Title races hot up in One East and One West, while One North season draws to a close

One West leaders Tondu missed the chance to seal the title with defeat to Kidwelly at Pandy Park, and must now look on nervously as Cwmllynfell complete their league campaign.

The Waterwheelers knew a win would seal the division crown, but they were edged out 23-22 by a dogged Kidwelly side.

The Black and Ambers crossed twice through Dave Lewis and Steff Evans. Fly-half Stuart Morris added a conversion and two penalties, while Gareth Rees also kicked a conversion and a penalty to spoil the Tondu party.

Tondu end the season on 85 points after claiming a losing bonus point thanks to a penalty try, a Matthew Vaughan touchdown, Matthew Phillips going over and six points from the boot of Gareth Powell.

They are left biting their nails, as they anxiously wait on Cwmllynfell, who currently sit 12 points behind but have three games left to play and with a string of victories could cruelly wrestle the title out of their hands.

The Swansea Valley side, unaware their fate was back in their own hands, secured a 116-25 demolition of Aberavon Quins that will give them real confidence.

The highfliers crossed 18 times in all with Trystan Lewis (four), Owen James (four), Craig Kelly (four), Aled Wilkins (three), Craig Jones, Gareth Drewson and Daniel Jones the heroes.

Carmarthen Athletic ended their campaign on a high with a 25-22 home success over Glynneath to give their supporters something positive to mull over during the summer break.

Their scrum half Scott Maynard starred for the hosts claiming 17 of his side’s points via two tries, two conversions and a penalty, while Luke Marshall also crossed and jack Maynard added another penalty.

Glynneath came away with two bonus points with touchdowns from Josh Jones, Ryan Llewellyn, Dale Newell and Rhodri Cole, the latter also kicking a conversion.

Meanwhile, relegation threatened Loughor failed to help their battle for survival as they went down 34-25 to Waunarlwydd.

The Green and Blacks forced five touchdowns through Jordan Clayfield, Ben James, Dan Fox, Andrew Rees-Spowart and Lee Brookes. Loughor, playing in front of their own fans, scored three tries of their own through Jonathan Phillips (two) and Andrew Bamfield.

Elsewhere, Kenfig Hill claimed an entertaining 45-31 triumph at Ammanford in an 11-try thriller that saw both sides secure try scoring bonus points.

The Mules outscored their rivals six tries to five; Mark Fitzgerald bagging a superb hat-trick with Mathew Davies, Sean Burnell and Lewis David also going over. Nicky Giles kicked the remaining points.

Gary Stephens, Iwan Mainwaring, Jake Baker, Rhydian Morris and Jake Simms were the five to dive over for the hosts.

RGC 1404 remain eight points clear of Ystrad Rhondda at the top of One East after both sides delivered impressive wins - The North Walians hammering Gilfach Goch 57-18 and the Rhondda club triumphing 35-18 at Rhydyfelin.

To keep the gap up, RGC put nine tries past the mid-table outfit, who were simply powerless to resist. Outside centre Harry Evans and winger Richard Hopkins both grabbed themselves a brace of tries, with scrum half Afon Bagshaw, Rhodri Carlton-Jones, flanker Andrew Williams, Iolo Evans and full back Llywarch Ap Myrddin also crossing the whitewash. Carlton-Jones booted six conversions to hammer home their authority.

Ystrad weren’t as free-scoring, but still posted an impressive result. They secured a try scoring bonus point as Ryan Howells (twice), Bleddyn Davies and David Gratton dived over, with Rhys Truelove converting three of those and kicking three penalties for a personal haul of 15 points.

The hosts got three tries through Dylan Hughes, Mark Jones and Liam Watton, with Gavin Close converting one of them, but it wasn;t enough to stop their high-flying visitors taking the spoils.

At the bottom, Mountain Ash gave their survival hopes a huge boost as they just about overcame relegation rivals Merthyr 28-22, climbing out of the relegation zone above their vanquished foes with just three games remaining.

Keith Anderson, Matthew Jones, Ross Davies and Craig Evans secured their side a bonus point, as Matthew Parfitt converted one of the scores and Dean Gunter kicked two penalties for the hosts.

Merthyr do, though, have one game in hand.

The day’s other game saw third-placed Penallta score seven tries in a one-sided 47-5 demolition of Ynysybwl.

Aron Humphries crosses for his second of the afternoon

Photo courtesy of Penallta RFC

Andre Soroko scored a hat-trick, with Aron Humphries adding a brace of tries to the score, along with scrum half Andrew John. Gareth Edwards and Jonny Wright also touched down, with Bleddyn Corns kicking three conversions.

The One North season was completed yesterday, with Ruthin beating Bro Ffestiniog 24-12 to climb above Bala in to third in the final standings.

Harry Morgan, Gethin Hughes and Ben Syme scored their touchdowns, with Shay Owen converting them all and adding a penalty to round off their campaign with a victory.

Dewi and Huw James scored Bro’s tries, with Huw adding a conversion.

Read More

RGC Produce Monumental Comeback

Leaders RGC-1404 produced a monumental comeback from 21-0 down to see off Rumney 24-21 and extend their advantage at the summit to four points.

Rumney, third in the table, opened up their lead through tries by Chris Jones, Tom Silva and Lawrence Facey, all converted by Danny Clarke, as they capitalised on uncharacteristic errors from the visitors.

Mike Jones, Carwyn Meredith and Kelvin Davies all crossed, before Llywarch Meredith added a bonus point try to complete an unlikely comeback. Rhodri Jones added two conversions to seal the victory that keeps them four points clear of the chasing Ystrad Rhondda, with the title showdown at Parc Eiras next Saturday.

Ystrad kept the heat on with a tight 12-6 win over second from bottom Mountain Ash. Kyle Evans and Sean Webber tries ensured RGC’s lead wasn’t extended, while Ystrad also hold a game in hand over the leaders.

