Connect with us
Advertisement
Advertisement

Sport

Final heartache for brave Emlyn

Published

on

Newcastle Emlyn 17

The team : A t the final whistle

The team : A t the final whistle

                                                                                  Ystrad Rhondda 25

THE NEWCASTLE EMLYN team did themselves and the hundreds of fans who travelled up the M4 proud on Sunday (May 3) in their first ever appearance in the Millennium Stadium. With the lead changing hands seven times the result was in doubt up until the final few minutes of this cracking encounter. The greatest pity was that the second half was played in a torrential downpour with the WRU only deciding to close the roof at the end of the game.

Ystrad Rhondda in the end proved to be the more powerful side and deserved their victory, scoring three tries to Emlyn’s one. With the rain pouring down both sides deserved a great deal of credit for their intent to play in conditions which did not suit running rugby. It was possibly the red and whites that suffered most as they attempted to move the ball wide throughout the second half in their attempts to break down the well organised Ystrad defence.

All the early pressure came from Ystrad who started positively and declined two kickable penalties, as they went for a try from two line outs and two scrums on the Emlyn line. They undoubtedly thought they could target the Emlyn scrum but the fit again props Dai Jones and Gethin Davies, aided by hooker Alex Williams, proved to be very solid in the set piece. It was from a line out that Emlyn were in fact extremely fortunate not to concede a try with the video referee ruling that Emlyn number eight Brynmor Jones had been able to halt an Ystrad forward millimetres from the line.

After twelve minutes Emlyn were finally able to relieve the pressure when centre Viv Jenkins was able to intercept a pass and set up a ruck, allowing full back Shaun Leonard to clear the ball to the half way line. In fact, against the run of play, it was Leonard who opened the scoring with a long range penalty after Ystrad were penalised for a high tackle.

With both sides in second place in their respective leagues this game was always going to be a tight affair decided by the side who made the fewest mistakes or moments of individual brilliance. The moment of brilliance came from the Ystrad full back David Gratton. From the restart the Emlyn clearance kick was not particularly well directed allowing outside half Rhys Truelove to gather the ball on the half way line in the middle of the pitch. Gratton took the pass and ran at the advancing Emlyn defenders, he chipped over their heads, caught the ball and rounded the only remaining Emlyn defender to score an unconverted try in the corner.

To their credit Emlyn did not allow this defensive lapse to upset them and proceeded, courtesy of the boots of outside half Rhidian Harries and Shaun Leonard, to spend a great deal of the half in Ystrad territory. From a line out just outside the Ystrad twenty two, an accurate throw by Williams saw second row Arwel Davies deliver perfect ball from the top of his jump to scrum half Mike Jones. He fed Rhidian Harries who spotted a gap in the Ystrad defence and went straight through it. Unfortunately for him the supporting centre Alun Howells could not quite get clear of a defender as he desperately attempted to get close to Harries. The outside half’s run was brought to a halt some seven metres out and when Emlyn were penalised at the resulting ruck Harries was left stricken on the ground. After lengthy treatment Harries was eventually carried from the field on a stretcher and Steffan Evans came on as a replacement for him.

Territorially Emlyn dominated this half but found it virtually impossible to break down the Ystrad defence. They did have a golden opportunity when centre Alun Howells made a nice outside break and fed full back Leonard on the narrow side. Unfortunately Leonard decided to attempt to chip kick the ball over the head of the remaining defender instead of feeding unmarked winger Dan Davies. The kick was charged down and Ystrad were able to clear the danger.

With half time approaching Emlyn finally managed to score a try. From a ruck on the right hand side of the field the ball was passed to Leonard standing in the outside half position. The full back perfectly judged his cross kick for winger Dan Davies to catch and manage to squeeze over in the corner for an unconverted try.

Emlyn attacked from the start of the second half and were unfortunate when, after some excellent driving play by the forwards led by Arwel Davies, the slippery ball shot out of a ruck on the Ystrad side allowing them to clear the ball downfield. Leonard extended Emlyn’s lead to six points with a well struck penalty soon after the restart but the heavy rain was beginning to have an effect on the game as the ball, for handling purposes, became like a bar of soap.

The next score belonged to Ystrad when their outside half Truelove chipped over the Emlyn defenders in a pre-planned move from a ruck for right winger Mathew Hurley to gather the ball. The winger was brought down short of the line and through the excellent work of open-side Owain Powell, who was comfortably Emlyn’s best player, Emlyn managed to turn the ball over. Unfortunately a poor clearance kick gave the men from the Rhondda the opportunity to attack Emlyn on the narrow side and left winger Chris Clayton crossed for a try excellently converted from wide out by outside half Rhys Truelove.

