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Caerphilly
22 Ystrad Rhondda 12
Ystrad
were well aware they would have to pull out all the stops
as they travelled to Virginia Park in search of their first
win on the road against a team ranked third in the Division.
The strong wind would play a crucial part & it aided
the visiting outside half Dylan Jones as he stepped up to
slot over a tenth minute penalty.
With the Ystrad forwards exerting pressure on their opponents
especially in the lineout where flanker Masin al Azzawi
constantly menaced the home team & allowed half backs
Mark Jones & Dylan Jones to control possession with
an accurate kicking game, the latter narrowly missing with
a second long range penalty kick.
The game saw the return to action after a long layoff of
prop Paul Dunning, his experience in the scrum gave confidence
to those around him & Ystrad were able to set up a good
field position when wing Dean Jones delivered a clever kick
to the corner from which Masin pinched Caerphilly’s
lineout ball, good work on the floor by scrum half Jones
enabled his forwards to set up a drive for the line, referee
Gary Davies spotted an infringement by the home prop which
gave Dylan Jones the chance to further his team’s
lead to 6 points.
As half time approached Caerphilly had a period of possession
& were rewarded when they created five phases of play
which resulted in an overlap try for right wing Paul Adams
to make the interval score 5-6.
A highlight of recent games has been the versatility of
Tom Hocking, the flanker playing out of position in the
centre & his angles of running early in the second half
gave his forwards a good target, Caerphilly penalised at
the ruck from one Hocking burst up-field & Dylan Jones
delivered with a well struck shot at goal.
Young outside half Dan Ellis reduced the arrears to a point
on 55 minutes when he slotted over a penalty.
Coaches Alan Roberts & Mike Griffiths introduced prop
Neil Jones for Dunning, flanker Chris Bevan for Masin &
centre Wayne Jervis for Mark Morris, Morris putting another
solid performance in midfield, but the visitors were dealt
a cruel blow when their quality full back Geraint Shalton
had to leave the field with an ankle injury, a reshuffle
in the backline saw wing Matthew Hutchings (on dual from
Pontypridd) switch to full back, flanker Neil Walker drop
back to wing & sub Dai Owen slotting into the back row.
Similar to the reverse fixture at the beginning of the season
where Ystrad entered the final quarter with a slender lead
the home team went in front for the first time on 70 minutes
when they were awarded a penalty try & in injury time
as Ystrad threw caution to the wind Caerphilly wing Steffan
Sankala was rewarded for his forwards turning over an Ystrad
ruck as he burst up a vacant blindside to cross for a converted
try to give his team a slightly flattering 22-12 win.
This Saturday Ystrad will be fired up for their re-arranged
Merthyr game after the initial fixture was abandoned when
the visitors were 15-10 in front with 12 minutes left. Bus
leaves the club at 12.15
www.ystradrhonddarfc.co.uk
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