-half McGahan was linking the play well with a number of quick passes to get the backline moving and it was great passing and quick running that gave James Jones the ball to crash through the defence for a great RGC try.
With the score at 14-3 it looked like the Gogs would go on and extend their lead with the rugby they were playing but the referees whistle was going against the visiting team at the breakdowns. Harri Evans has been impressive in his attacking play this season but it was a huge hit of a tackle to stop the Mountain Ash centre that caught the eye in the 15th minute.
RGC were reduced to 14 men in the 20th minute after Richard Hopkins was shown a yellow card and the pressure began to build on the away side. Mountain Ash was camped in the RGC half with waves of attacks coming again and again. Chris Horsman spoke after the game about the response from his players and the fact they stood tall in defence. The Mountain Ash try did come when flanker Tom Withers scored a well worked try.
RGC continued to be penalised in the breakdowns and were struggling to gain any ball to clear the defence and if it wasn’t for a try saving tackle from Llywarch Ap Myrddin it could have been worse for the Gogs.
The yellow cards came thick and fast in a 5 minute period as RGC had Tom Parry sin binned just as Richard Hopkins came back on, and then Kelvin Davies was shown a yellow along with Mountain Ash’s John James after an altercation. The fact Mountain Ash still had that man advantage gave them the try take the lead with conversion for a 15-14 score at half time.
RGC opened the second half with intent to win, and even though they were 2 men down the players spread the ball well going through the phases. The referee continued to dish the cards with Mountain Ash having James Parfitt sinbinned and the crowd wondering how many players are on the pitch! The RGC scrum was dominating and it wasn’t a surprise that a penalty try was given to get RGC back in front. From that moment the Gog’s didn’t look back and stepped up a few gears with Aaron Gwyn getting the next try after the pack drove over. The point were racking up with Harri Evans running in after 3 sidesteps that left 3 Mountain Ash players standing still.
Horsman praised Andrew Williams on his performance today and was “delighted that he scored his 60 yard try from his own half as he is the glue that keeps the team together and a lot of his work is unseen like being the man at the bottom of the ruck with the ball”
The score was 47-15 when Mike Jones spun from a tired Mountain Ash tackle to put down under the posts to allow a simple Carlton-Jones conversion.
The eighth and final RGC try went to Maredydd Francis after quick hands from Carlton Jones gave him the ball. The home side did get a try and the end of the match to make the final score 54-20, but with 8 tries, a bonus point win and a clinical second half performance it was a superb way to finish the 2012 away fixtures.
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