Fixture

Taff’s Well today welcomed visitors Llandaff who have been having a tough season to date so following last week’s disappointing performance at home, this game would have been targeted for not only an improved performance but a home win to get ambitions back on track.

The difference in intent was palpable as the home pack quickly got into their stride which enabled scrum-half Ashley Bonetto to get some pinpoint passing away and give a taste of what the backs could do with quick ball. After a neat break by outside-half Ronan Barett, the ball was fed onto prop and Club Captain Gareth Gibbs who tore down the left wing to present a chance for left-wing Gwilym Edwards who clinically took his chance for the opening try of the match. The hosts were keen to turn up the tempo and it was not long before Taff’s Well were able to work wing Gavin Close away for one of his trademark runs which was only halted by a superb last ditch tackle which thwarted a certain second try.

Llandaff were struggling to get any respite from the pressure and following an unstoppable drive from a penalty line-out, No 8 Max Watkins was able to power over the line for another try which was duly converted by full-back Shaun Baggs to make the score 12-0 and the omens for Taff’s Well were looking good. Although on the back foot for much of the opening exchanges, Llandaff proceeded to be the architects of their own misfortune after failing to deal with a rather innocuous kick which was allowed to bounce offering left wing Gwilym Edwards the opportunity to hack through and follow up smartly to drag the ball over the line for a fine opportunist try and a healthy 17-0 scoreline in favour of the home side.

From a series of scrums and penalties in the Llandaff 22, the ball was quickly tapped and spun to the left to be presented on a silver platter to Gavin Close who walked in unopposed which was quickly followed by another stroll-in try for second-row Ieuan Parsons after a drive from a lineout in the Llandaff 22, the latter being converted thanks to a sweet strike by Shaun Baggs. With the score at 29-0 and Taff’s Well fairly rampant, the half was to be finished with a delightful score as Gavin Close was again worked free to beat several of the covering defenders down the left and after being stopped with another desperate tackle, he popped the ball up for industrious flanker Rhys Watkins to cap a fine performance for himself and canter over the whitewash to end a dominant first half for Taff’s Well with the score at 34-0.

                  First Half Score:    Taff’s Well 1^st XV 34 v 0 Llandaff 1^st XV

                                                      Second Half

As the teams lined up for the second half, prop Graham Harvey earned a second half rest after a rock-like performance in the scrum and some great go-forward drives which helped provide the backline with some quality ball. The home faithful expectation to repeat the first half performance was obviously high as Taff’s Well were gaining momentum and the grounds for optimism were soon to be confirmed as from a rare Llandaff attack, flanker Rhys Green was able to enhance his growing reputation with a great steal to send Gavin Close on another busting run down the wing to beat a trail of would be tackers and cross for his second try of the game.

Any neutral observer would have been forgiven for thinking that the game was heading for a rout as the ball was again spun along the Taff’s Well line only for Llandaff outside-half Neil Gallagher to pick his moment to perfection, intercept and race away from his own half to score a converted try underneath the sticks to give the travelling support something to cheer. The response was to come in the shape of penalty won lineout on the Llandaff 5m line which enabled the pack to catch and rumble to enable second-row replacement Darryl Mota to rise from a heap of bodies with the ball in his hand and allow Baggs to convert and stretch the score to 46-7. Despite several unconverted opportunities in the Llandaff 22, the pendulum was somewhat surprisingly starting to swing towards Llandaff who had not only refused to give up but were starting to gain some meaningful possession and field position, putting Taff’s Well on the back foot for much of the second half. Their endeavours were justifiably rewarded when a drive from a 12m attacking lineout saw the pack work the ball up to the Taff’s Well line for hooker Rhydian Harris to pile over for another converted try to take the score to 46-14.

Despite Llandaff finishing the stronger and altogether shading the second half, the home side managed to work the ball back into the visitors 22 and create a huge overlap which was criminally spurned thanks to a rush of white-line fever (rumours have it that the Taff’s Well Pharmacy is rushing in supplies of an antidote in time for the cup game next week). Llandaff confidence was rising and so was the desire to get a third try which would have given them a sniff of a bonus point but after managing to get within spitting distance of the Taff’s Well line, the ball was held up and the put-in given to the home side to enable them to clear. Another piece of creative play saw the Llandaff backs spin the ball through the hands and put play deep into the home 22 only for Gavin Close to produce a crunching tackle to put the fire out and seal a bonus point win.

                     Final Score:   Taff's Well 1st XV 46 v 14 Landaff 1st XV

The Verdict

The disappointment for the Taff’s Well players after last week’s performance was plain to see and the manner of this week’s performance was perhaps going to be just as important as the bonus point win. The first half showed a marked improvement from the previous week with a heightened tempo adopted and a scrum that was back on the front foot thanks largely to the efforts of the front row of Graham Harvey, Lloyd James and Captain Gareth Gibbs who ensured that there was always a platform to secure decent possession as well as attacking the Llandaff put-in. The approach was to be rewarded with a first half haul of six tries which effectively put the game out of reach for Llandaff and the worried brows on the visiting supporters said it all as the direction of the game seemed to suggest a second half points deluge in favour of the home side but the visitors can be proud that on reflection, besides scoring more points, they were the better side during the second half which didn’t quite seem to go to plan for Taff’s Well thanks to maybe a feeling that the job was already done and a Llandaff side that just refused to capitulate. For the visitors, scrum-half Gavin Peevers was always looking to cajole his side both in adversity and attack with Captain Dave Hugo at centre and left wing Tom McNee doing their reputations no harm.

With regards to the Taff’s Well roll call, there were many performances of note throughout the first half and decidedly fewer during the second half with wingers Gwilym Edwards and Gavin Close excelling in both defence and attack throughout the game and a haul of two tries apiece for their consistent efforts. The Taff’s Well effort during the second half was not helped by the fact that they conceded 11 penalties in a rather bizarre 8 minute period when they looked like running away with it, most of them in their own 22 and yet not a yellow card in sight – pick what you will out of that one. Combined, the team looked to have something in reserve although the coaches would perhaps have liked to see a full eighty minute performance of which we are perhaps yet to see this season albeit against much stiffer opposition.

Man-of-the-match nominees could possibly come from a host of worthy names I’ve mentioned but for a start to finish performance, I’m going to go for flanker Rhys Green who constantly belies his size to go toe-to-toe with far bigger adversaries and shows the nous to be in the right place at the right time just like any good flanker should.

(Disagree? Saw something I didn’t? Someone didn’t get a mention when they should have? Then drop a thought onto the Facebook page and make sure you ‘like’ the post to enable it to get to a wider audience)

Coming Up…

Next week’s game is the WRU Bowl fixture away to Newport HSOB so let’s get together and give the boys the support they deserve after their exploits of last season, kick off is 2.00pm. Closer to home, the Youth XV are playing at home under floodlights on Tuesday so get along to support them as this is a big game for them as they look to retain their unbeaten form in the league.

Dave Beese   davecbwales@gmail.com

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

Match Report:  Taff's Well Youth XV 19 v 19 Llandaff Youth XV