Tredegar’s sorry season continued with the referee blowing the final whistle 10 minutes early as they trailed Rhydyfelin 114-10, having arrived with only 13 men.

The hosts had run in 18 tries by this point, including four tries for Lloyd Peart and hat-tricks for Ross Lucas and Rhys Chinock, with Lucas also adding nine conversions. Their eight remaining tries were shared between four players – Casey Pitman, Mark Tyler, Josh Hawkins and Keiron Phillips all grabbing braces, with Kristian Norman adding another three conversions.

Tredegar had managed two tries through Josh Jackus and Brendan O’Sullivan while the hosts had two players in the sin bin to level the numbers out.

Elsewhere, fourth-placed Penallta handed a 37-3 defeat to Gilfach Goch at Ystrad Fawr to move to within a point of Rumney. Shaun Powell scored a hat-trick of tries, while Ross Edwards and Martyn Dunn made it five to secure the home side a bonus point.

Trystell Lewis, Peter Hutchins, Gareth Fear and captain Jamie Summers earned Treorchy a bonus point in their 20-15 victory over lowly Merthyr, while Ynysybwl edged their lower table clash at Heol y Cyw 20-16 through Dale Stuckey and penalty tries, and Nathan Ellis kicking 10 points.

Nant Conwy took advantage of Pwllheli’s game being called off to extend their lead at the top of One North to six points.

They ran in 10 tries in a 58-7 bonus point win in the bottom v top of the table clash at Llangefni. Andre Hughes crossed twice, with the rest of the scores shared around the team. Carwyn Roberts, Rhys Jones, Gareth Jones, Sion Pringle, Aeros Jones, Robin Glyn, Eryl Jones and Elgan Davies all added five points to the scoreboard. Mark Gray got Llangefni’s single score.

Third-placed Ruthin blew the chance to close the gap on Pwllheli as they went down 23-21 at Bethesda. Hugh Sharples scored twice for the visitors, and Shay Owen kicked 11 points, but two Daniel Jones tries and a third from Matthew Parry earned Bethesda the win. Parry added the extra points with his boot.

Elsewhere, Caernarfon edged a tight encounter with Dolgellau 24-22. Both teams scored three tries, with the home side’s coming from Lewis Parker (two) and Iolo Hughes, Kelvin Morris converting all three and adding a penalty to pip Dolgellau to the win.

Yet they remain in fifth, as fourth-placed Bala were victorious by an 18-10 scoreline at Bro Ffestiniog. Rhydian Jones scored all of the visitors’ points via two tries, one conversion and two penalties in a productive day for the Bala fly half.

Tondu earned their 16th win in 18 league games at the top of One West, swooping to a 44-26 victory over Lougher.

They ran in six tries, with Darren Thomas scoring twice and Matthew Phillips, Mark Roberts, Hywel Davies and David Griggs getting the others. Paul Smithson converted three and added two penalties, with Matthew Murphy converting another.

Lougher also gained a bonus point for running in four scores of their own. Andrew Bamfield got two of them, with Dan George and Mick O’Kelly also crossing. Tom Davies converted three of them.

Cwmllynfell also won, the second-placed side edging a tight encounter with Kenfig Hill 26-24 at Groft Goch. The Mules outscored their visitors four tries to two, earning two bonus points in the process.

Curtis Kerton, Rhodri Clark, Tom James and Matthew Davies went over for the home side, with Craig Jones and Tristan Lewis replying for Cwmllynfell. It was Peter Thomas they can thank for winning the game for them, kicking 16 points to edge them home.

Third-placed Waunarlwydd ensured they weren’t left further behind by the top two courtesy of a 24-19 victory over lowly Skewen. Alan Pope and Michael Lewis both scored tries for the home side, with Lee Evans adding 14 points with his boot.

Mark Harvey replied for Skewen, who also had James Ball to thank for converting Harvey’s try and adding four penalties of his own to keep them in the game.

Elsewhere, Ammanford ran in seven tries as they hammered Llangennech 46-3. Jake Sims scored a brace, with Gary Stevens, Llyr Morris, Gareth Rees, Dexter Thomas and Johnny Evans getting the others.

Camarthen Athletic were also big scorers, crossing nine times in a 69-3 victory at basement club Aberavon Quins, and Kidwelly beat Glynneath 22-12 with Tom Garvill (two) and Andy Francis scoring their three tries.

Read More

Division One Round Up

Leaders Tondu slipped to only their second loss of the season in One West when they were edged out by Carmarthen Athletic 25-23 at Johnstown.

Athletic ran in three tries through centres Rhys Jones and Viv Jenkins and hooker Gethin Robinson, while fly half Scott Maynard added ten crucial points with the boot.

The Waterwheelers also bagged three tries through Matthew Davies, Steven Bevan and Dan Bishop. Top points scorer Paul Smithson slotted two penalties and a conversion, but as the usually reliable kicker stepped up to take a penalty that would seal victory, the Tondu faithful were left heartbroken when his effort failed to find the mark in the last minute of the game.

Kidwelly captain Jason Smith stops Ammanford's Chris Moore in his tracks

 Photo courtesy of AlfiePics

Kidwelly and Ammanford were involved in an eight try thriller, with the Black and Ambers making light of the heavy conditions to grab a 40-23 home win over their rivals.

TRY TIME: Kidwelly's Steff Evans touches down for his first of the afternoon

 Photo courtesy of AlfiePics

The hosts helped themselves to five tries with braces from Andy Francis and Steff Evans, and were also awarded a penalty try to seal a memorable triumph.

IN FULL FLOW: Ammanford on the attack

 Photo courtesy of AlfiePics

Loughor boosted their survival hopes when they hung on to defeat Llangennech 16-15 at Villa Field.

The blues crossed for the only try of the match through man mountain Nick Kelly, while Tom Davies fired home three penalties and a conversion to put some distance between themselves and the bottom two.

