Fixture

With both sides hit by absentees, it was an opportunity for Taff’s Well to use their squad and bring the likes of young Josh Phillips into the squad as reward for his performances in the second XV and with the narrow Ynysowen pitch in very ‘snug’ surroundings, the key aim would be to ensure that possession was nine tenths the law.

With the whistle blown, the first half kicked off with the customary sounding out process as both sides tested out the other under the high ball but it was the visitors who started to secure meaningful possession and start to show signs of getting on top in the scrums.  The opening score was a Ronan Barrett special as he broke from outside-half to accelerate from the cover and turn the fullback inside out to go in under the posts to make the conversion for fullback Shaun Baggs a formality. Scrum-half Gwilym Edwards was putting the possession to good use as he sent out a silky smooth service to Ronan Barrett to enable him to bring centres Matthew Wright and Martin Detorres into the game and set up useful territory even though the home side were doing well to cover out wide on the tight pitch. The second try was as a result off a deft Gwilym Edwards break from a scrum who passed on to Shaun Baggs who raced away to score from 40m and knock over the extras to contribute to a good afternoon for him.

At 14-0 down and struggling to get into the Taff’s Well half, Ynsyowen at last managed to get a penalty which gave them a line-out in the visitors 22 and it took a great steal as danger loomed plus a great kick from Shaun Baggs to clear back down to the home 10m line. With some slick passing, the ball was worked wide from a Martin Detorres break but just as a try seemed certain, the ball failed to go to hand from the last pass and a golden opportunity was lost. Taff’s Well were winning good ball from both scrums and lineouts but were guilty of over-complicating things at times which meant that while always looking dangerous, they couldn’t quite turn the opportunities into points as was the case when winger Gavin Close beat several defenders out wide to touch down in the corner but play had to be brought back as he had nibbled the touchline.

Ronan Barrett was having a good game at outside-half and is growing into his new role and having already scored one try, he put over a speculative chip to the Ynysowen line which looked well covered but the home defence made a complete pig’s ear of the situation which allowed him to pounce on the ball for a third Taff’s Well try – Baggs obliging with the conversion for a lead of 21-0. Ynysowen were threatening on too few occasions and when they did manage to get close to the Taff’s Well line, they were either met by a dogged defence or got turned over leaving Taff’s Well to clear with some good out-of-hand kicking. After a succession of scrums and penalties on the Ynysowen line without any further success, it took a superb break from the base of a scrum by Gwilym Edwards who ran wide to outpace the defence for a super individual effort which put the visitors 26-0 at half time.

                Half-time score:   Ynysowen 1st XV 0 v 26 Taff’s Well 1st XV

The general feeling was that Taff’s Well had left three or four tries out on the park in the first half and that it was only a matter of time before everything clicked into place but the second half started with a Gavin Close bust which should have led to an early score but again the ball failed to go to hand and the chance went begging. It took a monumental lack of discipline from the home side for Taff’s Well to get the scoreboard rolling again as Ynysowen were penalised three times for backchat to concede a lineout 5m out and smart thinking by second-row Ieuan Parsons saw him catch, turn and drive through the lineout to slip a pass to a grateful Rhys Watkins at flanker to touch down and with Shaun Baggs’ radar firmly working, he stroked over another 2 points for 33-0. 

You might have been forgiven thinking that the flood gates were about to open but Ynysowen kept their heads up and after gaining a foothold in the Taff’s Well 22, centre Ryan Williams strolled through to put the home side on the scoreboard with outside-half Gavin Wathan adding the extras. Taff’s were being guilty of over-complicating plays when a deft pass would have done the trick which lead to the second half becoming a bit stale by comparison. Nevertheless, thanks to a penalty earned line-out on the home 22, Ieuan Parsons repeated his manoeuvre from earlier with a catch and drive to set up try number two for Rhys Watkins, this time the conversion missing.

Gwilym Edwards was looking to up the tempo of the game when he took a quick tap from a penalty to put big wing Gavin Close away but the defence did well to hold him just short of the line and win a penalty for their efforts. From a Taff’s Well put-in in the their own half, No 8 Max Watkins picked up and made a superb break to open up the field and slip a pass to substitute flanker Rhys Green who sprinted in for a well worked try and take the score to 43-7. Although playing most of the game on the back foot, the home side refused to lie down and started to place pressure in the Taff’s Well red zone and after asking a lot of questions, flanker Dan Broe drove over to cap a good game for him with Gavin Wathan again adding the extras.

A rather uninspiring last ten finally led to a 43-14 win to Taff’s Well and a bonus point away win to keep up the challenge at the top end of the table.

                      Final score:    Ynysowen 1st 14 v 43 Taff’s Well 1^st XV

The Verdict

If the truth be told, Taff’s Well were superior in all departments but Ynsyowen never gave up and I think as a team, their body language at the final whistle suggested that they thought they might have lost by a lot more. With a bit more composure and sticking to the basics, the score could have been a lot different and both sides knew it but a combination of a narrow pitch, sympathetic refereeing and a tendency to overrun the ball led to so many missed chances which on another day might have been taken. For the home side, both flanker Dan Broe and centre Ryan Watkins had deserved tries for their afternoon’s efforts and the whole side can take a bow for the way they stuck at it until the end.

For Taff’s Well, the front row of Captain Gareth Gibbs, Matthew Desmier  and Ben Atkin did all that was asked of them with the second row pairing of Ieuan Parsons and Darryl Mota providing the grunt plus the back-row of Rhys Watkins, Max  Watkins and Leigh Jones were always in the thick of it. The backs looked very good in places but were a little stifled by the lack of physical width available with Shaun Baggs, Conor Barrett and Gavin Close showing some authority but for my man of the match this week, I going to go for scrum-half Gwilym Edwards for the second week running who not only provided a great service to both his outside-half partners, he scored a neat try and helped tee-up a few more while showing that he certainly isn’t shy in defence.

PS Don’t forget, if you have any views on the match or would like to highlight anything, give someone a mention or merely have a say, then stick a comment on the Facebook match report as I’m sure we all see different things on the day and it would be great to see comments coming in from different corners.

Dave Beese    davecbwales@gmail.com

Match Gallery: Ynysowen 1st XV v Taff's Well 1st XV

Match Report: Cardiff Quins 3rd XV v Taff's Well 2nd XV

Match Report:  Taff's Well Ladies XV v Merthyr Ladies XV