Fixture

As a measure of how far Taff’s Well have come in two years, this game served as a salutary reminder of how competitive this league is as Treharris put in a committed and combative performance to steal the honours in just about all parts of the game. The visitors where one place behind Taff’s Well at the start of the day with three games in hand over Taff’s Well and they showed that they will have a big say in who gets promoted from this division.

The Treharris pack showed their intentions by getting the nudge-on early in the piece making it difficult for home scrum-half Gwilym Richards to get any clean ball to play with and this led to the visitors applying pressure to give big booted full-back Ross Jones an opportunity to open the scoring with a penalty shot from 40m out which just went wide. Taff’s Well wing Gavin Close showed what could be done with ball in hand as he tore up the touchline leaving several would-be tacklers in his wake but was unable to finish off his good work with a try. Taff’s were territorially on the back foot and were lucky to get away with another penalty miss from Richards before tempers boiled over and both Treharris and Taff’s Well were dealt yellow cards as Jonathan Barry was the guilty recipient for the home side.

It came as no surprise when Richards opened the scoring thanks to a penalty from in front of the posts but Taff’s Well earned a penalty from the kick-off for outside-half Shaun Baggs to equalise with a well struck effort from 40m out. Gavin Close was proving to be a handful every time he got the ball in loose play but it was Treharris who were applying all the pressure although struggling to convert the territory into points thanks to another two penalty misses by Richards who may have struggling with accuracy but definitely not with length and height. There was a sense of inevitability about the visitor’s first try as after repeated pressure, outside centre Rhydian Jones skipped through to score and Richards duly converted to take the score to 10-3 before Shaun Baggs with another fine penalty from 36m, pegged the visitors back.

Despite coming second for much of the first half, Taff’s Well did well to keep the difference to four points at the break and with coach Axel Rees having a few changes in mind, a step-up in gear was needed if Taff’s Well to threaten the Treharris line.

                   Half-time Score:  Taff’s Well 1^st XV 6 V 10 Treharris 1^st XV

                                                      Second Half

The rolling changes came in the shape of 2^nd row Tommy Guy, prop Graham Harvey and flanker Rhys Green coming into the fray to bolster the pack which seemed to have a more galvanising effect as the scrums started to settle and Taff’s Well were able to get more into the game but on several occasions when good field position was attained from penalties, the Treharris lineout was either stealing the throw or being heavily disruptive. After some back-chat (which seems to be becoming endemic in the Taff’s Well ranks), Treharris were able to get a foothold in the home 22 with an attacking lineout 5m out which was poorly defended as almost the entire pack stood off and watched No 8 Barry John Gwyn gratefully stroll through and score a very soft try to get the visitors to 15-6.

Despite the early set-back, the second half was proving to be more of a balanced affair but Taff's Well passing lacked both cohesion and accuracy which blunted the edge of the back line as an attacking unit resulting in any hard earned possession failing to be capitalised on. Wingers Gavin Close and Chris Kiddly-Burgwyn were producing some fine tackles in defence and looked dangerous out wide but were unable to get enough quality ball to show what they were truly capable of. Unfortunately for Taff’s Well and just when things were starting to look more promising, a loose pass turned attack into panicked defence which in turn led to bedlam in front of the posts which ultimately led to another Richards converted try and a now stretched lead of 22-6 to the visitors who were showing plenty of will and tenacity.

Even though flanker Lee Jones wore his heart on his sleeve and stuck to his script through the match, it was the visitors who were finishing stronger and showing the most desire so it was no real surprise after home No8 Max Watkins had been yellow carded that following another sortie, Treharris No8 Barry John Gwyn powered over for his second try and cap a man-of-the-match performance for him and a good away win for the visitors at 27-6.

                   Full Time Score:  Taff’s Well 1^st XV 6 V 27 Treharris 1^st XV

The Verdict

This was a very organised and wholly committed performance from Treharris who would have been delighted with the result as they took the honours in just about every facet of the game which leaves a lot of questions to be answered before the next home game against Llandaff next week for Taff’s Well. The visitors managed to put the normally strong home set-pieces under pressure which ultimately led to hurried and sloppy passing from which the Treharris turned defence into attack and subsequently into tries. The lack of discipline remains a large problem culminating in another two yellow cards and the coaches will no doubt have a word to say about this worrying facet of the Taff’s Well game.

For Treharris, No8 Barry John Gwyn stood out from a gritty pack and in the backs, centre Rhydian Jones was impressive but it was as a cohesive unit that Treharris were at their most effective. For Taff’s Well, wings Close and Kidley-Burgwyn had their moments in both defence and attack and flanker Lee Jones remained focussed throughout the game but there will be much disappointment at the manner of the performance in which Taff’s Well were always a step behind the pace.

Dave Beese    davecbwales@gmail.com