In the other scheduled One West match, Aberavon Quins' woes continue as they were forced to postpone their clash with Cwmllynfell as they were unable to raise a team.

Heading north, trailblazers Nant Conwy continue to blow away all opposition as they thumped visiting Mold 40-0.

Caerwyn Ellis and Evan Jones grabbed doubles, while Robin Davies and Gareth Jones also went over.

Second placed Pwllheli are still eight points adrift of the summit, despite also picking up a bonus point 27-12 victory at Bala.

There was nothing to separate the teams at the break, but Pwllheli turned on the style after the interval as Owain Williams, Chris Studt, Robin Hughes Jones and John Payne all crossed the whitewash.

Elsewhere, there were wins for Bro Ffestiniog who saw off Llangefni 26-12, Caernarfon beat Ruthin 32-27 and Dolgellau eased to a 29-19 win over Bethesda.

RGC 1404 won for the ninth time in 11 starts beating Merthyr 21-6 at Colwyn Bay to remain hot on the heels of Ystrad Rhondda at the head of One East.

The North Walians crossed three times through Richard Hopkins, Harry Evans and Rhodri Carlton Jones. 

Heol y Cyw were surprise winners at Treorchy as they defeated the Zebras 24-13. Gareth Howells was at the double for the Cockerels with a well-taken brace, while Nicky Beer also touched down for the visitors.

Read More

Carwyn's right on cue for RGC with try treble

CARWYN ap Myrddin had a field day yesterday as he raced over for a hat-trick of tries in RGC 1404’s commanding 40-5 home win over Penallta in One East.

However, Ystrad Rhondda still look good out in front as they scored 50 points or more for the fourth time this season in beating Merthyr 52-10 at the Wern.

Two of their seven tries were scored by Sean Webber while another two were penalty tries awarded by the referee. Alex Webber, David Gratton and Dan John also got on the scoresheet for the men from the Rhondda.

Rhydyfelin, the only side to beat Ystrad Rhondda this term, look comfortable in third following a titanic tussle against Heol y Cyw, who have only won twice so far.

Stuart Williams and Keiron Phillips crossed for Rhyd who won 12-11 with Michael Huckridge getting all of Cyw’s points.

It was a great afternoon for Treorchy centre Trystan Lazarus who bagged a hat-trick in a 48-10 win for the Zebras away to bottom-of-the-table Tredegar.

Wing Chris Jenkins chipped in with two and there were also scores for No 8 Craig Everett, flanker Gavin Daniel and captain Jamie Summer. Celyn Ashton slotted four conversions.

Two tries for Lewis Ryan and 11 points from the boot of Greg Rees couldn’t prevent Ynysybwl slipping to a 24-21 defeat at home to Rumney and Mountain Ash got a losing bonus point from a 13-7 loss to Gilfach Goch. Vic Morgan and Bradley Davies touched down for Gilfach with Luke Davies replying for Mount.

It had to happen sometime and yesterday saw One West leaders Tondu lose for the first time this season, going down 16-5 at closest challengers Cwmllynfell.

All Tondu could manage was a Hywel Davies try while Anthony Rees crossed for Cwm and Peter Thomas converted and added three penalties.

The division’s top scorers were Llangennech as they thrashed lowly Aberavon Quins 64-7, scoring nine tries in the process. Ellis Phillips was top dog with three while Gareth Combly got two and Johnny Griffiths, Rhys Lane, Rhys Davies and Stewart Miller also touched down.

Rhodri Cole scored two tries, kicked four conversions and two penalties in Glynneath’s 39-7 victory against Ammanford, Matthew Davies and Chris Tossell were on the scoresheet for Kenfig Hill as they saw off Kidwelly 40-25 and Carmarthen Athletic beat Skewen 19-11, Adam Davies, Scott Maynard and Chris Francis crossing.

In One North, bottom club Llangefni picked up two crucial points in their bid to avoid relegation after drawing 12-12 at Dolgellau. All the points came through kicks with Carwyn Milburn on target for the visitors and Tom Roberts and Dion Jones with two each for Dolgellau.

Leaders Nant Conwy won again, this time 20-7 at home to Bro Ffestiniog with Robert Parry celebrating his 21^st birthday with one of their two tries, Robin Glyn got the other.

The prolific Deio Brunelli scored again for second-placed Pwllheli as Caernarfon were beaten 11-3 while Mold beat Ruthin 22-12 and Bethesda defeated Bala 28-12.

Read More

Cunliffe's timely intervention take Ebbw Vale to the top

Swalec Championship and Division One East, West and North weekend review

EVERYONE in rugby knows how devastating an interception can be, particularly if it leads to a try and it’s in a crucial game with a lot riding on it.

That’s just what happened in the Rhymney Valley yesterday as one mistake or piece of opportunism (depending which side you’re on) decided the outcome of the top-of-the-table clash in the Championship.

Hosts Bargoed and visitors Ebbw Vale, second in the standings behind the Blues going into the fixture, were level at 3-3 when Vale wing Wes Cunliffe’s gamble 40 metres out paid off and he ended up under the posts for Josh Lewis to convert with just six minutes left of normal time.

Until then it had been a nail-biting affair all the way with a Lewis penalty cancelling out Josh Prosser’s first-half effort.

Because of the rain leading up to kick-off, four matches were postponed with only those at Bargoed, Beddau and Bonymaen getting the go-ahead.

And it wasn’t exactly a points-fest in the Championship with 43 scored in the three games, the highest total coming at Beddau where the hosts sprung something of a shock by beating third-placed Newbridge 9-7.

They had trailed 7-6 after 40 minutes with Newbridge getting a penalty try which Neil Burnett converted. Tom Benjamin had kept the home side in touch with a couple of penalties and it took just one more in the second period to win it.

Luckless Pontypool came up short again, this time at Bonymaen where they lost 11-3. Clayton Gullis scored Pooler’s only points as Nathan Brooks got the game’s sole try and Richard Cunniffe knocked over a brace of penalties for the Swansea club.

