Fixture

On a rain sodden pitch which was to hold up remarkably well considering the conditions, this was never going to be for the faint-hearted as you had the feeling that it was the two packs who would decide the fate of this WRU Bowl 4th round cup tie.

Newport HSOB fielded a young looking side which quickly warmed to the task at hand and it didn’t take long for their pack to earn a penalty attempt which was made easier by some now customary backchat to knock another 10m off the kick but thankfully for the visitors, the kick was to go wide. Taff’s Well were able to respond through a quickly tapped penalty in the home 22 with blind-side flanker Ieuan Parson breaking through for the final pass to go forward which cancelled out what would have been certain try. Apart from this incursion, Newport were having the upper hand and more of the territory and it was taking the efforts of open-side flanker Rhys Green to get in among Newport ranks to disrupt the platform they were starting build and as there was more or less parity in the scrums, Taff’s Well were having to put plenty of good tackles to protect their territory with scrum-half Ashley Bonetto and second rows Daryl Mota & Tommy Guy relishing in the physical confrontations.

With a rare visit to into the Newport 22, Taff’s Well kept enough possession to earn a 5m scrum from which they were able to edge forward enough for No8 Max Watkins to break and power over the line to give the visitors the lead rather against the run of play – Shaun Baggs adding the extras for a 0 – 7 lead. The home side were quickly back into the groove with a drive a from a 5m penalty won lineout which was repelled with some great defence and the danger shepherded into touch and cleared from the resultant defensive lineout. With livewire Rhys Green showing some battle scars and having to leave the pitch, it was good to see Lewis Edwards back from injury to show some good depth from the bench which was to play its part later in the game.

Newport were back on the attack to gain another penalty which was this time converted to put the home side on the board at 3 – 7 which was quickly added to by another penalty to bring the difference to a single point. The other difference between the sides was the running of winger Gavin Close who tormented the opposition every time he touched the ball and after gaining possession in his own half, he set off on a run to scatter defenders in his wake only to offer the ball to second row Daryl Mota’s feet with the line at his mercy for another certain try to go begging. Unfortunately, Newport were to benefit from more lack of discipline after the referee and the Taff’s players agreed not to exchange Christmas cards and another penalty put over which was fair reward for their efforts to take them into the lead at 9 – 7. Gavin Close was quickly back into the game with another great run from deep and although the ball was knocked on, Taff’s Well were awarded a penalty which was quickly tapped to earn another penalty 18m out for Baggs to convert and somewhat surprisingly put Taff’s Well back in the lead at 9 – 10 at the break. Newport were having much more of the game but Taff’s Well were ahead and had left two sitters out on the park.

                            Half Time Score:   Newport HSOB 9 – 10 Taff’s Well

                                                           Second Half

Talk about a game of two halves; if Newport had any thoughts of keeping up the pressure from the first half, Taff’s Well had other ideas as with the front row of props, Captain Gareth Gibbs and Graham Harvey plus hooker Matthew Desmier starting to make their presence felt, Ashley Bonetto was able to bring outside half Ronan Barrett into the game so that he could start dictating out wide. From a quickly tapped penalty, Daryl Mota charged away to put right wing Gwilym Edwards down the touchline to earn a difficult penalty shot which went wide but with another penalty award a moment later, Baggs was able to add another three points to take the score to 9 – 13. You could sense that the tide was staring to turn and from a neat Barrett break, centre Matthew Wright latched onto the pass and took play into the Newport 22 for the home side to scramble and win a defensive lineout. With a great steal, the ball went wide only for Barrett to be held up on the line but winning an attacking 5m scrum; the pack were now smelling blood and managed to get the squeeze on to earn a penalty in front of the posts for Baggs to duly oblige and stretch the lead to 9 – 16.

It was now all Taff’s Well and as the backline of centres Wright and 18 year old Jack Shaddick had earned their defensive stripes in the first half, they were now starting to get some ball with Wright in particular starting to pick some fine angles and with Baggs kicking intelligently from fullback and wingers Edwards & Close looking sharp, it was turning into an entirely different picture. To be fair, both sides were trying to play rugby and they managed to make a mockery of the conditions with some fine handling and ambition but it was Taff’s Well who were starting to turn the screw and through another straightforward penalty by Baggs, the lead had been stretched to a more comfortable looking  9 -19. With the Newport pack starting to tire, Taff’s Well had the luxury of bringing on prop Ben Atkin and second row Jonathan Barry to bolster their pack which had started to put some nice inter-passing together to set up siege on the Newport 22 and the back-row of Parsons, Watkins and Edwards were now looking comfortable.

After continuous pressure, Close again barged his way towards the line to create utter confusion within the defensive ranks which was seized on by Barrett to dive over and seal the match as Baggs again converted for a good 16 point haul for him and a match-winning score of 9 – 26 which should have been increased but for a highly dubious double-movement decision which robbed replacement Atkin of a try at the death.

                    Final Score:  Newport HSOB 1^st XV 9 v 26 Taff’s Well 1^st XV

The Verdict

First and foremost, you have to give much praise to the efforts of both sides who managed to produce an exciting cup game in very trying conditions but you would hardly have thought so as there was certainly no sign of 10 man rugby here. The first half was dictated by Newport who held most of the territory and possession but they were forced to take their points from kicks as they were repeatedly repelled by a dogged Taff’s Well defence whereby the whole side defended to a man. The second half was a complete turnaround to the first as the Taff’s Well pack started to get on top and the backs used the possession intelligently to gain territory and set a series of platforms from which they could attack.

Honours were probably even in the set-pieces but with strength on the bench which included the substitution returns of Edwards at flanker and Mike Lyndon in the centre, Taff’s Well were able to keep the pressure on until the very last and if the truth be known, there were probably 3-4 tries left out on the pitch as the visitors produced a series of gilt-edged chances with the weather perhaps playing a part in the outcomes. The whole squad deserves a pat on the back as it was definitely a case of ‘job done’ but as always, someone needs to be singled out and I’m going to agree with the guys and go for winger Gavin Close as the Old Boys simply didn’t have an answer to him.

Villains of the Piece

Mmm… As I mentioned, there’ll probably be some stamp money saved on Xmas cards this year but to be fair, the penalties probably evened up over the match. Backchat? Yep, another 30m lost from unscripted verbiage and Taff’s Well are having to learn to win against large penalty counts. (Oh, and let’s not forget the weather)

PS For all you who followed Terry Potter’s directions to the ground, I hope you enjoyed watching Abergavenny play.

Coming Up…

The 1^st XV have a big home game to high-flying Cilfynydd next Saturday so this is one not be missed, we’ll need a big turnout for this one. Don’t forget the Youth XV have the opportunity take first blood under lights on Tuesday as they lock horns with Cilfynydd Youth in the Taff Rhondda and District Youth District Plate Competition and for anyone who saw last week’s game, you’ll know it’s definitely not to be missed.

Dave Beese    davecbwales@gmail.com

Match Gallery Here:  Newport HSOB 1st XV v Taff's Well 1st XV