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Bargoed 8 Ystrad Rhondda 41
Bargoed
Park was the venue for what was arguably Ystrad’s
best result under the reign of current coaches Alan Roberts
& Mike Griffiths & also showed a enthusiastic band
of travelling fans how far the squad have progressed since
Bargoed’s convincing win at Gelligaled Park in the
first game of the season.
There is a positive feeling in the Ystrad camp & with
new signings Dale Griffiths, centre, & Dean Phillips,
flanker, making their debut the competition for places is
very healthy.
Bargoed looked the stronger outfit in the early exchanges
& looked to use their quick midfield at every opportunity,
only a superb defensive effort from Ystrad in the first
quarter, where the back row of Chris Bevan, Neil Walker
& Hywel Stoddart outshone their opponents, kept the
home team at bay. From one Bargoed attack pressure in midfield
by centres Griffiths & Dylan Jones forced a knock on
which saw outside half Wayne Jervis gather & punt the
ball upfield, with second row Nathan Hughes homing in on
the ball retriever the referee had no option but to give
a penalty for not releasing. Jervis slotted over the penalty
for a 0-3 lead.
Ystrad were baffled by some of the penalty decisions in
the first half, non more so when Hughes received a yellow
card for not rolling away when the home scrum half had the
ball in his hands at the back of a ruck.
Bargoed’s pressure told on half hour & with a
man advantage they created an overlap for an unconverted
try which was quickly followed by a penalty.
With the home team looking to further their lead two certain
try saving tackles by full back Geraint Shalton saved the
day & gave his teamates a lift as when Ystrad cleared
their lines & visited the Bargoed twentytwo for only
the third time in the half a genius call from Captain Chris
Hanly to opt for a scrum five from a penalty when three
points were on offer. From the scrum number eight Stoddard
broke the gain line & alert flanker Chris Bevan dived
over from the next ruck. Jervis converted to make the interval
score 8-10 to the Yst.
Ystrad turned around with a wind advantage & quickly
added a second try, Stoddart again breaking from the base
before securing ruck ball from which lively scrum half Mark
Jones used the narrow side & linked up with Shalton,
wing Tom Hocking got in on the action before offloading
to Jones again & a well timed pass from Jones to second
row Hughes saw last season’s Player of the year race
under the posts for Jervis to convert.
Prop Paul Dunning showed his vast experience with a powerful
display in the tight before having to leave the field with
a recurring shoulder problem, his place taken by Neil Jones.
Another big tackle in midfield, this time by Captain Hanly,
forced a mistake by Bargoed & with winger Dean Jones
gathering the loose ball he raced for the corner only for
him to be high tackled as he crossed the line which had
the referee making his way under the posts to award a penalty
try.
Jervis had a commanding performance & added another
penalty when Ystrad were again first to the breakdown &
Bargoed penalised for holding on before a much practiced
training ground move threatened to pay dividends, good lineout
ball from replacement flanker Masin Al Azzawi to Hughes
then linking with scrum half Jones who sent Griffiths into
midfield, a fine offload in the tackle generated quick ball
for Jervis to release Dylan Jones, a good wide pass to Shalton
with the versatile Hocking in support who but for a great
cover tackle would have scored in the corner.
Stoddart put in a solid performance & set the wheels
in motion for Ystrad’s next try when he tidied up
at the back of an attacking scrum to set up clean ruck ball
for half backs Jones & Jervis before the latter passed
to Griffiths, the former Tonyrefail centre coming in on
a fine angle to cut through the Bargoed cover & an expertly
weighted pass from Griffiths sent wing Dean Jones under
the posts. Jervis again converted.
Shalton rounded a good individual display with Ystrad’s
fifth try, again courtesy of quick ruck ball, set up by
Stoddart & aided by replacement flanker Dean Phillips
for Jones to release his backs. A dummy scissors between
Jervis & Griffiths opened a gap for Shalton to show
his pace & race clear. Jervis converted to make it five
conversions out of five & an individual points tally
of sixteen.
Saturday’s performance against a team who have narrowly
lost only three league games through the season will continue
to raise confidence of a relatively young squad, the whole
team performed admirably with the pack again showing a good
level of fitness & behind the pack half backs Jones
& Jervis plus centre Griffiths & full back Shalton
playing particularly well.
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here to view match pics
www.ystradrhonddarfc.co.uk
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