In One East, Ystrad Rhondda opened the gap on closest challengers at the top RGC 1404 with a nervy 10-8 win over the North Walians.

Alex Webber’s try and Rhys Truelove’s conversion and penalty sealed it for Ystrad while Carwyn ap Myrddin’s touchdown and a Mitchell McGahan penalty at least gave RGC a losing bonus point.

In the other games to beat the weather, Mountain Ash put in an excellent battling performance against Penallta before eventually succumbing 17-11 with two Gavins, Jones and Spiller, helping the Pitmen over the finish line. Meanwhile, Gilfach Goch won 17-7 away at Rhydyfelin, who could have gone into second with a win.

Tondu are beginning to turn One West into a procession and they are now 11 points clear of Cwmllynfell after beating Glynneath 30-13. Cwmllynfell’s match at Kidwelly was one of the many fixtures in the Swalec Leagues to be called off.

David Bishop, Matthew Phillips, Gareth Powell and Paul Smithson crossed the whitewash for Tondu, who also earned a penalty try. James Parry scored Glynneath’s only try having been in touch at half-time.

Alan Pope grabbed a brace and Johnny Lewis, Andrew Rees-Spowart, Dai Evans and Dan Moyle also scored for Waunarlwydd in their 42-17 victory over Llangennech. The visitors were well in the game at the interval before the hosts moved through the gears although Rhys Davies did cross twice for Llangennech.

Nicky Giles landed four penalties and converted Alan Brace’s try while Matthew Tossell also knocked over a three-pointer for Kenfig Hill as they won a classic at home to Carmarthen Athletic 22-21.

The hosts were outscored three tries to one, however, but ultimately that didn’t matter. Scott Maynard converted all three of Athletic’s tries, two of which were penalty tries and the other a Gareth Bennett effort.

Loughor produced the shock of the day in One West when they won 21-8 at Ammanford, who had started the day in fourth. A hat-trick of penalties and conversion from Tom Davies together with a penalty try and score for wing Richard Thomas did the trick while Senor Iaono replied with a try for the hosts.

Nant Conwy’s lead at the top of One North was cut by Bro Ffestiniog as the former crashed to a narrow 9-8 reverse at Dolgellau, for whom Tom Roberts scored all the points.

Bro Ffestiniog were made to fight hard for the four points during their 17-9 triumph over Ruthin. Aaron Aspen got the only try of the game for Bro who had Barry Roberts to thank as his four penalties secured a vital win.

Bottom club Llangefni lost for the eighth time this season going down 32 -11 at home to Bala. Huw Roberts was on form with the boot, slotting five penalties and a conversion. Pwllheli crossed six times in a 44-8 away win against Bethesda.

Jon Pugh and Kevin Morris both scored two tries and Deio Brunelli and Nick Butterworth, who contributed 19 points in total, also scored. Finally, Caernarfon were another side to win on the road as they defeated Mold 26-18.

Robert Williams, Joe Simpson and Iola Hughes touched down for the visitors while Matthew Condren and Ollie Hughes did the same for Mold.

Read More

Eight-try Tondu make struggling Aberavon Quins toil

Division One West, East and North weekend round-up

 Prolific kicker Gareth Rees bagged all Kidwelly's points including a individual chip and chase try.

Photo courtesy of AlfiePics

ABERAVON Quins felt the full force of a rampant Tondu yesterday as the One West leaders scored eight tries without reply in a 57-0 demolition job.

Seeing at it was top versus bottom, a fifth consecutive defeat for the Quins was always on the cards and they had no answer to Tondu’s free-flowing back play and dominance up front.

Fly-half Paul Smithson wasn’t in the try-scoring form of recent weeks but he did convert seven of the scores and kick a penalty. Cai Lewis(2), Matthew Phillips (2), Dave Bishop, Gareth Powell, Gareth Holmes and Matthew Davies were the try getters for unbeaten Tondu.

Skewen took every opportunity to attack in their narrow loss  at Kidwelly

Photo courtesy of AlfiePics

Gareth Rees was Kidwelly’s one-man scoring machine as his try and four penalties gave the hosts a 17-16 victory over struggling Skewen to remain in third place.

Tries from Anthony Rees, Lee Evans and Peter Thomas saw Cwmllynfell in second overcome Loughor 28-13 on home turf and Gareth Drewson landed three penalties and a couple of conversions to aid the cause.

The fans got their money’s worth at Ammanford where the home side and Waunarlwydd scored eight tries between them but ultimately it was the former who came out on top 30-23. However, Waun didn’t go home empty-handed, picking up two bonus points for their efforts.

Gary Stephens, Mike Evans, Rhydian Morris and Chris Moore crossed for Ammanford with the third of that quartet, Morris, contributing a full house with penalty, drop-goal and two conversions as well.

Kenfig Hill drew level on points in mid-table with Llangennech after beating their close rivals 23-19 with both sides earning a bonus point. Jason Davies, Steve Gillard, Tylan Mafi and Shaun Burnell touched down while Nathan Bowen, Liam Hutchins and Steve Davies did likewise for Llangennech.

In the other match yesterday, a serious leg injury sustained by Carmarthen Athletic centre Aled Thomas forced the referee to abandon the fixture at Glynneath after 60 minutes had been played. Glynneath were leading 23-13 at the time but now the game is likely to be replayed at a date to be confirmed.

Over in One West, there was a great return to rugby for Treorchy wing Peter Hutchings who scored a marvellous solo effort against Penallta having only recently returned to the game following knee surgery.

The Zebras edged a thrilling encounter 31-27 with the hosts’ other tries coming through a penalty try, Jordan Lloyd and Chris Jenkins. Outside-half Celyn Ashton had another fine day with the boot, landing three conversions and a penalty.

