Fixture

Taff’s Well travelled to Abercwmboi for the fifth meeting between the clubs in ten months and hopes were high that they could improve their 3-1 win ratio having knocked the home side out of the WRU Bowl five weeks ago in a very tight game but the impressive clubhouse of ‘The Village’ was not the only thing that stood tall as Taff’s Well were about to be on the receiving end of an inspired Abercwmboi performance coupled with an disappointing lack of discipline.

The game kicked off in front of a vociferous home crowd who got right behind their team as Abercwmboi applied all the early pressure and Taff’s Well scrum-half Ashley Bonetto needed to put in some nice touch finders to clear the lines. Against the run of play, the visitors were awarded a penalty on the 40m out but outside-half Shaun Baggs was unable to convert which enabled Abercwmboi to take play right back to the visiting 22 where only great defence and a superb rip by Ashley Bonetto kept the scoreline at nil all.

Taff’s Well were finding it difficult to get out of their half even though they were shading the scrums and there was a certain air of inevitability about Abercwmboi’s first try as No 8 Lee Jarvis drove over for left wing Ricky Evans to convert and put the home side into a deserved lead. Abercwmboi were immediately back on the attack and thanks to some backchat, they were able to use a penalty to gain a lineout foothold on the Taff’s Well line but thankfully for the visitors, the ball was adjudged to be not straight and again the lines were cleared though the resultant scrum. Taff’s Well managed to get some territory thanks to a very impressive rolling maul and were awarded a penalty for their efforts but from the ensuing line-out on the 22m line, they were penalised and sent back downfield.

Home outside-half Tom Owen was now starting to pull the strings and from a superb kick, Taff’s Well fullback Ronan Barrett was forced to tap the ball into touch a metre or two from the Taff’s Well line for an attacking lineout. Abercwmboi were now smelling blood and switched the attacks form left to right for a huge yawning gap to appear in the Taff’s Well defence and enable Owen to ghost through unchallenged under the posts to double the score for Abercwmboi as Evans converted. The signs were starting to look ominous but Taff’s Well commendably started to put some possession together and after some terrific passing along the line, left winger was put away to beat several defenders and created a great finish to squeeze in the corner to put Taff’s Well back in the game before the interval. With a change in kicking duties, second row Ieuan Parsons was unable to convert form wide out and the teams changed around with Abercwmboi in the lead at 14-5.

                               Half-time score:  Abercwmboi 14 – 5 Taff’s Well

                                                        Second Half

 The Taff’s Well pack had been more than holding their own throughout the match with hooker ‘Chimpy’ Desmier, second row Ieuan Parsons and flanker Rhys Watkins featuring prominently and the start of the second half promised much for them. With some quality possession, Shaun Baggs was able to get his line going and whip the ball smartly through the centres to winger Gavin Close who used his strength and speed to repeat his first half exploits and again squeeze in the corner for a classy finish; with the conversion being missed, Taff’s Well were now squarely back in the game at 14-10. But just when things were starting to look up, Abercwmboi immediately hit back thanks to an intuitive Tom Rees grubber kick and chase which beat the Taff’s Well cover before it could snuff out the danger – Evans converting to take the score to 21-10. Although the Taff’s Well centre pairing of Justin Jones and Jack Shaddick ran straight and were always looking to be creative with ball in hand, the home defence were holding sway and giving very little away but thanks to some sustained possession, Ieuan Parsons was  able to convert a penalty to bring the score back to 21-13.

Unfortunately for Taff’s Well, that was about as good as it got as following an altercation, Rhys Watkins sent to the bin for 10 minutes which was the pre-cursor for things to only get worse. Ricky Rees was able to stretch the home side lead with a penalty before a melee between the forwards resulted in No 8 Max Watkins and Hooker Matthew Desmier joining Rhys Waltins to form their own exclusive club on the touchline with Abercwmboi also being awarded a yellow card for their contribution to events. Taff’s Well were now playing with twelve men against fourteen which effectively put them out of the game as even though they defended manfully, it came as no surprise when Abercwmboi No 8 Jarvis added to his first half try by driving over for Evans to convert and take the score to 31-13.

With the numbers eventually restored, Taff’s Well looked to get something out of the game but apart from finishing strongly, they were going to have to bow down to a very motivated and inspired Abercwmboi side who were the better team on the day.

                                  Final score: Abercwmboi 31 – 13 Taff’s Well

The Verdict

Where do you start with this one? Well let’s get the facts; Abercwmboi are a very good side who will not lose many games this season and will be vying with Taff’s Well in a group of around 4-5 clubs who will be looking to go up this season. After the disappointment in terms of game management and handling during last week’s game, the manner of the performance was always going to be key and despite the pack going well, Abercwmboi managed to slow a lot of hard earned ball down making it easy to defend against. When Taff’s Well get the line going, they are match for anybody at this level but the fluidity is still not quite there in terms of being able to release the finishers; when they did today – Gavin Close showed what can happen with two very good tries.

Abercwmboi were certainly up for this match and Man of the Match Tom Owen controlled the game and finished with two good tries aided and abetted by left wing kicker Ricky Evans who didn’t miss a kick at goal. For Taff’s Well, the two centres Justin Jones and Jack Shaddick (making his full debut at 18) rang strong and young  Shaddick showed enough to suggest that he has a fine future in front of him, ‘Chimpy’ and Rhys Watkins were distinguished but sullied their report with their yellows and a mention for Ieuan Parsons who went well in the engine room. For the Taff’s Well Man of the Match, I’m going to go for winger Gavin Close who with the home crowd on his back managed to silence them at crucial moments with two very well taken tries and always looked a threat with ball in hand.

The Talking Point!

I can’t leave this post without mentioning the shocking lack of discipline which cost Taff’s Well three yellow cards and with them, went any chance of taking anything out of the game. The games in this division are tough enough without having to play with twelve men so I guess coach Axel Rees will have plenty to say during this week’s training session. I seriously doubt whether Taff’s Well were solely to blame but the need for discipline in a tight division is going to be paramount if a top four finish or better is going to be realistic. That’s my little rant over so let’s move on to next week where the 1st XV will be in action at home to the Cardiff Medical Students in the WRU Bowl, the 2nd XV away to Sully View in the league and the Ladies will be in action against Bonymaen away on Sunday 30^th so let’s get supporting and make some noise!

Match Photo Gallery

Dave Beese   davecbwales@gmail.co.uk

Match Report:  Tondu 2nds v Taff’s Well 2nds     Sat 22/10/16