Their one point lead was short lived as from the kick off they were penalised and Shaun Leonard regained the lead for Emlyn with a penalty goal. Coach Marc Lloyd now brought on replacement Luke Kendall and the big number eight with Premiership experience started to take the game to Ystrad with some powerful surging runs. Leonard extended Emlyn’s lead when after runs by Kendall and Alun Howells, Ystrad, defending desperately, were penalised for off side and he kicked another penalty to extend Emlyn’s lead to five points.

Emlyn’s cause was not then helped when scrum half Mike Jones had to leave the field with an injury, necessitating Powell having to move to scrum half with Gareth Patterson coming on as a flanker. Ystrad began to empty their bench and the strength on their bench became apparent as their forwards began to take greater control of the game. In second row Nathan Hughes, they had a fine line out forward who dominated the front of the line out supplying them with a constant stream of possession, allowing them to set up numerous driving line outs from deep inside their own twenty two metre area.

The weather then played its part in the next Ystrad try when from a line out inside their own twenty two, the Emlyn pack supplied excellent ball back for it to be cleared. Unfortunately the slippery ball was dropped five metres from their own line. From the resulting scrum Ystrad number eight Liam Davies bulldozed over for a try converted by Truelove to give them a two point lead.

Emlyn continued trying to move the ball wide and use their speedy backs although handling had become something of a lottery. An Emlyn move broke down just inside the Ystrad half and they fly-hacked the ball downfield. Leonard covering across just managed to get to the ball ahead of the chasing backs as the ball crossed the touchline. Unable to stop he kicked the ball into the crowd only to find that bizarrely the referee penalised him for kicking the ball away stopping Ystrad from taking a quick throw in ! This was despite the fact that it would have been an Emlyn throw. Truelove stepped up and increased Ystrad’s lead to five points.

Strong runs by Kendall brought Emlyn back into the Ystrad twenty two and the number eight was brought down short of the line on two occasions. Using the forwards effectively Emlyn set up a number of rucks and then moved the ball wide only for Dan Davies to be tackled into touch inches from the Ystrad line.

Another attack saw the slippery ball spilled by an Emlyn player, picked up by winger Hurley who looked certain to score but for a fine covering tackle by Shaun Leonard. With time running out Emlyn’s efforts became even more desperate but the Ystrad pack were now fully in control of the game. When Emlyn were penalised at a ruck in front of their posts Truelove stepped up to convert the kick and give them their winning eight point margin.

Emlyn Will now be concentrating on their remaining league fixtures as they look to clinch the Division One West crown.

TEAM:

15 Shaun Leonard 14 Owen Francis 13 Alun Howells 12 Viv Jenkins 11 Dan Davies 10 Rhidian Harries 9 Mike Jones: 1 Dai Jones 2 Alex Williams 3 Gethin Davies 4 Dyfed Morgan 5 Arwel Davies 6 Joel James 7 Owain Powell 8 Brynmor Jones

Replacements:

16 Jack Parry 17 Bedwyr Davies 18 Gareth Lloyd 19 Tefion Davies 20 Gareth Patterson 21 Luke Kendall 22 Steffan Evans

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Rugby Weekly – Tenby’s promotion push continues

Published

on

It’s crunch time for all rugby clubs around the county, whether promotion is their aim or fighting relegation or even just trying to improve their league position, it’s now or never. 

Last weekend saw an important win for Fishguard in division two west which should put any relegation fears to bed completely. James Griffiths added an impressive 18 points for the Seagulls as they defeated Nantgaredig 33-19. 

Elsewhere in the second division, Milford were beaten 32-8 by a good Lampeter outfit. The Mariners are still a little too close for comfort with the drop zone but should have enough quality to see them safe. 

At the other end of the table Tenby sit in second place and have played fewer games than leaders St Clears and third place Lampeter. They won impressively again last weekend, beating Pontyberem 64-19 at Haywood Lane. Fletcher Broadhurst impressed with two tries as did Hywel Baker who also grabbed himself a brace. Another excellent performance in an outstanding season so far in which promotion would be the absolute icing on the cake. 

In Division Three West, Pembroke were well beaten by Laugharne 74-15 in which the outstanding Liam Price and Nico Setaro both crossed the whitewash 4 teams a piece. The latter also added 7 successful conversions. 

There was a local derby at Pill Parks where Llangwm hosted Pembroke Dock Quins and it was an exciting clash. The visitors won narrowly 28-23, Craig Barnett and Gethin Bradney both scored two tries for the Quins. The Wasps battled hard and will be proud of their performance, Gethin Thomas impressed for the hosts with two tries of his own but it wasn’t enough to secure the points. 