The Pitmen didn’t go home empty handed though as they picked up both try and losing bonus points. The visitors crossed four times through Marc Jones, Gregg Haines, Rhys Silcox and Gareth Edwards, while they also had Lucas Edwards sent off late on.

Ystrad Rhondda are the new league leaders after they saw off Rumney 40-16, scoring five tries thanks to a Liam Davies brace, Alex Webber, David Grattan and Bleddyn Davies. Rhys Truelove kicked 15 points courtesy of a drop goal, two penalties and three conversions.

They may be second behind Ystrad Rhondda but RGC 1404 are the only team left with a 100% record having only played four games so far.

All four have come on the road and the latest was a 35-17 defeat of Rhydyfelin who have started well themselves. The North Wales outfit were trailing 17-0 at one stage as they struggled playing into the wind in the first-half, but touchdowns from Tom Parry, Harry Evans, Josh Leach, Richard Hopkins and a penalty try saw the visitors home.

Heol y Cyw are finally able to celebrate a win after beating Mountain Ash 29-14. The Cockerels have struggled since their opening day draw at Treorchy but they suffered no such problems against the Old Firm.

Kyle Lowry, Adam O’Driscoll, Zac O’Driscoll, Chris Howe and Wayne Howe all went over for the hosts, while Mike Huckbridge added two conversions. Merthyr heaped more woe on lowly Tredegar with a six try 39-17 win and Gilfach Goch recorded their first win with a 32-23 success at Ynysybwl.

In One North, Nant Conwy took charge of top spot thanks to a 25-10 win at former leaders Ruthin. Dafydd Morgan, Euroin Jones, Carwyn Ellis and Carwyn Roberts all crossed for Nant Conwy to take them into pole position.

Second place is occupied by Bro Ffestiniog following a hard-fought 18-13 triumph at Bethesda and three Steve Quinton penalties were enough to give Mold a narrow 9-5 win against bottom club Llangefni.

Reigning champions Caernarfon were pushed all the way by Bala before coming out on top 17-16, Dafydd Roberts and Lance Williams scoring the crucial tries. Rhydian Jones and Owain Aled replied for Bala.

Pwllheli had no problems seeing off Dolgellau 37-6 with seven tries giving them a bonus point. Robin Hughes-Jones (2), Dafydd Anwyl, Dafydd Myrddin, Deio Brunelli, Robert Williams and John Pugh ran riot for the hosts as Dolgellau’s only response was two Tom Roberts penalties.

Read More

Hughes-Jones is Pwll's hat-trick hero in Bala win

Swalec League Division One North, East & West round-up

AFTER Ruthin beat Caernarfon by the slenderest of margins on Friday night to extend their lead at the top of the One North table, it was up to the rest of the early-season pacesetters to respond positively yesterday.

Bala, though, were one side that couldn’t do that as they slipped to a 29-23 reverse at Pwllheli although they did pick up a losing bonus point.

Robin Hughes-Jones was Pwllheli’s try-scoring hero as he crossed for a hat-trick and with Dafydd Myrddin and Deio Brunelli also going over the extra point was secured.

Clwyd Edwards and Sion Lynch crossed for Bala and George Davies and Huw John added the rest of their points.

Bro Ffestiniog overturned a 9-0 interval deficit against Llangefni to come through 18-9 at the final whistle and stay hot on the heels of Ruthin in second place.

Dewi James touched down quickly after the restart and Daniel Jones crossed in the closing stages to seal the victory while Carwyn Milburn landed three penalties for Llangefni.

Bethesda and Dolgellau had to settle for a share of the spoils after their encounter ended in a 17-17 draw and Nant Conwy cruised to a 31-7 win over Mold. Grant Jones (2), Iolo Hughes, Wyn Roberts and Aaron Jones bagged tries for Nant with Steve Quinton getting a consolation score for Mold.

Down South in One East, it’s a North Wales club, RGC 1404, that is out in front at this early stage of the season.

They collected a third win from three yesterday but were given a tough ride by Ynysybwl as the hosts tried to keep their unbeaten start going after a win and a draw.

There was to be no bonus point for RGC but tries from Harry Evans, Richard Hopkins and Bryn Williams were enough to see them home 27-17. Ricky Thomas (2) got Ynysybwl’s tries.

The Pitmen of Penallta beat Rhydyfelin 31-18 and after a win and draw in previous weeks they too have yet to lose this term. And they were handed a huge boost by the form of kicker Jonny Wright who landed seven penalties to go with tries from Rhys Silcox and Gareth Edwards.

Rhys Chinnock and Liam Watton found their way over the Penallta try-line but they were a clear second best on the day.

There were no concerns for Mountain Ash as the Cynon Valley club easily swept past Tredegar 32-7 with Craig Evans scoring not one, or two, but three of his side’s five tries. Matthew Dixon and Chris Edmunds got the others while Craig Lloyd made his way over for the hosts’ sole reply.

Up in the Rhondda, Rumney kept their try-line intact during a 17-9 win at Treorchy, for whom Celyn Ashton responded with three penalties. Soloman Matthews and Ryan Fenton were the try scorers for Rumney with Danny Clark on target with two conversions and a penalty.

Former Glamorgan Wanderers No 8 Mazin El Azzawi was the only try-scorer in Ystrad Rhondda’s 16-12 defeat of Heol y Cyw and the other One East fixture, between Merthyr and Gilfach Goch, was postponed.

Following on from his man-of-the-match performance last weekend, Tondu’s Paul Smithson was at it again yesterday as he orchestrated a 33-32 win against Ammanford in One West.

He scored 18 points, including two tries, to go with a try each for Matthew Davies, Matthew Murphy and David Griggs. And just like last weekend, a player playing against Tondu scored a hat-trick of tries and ended up on the losing team.

Rhydian Morris did that for Ammanford as Emrys Price and Llyr Morris also crossed but Ammanford just missed out by the closest of margins.

The leaders are Cwmllynfell and they beat Skewen 30-15 and bagged an extra bonus point thanks to tries for Gareth Drewson, Alex Wilkins, Liam Gallagher and Alan Sturl.

Another side going well is Llangennech but they needed all their mettle to come through 17-12 victors at Glynneath, thanks in the most part to Ricky Williams’s accuracy in front of the posts. He slotted four penalties to go with Mikey Davies’s try. Rhodri Cole kicked all of Glynneath’s points.

Kenfig Hill got a first win of the season with a 27-10 verdict against Aberavon Quins. David Williams, Nicky Giles, Mark Fitzgerald and a penalty try also secured the extra point with Adam Dawe crossing for the Quins.

Five Gareth Rees penalties were good enough for Kidwelly to beat Waunarlwydd 15-10 and Loughor edged past Carmarthen Athletic 17-16 as tempers flared towards the end of the game. Tristan Davies and Aled Thomas were yellow-carded for Loughor and Athletic respectively but it was four Andrew Williams penalties and a try by Richard Thomas that gave the hosts the points.

However, it could well have been Athletic going home the winners as after Ifan Beynon-Thomas had scored the second of his two tries, Mike Sauro missed the match-winning conversion.

Read More

Zebras earn their stripes following prop's early bath

Division One East, West & North weekend round-ups

One East

IT says a lot about the competitive nature of One East this season that after just two matches Rhydyfelin and RGC 1404 are the only teams to have won both their fixtures.

Penallta, Ynysybwl and Treorchy are also unbeaten but all three drew their first encounters on the opening day of the season.

At the other end of the table, Gilfach Goch and Tredegar are the only clubs without a point but the former came close yesterday at Treorchy.

The visitors were given a huge boost after just six minutes when Zebras prop Robert Jones was sent-off for an alleged head butt.

But the hosts, with captain James Summers making his 200^thappearance for the club, showed their mettle and the boot of Celyn Ashton fired over six penalties to punish Gilfach Goch’s indiscipline at the breakdown.

Treorchy scored two second-half tries with Gareth Evans going over after great work by Jordan Lloyd before a Trystan Lazarus effort killed the game off.

Lucas Edwards crosses for Penallta's sixth try

Photo courtesy of Penallta RFC

In a try-fest at Ystrad Fawr, new boys Penallta saw off Tredegar 45-23. Andre Soroko’s accuracy in front of the posts and a brace of tries for Keiran Mahoney put the Pitmen 21-9 up at the interval.

And further tries from Gareth Edwards, Dan Parry, Andrew Jenkins and Lucas Edwards after the break ensured a good day at the office for the reigning Swalec Plate champions.

Ystrad Rhondda were unable to build on their emphatic win over Tredegar when they lost 17-7 at home to Rhydyfelin. Gavin Close starred for the visitors with a brace of tries while Lewis Smith found the target with both conversions and a penalty.

The hosts could only manage an Andrew Hutchings touchdown with David Grattan adding the extras.

Ynysybwl picked up their first win of their campaign as they saw off Mountain Ash 45-27. The One East new boys were on fire with Lewis Ryan grabbing a hat-trick and while Jonathan Gough, Sean Ireland and Joel Raikes also going over. Nathan Ellis found the target with six conversions and a penalty.

The Old Firm didn’t end the day empty handed, however, as they bagged a try bonus point thanks to touchdowns from Dale Phillips, James Cowdry, Craig Evans and Kriss Sanders.

Elsewhere, Rumney were too strong for Heol y Cyw clinching a 21-0 triumph, while North Wales outfit RGC1404 remain unbeaten thanks to a hard fought 23-16 win at Merthyr. Mike Jones and Rhodri Carlton-Jones went over while Cameron Gardner and Nick White replied with tries for the Ironmen.

One West

YOU’VE got to be unlucky to score a hat-trick of tries and end up on the losing side but that fate befell Carmarthen Athletic’s Luke Marshall yesterday as they were beaten 53-34 by Tondu.

However, on the other side was another hat-trick hero in the shape of Paul Smithson and his tries, along with efforts from Matthew Vaughan, Matthew Davies, Mark Roberts, Dai Davey, Dai Griggs and Nick Hobson ensured a comfortable win for Tondu.

Like Tondu, Waunarlywdd and Llangennech have also won their first two games of the season, the latter coming from behind at half-time to beat Loughor 24-13 on home turf.

Flanker Chris Strickler scored their two tries while Ricky Williams slotted four penalties and a conversion. Meanwhile, Andrew Rees-Spowart bagged a brace for Waunarlwydd as they recorded a 32-17 bonus-point win over Kenfig Hill.

There was a tight game at Skewen where the hosts edged out Glynneath 13-10 in a hard-fought encounter. Anthony Buselli nailed two penalties and a conversion while Richard Davies got the try for Skewen to get them up and running this season.

Glynneath at least earned a losing bonus point thanks to a try for Stewart Leach but it could well have been them going home with the win had things gone their way late on.

Kidwelly were six-try victors at Ammanford as the visitors came away with an excellent 41-3 thrashing of their rivals to underline their promotion credentials.

All Ammanford could muster was a single Rhydian Morris penalty and they could only look on as Kidwelly put in a dominant display with the likes of Jamie Charlton, Aaron Warren and Dafydd Latham among the tries.

Cwmllynfell got a maiden victory for the campaign under their belts with a 32-13 success at Aberavon Quins. Peter Thomas got one of the visitors’ four tries and kicked 12 points while Chris Burgess replied with the Quins’ solitary try on a fruitless afternoon for them.

One North

EXPANSIVE rugby was the order of the day in One North with reigning champions Caernarfon among those to rack up some big scores yesterday.

They hit a half-century of points at Llangefni, scoring eight tries in all to seal an emphatic 52-20 win.

Dafydd Roberts and Rhys Ifans both crossed twice while Barry Jones and Iolo Evans were also among the point scorers. Kelvin Morris added 12 points with the boot.