St David’s hosted the high flying Cardigan outfit and were unable to score in reply to the visitors 20 points, with it ending 20-0. The Saints however won’t be losing too much sleep over it as they have had a great season so far. 

Continue Reading

Sport

Crunch time – Pembrokeshire Division 1 Round Up

Published

on

An important round of fixtures last weekend, saw Fishguard’s fate in theory sealed if not mathematically. Neyland join them in the relegation places and look unlikely to be able to escape them now. While the Seasiders moved up to fourth, in what is an excellent return to Pembrokeshire’s top flight.

Noir’s men won 2-1 over Monkton Swifts, in a win that puts Tenby on 28 points in fourth but level on points with the Bridge who sit in third. Goals from two of their star players ensured the three points, with Darryl Mansbridge and Adam Muskett finding the back of the net.

Meanwhile, Hakin saw off ten men Pennar 3-1 who lost Connor Roberts a key player to a red card after just 29 minutes. Frustration got the better of manager Carl Vincent who also saw red near the end.

Carew came out on top of a five goal thriller away at Fishguard Sports who now look to be all but relegated. The visitors played a large portion of the game with ten men after losing keeper Harries to a red card just before the interval. It ended 3-2 with the visitors taking the points thanks to goals from a Hinchcliffe brace and Morgan.

In the six pointer at the foot of the table, it ended up being a single point for both teams. Neyland and Kilgetty couldn’t be separated as they drew 2-2, a result that is far more damaging for Neyland than Kilgetty. Neyland now sit three points behind Kilgetty but having played four games more than them. A win for Kilgetty in their remaining seven games would mean Neyland have to win at least two of their remaining three games which seems unlikely.

Continue Reading

Sport

The Treble is on – Goodwick win again.

Published

on

Goodwick went into their visit to Merlins Bridge in the Senior Cup as firm favourites, against a Bridge side capable of causing an upset. However there was no magic of the cup on this occasion for the Wizards.

Goodwick put five past the hosts and made sure it was a comfortable afternoon for them as they’ve become very used to lately. A brace a piece for Dalling and Haworth along with a Horgan goal sealed the deal for O’Sullivans men.

Another dominant display for an excellent outfit, who were missing a key player in Rhys Jones although their strength in depth was really demonstrated here. The treble must now be on everyone’s minds even if they don’t want to talk about it too much yet. You definitely wouldn’t bet against this team right now.

The win means Goodwick are into their second semi final of the season, ahead of their huge clash with Penlan in the West Wales Cup semi final on the 2nd of April.

Continue Reading

Business20 hours ago

Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that...

News1 day ago

Police ask motorists to avoid A44 trunk road due to heavy snowfall

DYFED-POWYS POLICE have issued an appeal to motorists to avoid a 25 mile section of the A44 trunk road between...

Crime2 days ago

Woman will quit the booze after seeing shocking drunken video in court

A HAVERFORDWEST woman this week vowed to undertake ‘a complete alcohol abstinence’ after being shown court video footage of her...

News3 days ago

Family heartbroken by loss of ‘larger than life character’ in M4 crash

THE FAMILY of the man who died in a collision on the M4 motorway say ‘he will be greatly missed...

Business3 days ago

Victory for WASPI women but the fight goes on

A LANDMARK ruling by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman could benefit around 5,000 women in Ceredigion born in the...

Entertainment5 days ago

A night to remember: Symphonica Tywi’s ‘Film Fantastics’ was a triumph

ON SATURDAY (Mar 23), Haverfordwest High School was ablaze with the soaring melodies and dramatic scores of some of cinema’s...

News5 days ago

Memorial for all those affected by Covid-19 unveiled at County Hall

A LASTING tribute for Pembrokeshire loved ones lost during the Covid-19 pandemic and those working on the frontline has been...

Top News6 days ago

Princess of Wales announces cancer diagnosis and treatment

CATHERINE, the Princess of Wales, has shared her recent health struggles with the public, revealing a diagnosis that has sent...

Charity1 week ago

RNLI lifeguards back on patrol in Pembrokeshire for the Easter Holidays

RNLI lifeguards will be on patrol once again in Pembrokeshire ahead of the Easter holidays. This Saturday, 23 March 2024,...

Community1 week ago

Neglected Pembrokeshire poodles find their forever homes 

THIRTY poodle type dogs were in total rescued after they were found in an unsuitable environment where their owner also...

Popular This Week