Bala were 45-12 winners at home to Mold with seven different try scorers in the shape of Huw Roberts, Ilan Rowlands, Brian Roberts, Cled Edwards, Moi Dafydd, Arfon Rowlands and Chris Roberts.

The Jones and James boys were on target for Bro Ffestiniog in their 25-17 triumph over Dolgellau. Dylan and Daniel Jones scored a try each as did Carwyn James while Huw James converted two and kicked a couple of penalties.

Shay Owens and Chris Davies bagged a brace of tries each in Ruthin’s five-try 41-14 thrashing of Pwllheli and in the only low-scoring game of the day, Nant Conwy edged out Bethesda 8-3 after no-one had broken the deadlock in the first-half.

Read More

Caernarfon kick off defence with draw

Caernarfon kicked off the defence of their Division One North title with a hardfought 12-12 draw at Pwllheli.

All of Caernarfon’s points came from the boot of outside half Kelvin Morris, who fired home four penalties.Pwllheli touched down twice either side of half time through Huw Williams and Alwyn Trenholm, with John Pugh adding the extras to the former.

Newcomers Dolgellau started life in the higher division with a solid 24-16 win at Llangefni.

The visitors outscored their rivals by three tries to one through Iwan Williams, Thomas Roberts and Cedri Williams, with Roberts adding the extras to all three and a penalty.

Llangefni’s solitary try came through Mark Gray, while Carwyn Milburn struck the conversion and three penalties.

Nant Conwy, who finished runners up last season, failed to set the division alight with their opening encounter, losing out 11-8 at Bro Ffestiniog.

In a scrappy match, the referee dished out one red card and four yellows. Both teams' tries came before the break with Elvin Jones touching down for Bro, and Robin Davies getting on the scoresheet for Nant. Barry Roberts also added a penalty for the hosts as they took an 8-5 lead into the interval.

After the break, Evan Jones brought the match level with a well-struck penalty, but Huw James restored Bro’s lead and clinched the victory with one of his own.

Elsewhere, Ruthin helped themselves to six tries in their 46-14 victory over Mold, and Bala edged out Bethesda 16-12.

Read More

Mold live to fight another year in One North

In the One North promotion-relegation battle, it was Mold that live to fight another day as they defeated Two North runners up COBRA 24-18 at Wrexham.

Mold, who finished second from bottom of One North, had too much for their rivals, running in four touchdowns through Mark Evans, Roger Lloyd, Aled Ellis and Patty Hughes, while Gavin Williams slotted two conversions.

COBRA in response could only manage six penalties from Llew Williams and now must look forward to another year in Two North.

Mold’s Team captain Aled Ellis was quick to praise COBRA’s efforts and thanked both their players and supporters for making it a tough game for Mold, “This was truly the stuff these types of games should all be about, the game was played in an excellent spirit and all credit should go to COBRA.” Ellis also wanted to thank his own players for the “supreme effort they all put in” which should make “each and every player proud of what they achieved today”.

Head coach Les Byrne was equally praising of his young side: “Mold are still firmly where they deserve to be, the lads completely out played COBRA for long periods of the game and showed the intensity levels of the game that we are now capable of playing. We are very much looking forward to next season with our ethos now having become firmly embedded in our play.”

Read More

Late drama gives Bro win over battling Mold

BRO Ffestiniog cemented third place in Division One North as they came from behind with a try three minutes from time to see off Mold 14-12.

No 8 Dewi James struck late on to draw the scores level and give Huw James the easiest of conversions from in front of the posts to snatch the win.

The sides couldn’t be separated in the first-half and they went into the interval without a single point behind scored.

However, the hosts seized the initiative when winger Lee Aspden scampered over and James converted. But Mold were back in it when the impressive Ollie Hughes, making his first-team debut, touched down and Luke Jones added the extras.

With the game having entered the last 10 minutes both sides knew it was there for the taking and it looked like the visitors had won when Jones launched an attack with a chip and chase and Richard Hopkins out-sprinted the Bro defence to score.

Jones couldn’t make the conversion from wide out but, with Mold seemingly cruising to the final whistle with victory in sight, disaster struck and a missed tackle opened the smallest of gaps for No 8 James to canter in under the sticks.

“I think the continued learning for us was the intensity we brought from the off and what pressure we could put the opposition under as a consequence – that’s the real thing that we’ll take out of today’s match and where we need to be,” said Mold head coach Les Byrne.

In the only other game in One North on Saturday, Bethesda earned their 12^th win of the season with a 25-8 triumph over Llangefni.

Steven Roberts (2) and Graham Davies scored Bethesda’s tries with Gareth Wyn Roberts converting two and kicking two penalties. Llangefni’s only try came through centre Tomos Williams.

Read More

Cofis captain hoping success breeds success

CAERNARFON skipper Rhys Evans hopes back-to-back Division One North titles can breed success in the next generation of players coming through the club’s ranks.

The Cofis sealed the One North crown back in March, making it their third league title in five seasons, and were presented with their trophy following last Saturday’s North Wales Senior Cup semi-final defeat at home to local rivals Bro Ffestiniog.

Caernarfon were the first team in the Swalec National League to get their hands on silverware this season after a victory over Bala as rivals Nant Conwy slipped to a surprise loss at Ruthin.

And Evans is hopeful the community club’s success can inspire more young talent to emerge from the juniors and into the senior set-up.

“We are a young club and want to be a part of our community and winning titles really helps that,” said the back-row.

“We have an under-7s section, which has more than 100 kids, and hopefully winning things will mean more kids in the community will want to play the game and join the club after what we have achieved.”

Evans admitted that receiving the league trophy was a big consolation after losing in their North Wales Cup semi-final and missing out on the chance of a double.

The Cofis crashed to an 18-16 home defeat to Bro, losing in the same stage of the North Wales Cup for the second successive year to the same team.

“It’s disappointing to be knocked out of the cup, but Bro are a strong team and finished third in the league,” added Evans. “This doesn’t take away from what we have achieved this season and we are champions for a second year running.

“Ironically, I don’t think we have played as well this season as we did last season. We do have a strong squad and that helps and there is a real bond between all the players. We all go out together and train hard and push each other through the season.

“We have a fitness coach Osian Williams who killed us in pre-season and that has made a real difference to us but also brings the players closer together because you don’t want to waste that work you have put in during the season.”

Evans also paid tribute to a number of senior players, singling out scrum-half Tristan Gwilym in the process.

“Tristan, who is one of our senior players, has been really important for us and he has scored key tries in key games when we have needed it,” said Evans.

“We’ve all bought into the new ideas they have brought in and utilised all we have learnt during the season. We always try to play open attacking running rugby and, I think, that is why the players enjoy being at the club so much.”

Caernarfon won their title by five clear points in the end and lost only three times during the season. They lost only once the previous season and won the title by 20 clear points, scoring 91 tries. They managed 72 this season, but conceded three fewer.

Arch-rivals Nant Conwy, who are themselves celebrating reaching the final of the Swalec Plate and are still in the semi-finals of the North Wales Cup, were runners-up this year in the league as well as last season.

Nant lifted the title in 2010 by a single point from Caernarfon, while in 2009 – in the then named Division Four North – Caernarfon finished level on points with Nant Conwy and Ruthin with 89, yet finished third. Caernafon also lifted the title in 2008.

It means that over the past five seasons the Morfa club has played 98 league fixtures, remarkably winning 85, drawing one and losing just 12.

The club is desperate to acknowledge the work of head coach Ieuan Jones, who has decided to step down, while forward Paul Williams has also elected to retire.

Read More

Mold limp towards end of season

The journey for Mold to the end of the season and to Pwllheli seemed even longer this week with only 16 fully fit and available players managing to travel.

“It's been a disastrous week”, said Mold Head coach Les Byrne. “What started out a very promising week ended up a nightmare, even on the Saturday morning with just 16 players left. But that’s the hand we were dealt so all credit to those players that made the journey and came away with just a 26-13 defeat”.

In the post match player debrief, Byrne congratulated his players for “putting their bodies on the line and giving total commitment for the whole hard grafted 80 minutes. The club couldn’t have asked for more”.

In reality, Mold played the more aggressive rugby and had both possession and territory for 65% of the game, even after going down to 14 men with still 35 minutes to go. The difference in the score line was Mold’s old foe, inches and precision.

They were inches from causing an upset with 2 minutes to go at 13-19 and the precision of the pass that gifted Pwllheli their final converted try; the unfortunate story of Mold’s season. 

The game hadn’t started well when, at the opposite end of the pitch, they allowed Pwllheli to run through half of their players for Robert Williams to score on the 2 minute mark. Mold were lucky to prevent the same thing from happening again a few minutes later but finally shock off the long journey and began to play some nice rugby.

Reduced to playing uncontested scrums, Mold more then held their own in the other parts of the contest and some enterprising runs by scrum half Jamie Winning gave Mold the spur they needed. For much of the first half, Mold remained in Pwllheli's half  through hard work from the forwards at the breakdown, as well as some solid defence by returning Ollie Jenner and Cai Edwards. 

The pressure from Mold finally paid off when Dave James squeezed in close to the posts for a deserved try for Mold, with Luke Jones duly converting. Mold continued to push and came close to extending their scoring with two penalties in kickable range, both efforts drifting wide however.

Mark Jones and Gareth Millington paired to spoil opposition possession and take the ball up the middle of the park, with Alex Green powering through the opposition's defence, falling just short of the Pwllheli line.

Mold were then reduced to 14 men with a sin binning but instead of dropping their intensity, Mold dug deep and saw a rise in tempo just before the half time whistle. Ollie Jenner linked well with brother Tom to set up a resurgent platform at the breakdown before the touchline won out, just before half time with honours even at 7-7.

Pwllheli came out quicker off the blocks after the break with Alex Green producing the tackle of the match to initially deny Pwllheli their next score, before Pwllheli's extra man advantage saw Richard Highes go over for an unconverted try, before Robin Highes-Jones extended their lead with a touchdown shortly after.

Mold were then permanently reduced to 14 men when Dan Bowden went off injured, though Luke Jones did narrow Pwllheli's lead by slotting a penalty. Mold pushed on through Sam Wilding, Tom Williams and Sean Mackie, but overall, rushed decision making with two free kicks, took away the opportunity for them to exploit the uncontested scrums close to the opposition 22.

With Mold camping close to the opposition 22 for much of the last 15 minutes, Ollie Jenner then put Mold in range with a drop goal to move the board onto 19-13. Mold continued to surge against some determined Pwllheli defence, with Luke Jones being stopped only inches form the line.

The last few minutes were frantic for both teams with the try line in sight for Mold, only for the final pass to fall into a Pwllheli player John Hughes’ hands and charge to the other end of the pitch to score a dramatic intercept try as the final act of the game.

Stand-in captain for the day, Aaron Jones, also echoed Byrne's post match comments, “We couldn’t have asked for more effort or commitment from the players. It's important for us to keep improving and that's exactly what we did today."

Byrne was particularly praising of his young captain for taking on the role and leading from the front, “Aaron slogged and slogged today showing a very high work rate and clarity of thought – the team just needed to listen to him more and not knee jerk at crucial times."

Ending on a more upbeat note, Byrne added, "We played pretty well for long periods of the game today. There is still a bit to work on but the intensity was there and there are a lot of good signs that what we worked on during the last few weeks came through, which is commendable considering only 3 of the forwards have been regulars and with everyone dead on their feet at the end having given their all".

"We probably played about six out of ten in our last match but today it was nearer eight so, it's getting better and if we can get another improvement next week that will be very satisfying" added Byrne. “Next week will be crunch at home to Llandudno in our rearranged fixture”.

Read More