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Newbridge
23 Ystrad Rhondda 12
It
was testament to the improvement shown by Ystrad since their
43-19 defeat v Newbridge at Gelligaled Park earlier in the
season that Newbridge coach Byron Hayward applauded the
efforts of the Rhondda outfit.
Indeed Ystrad had the better of the early exchanges, despite
resting Captain Chris Hanly, number eight come hooker Thomas
Hetherington again showing his worth with noteable gains
off the back of the scrum, good support by fellow back rower
& match Captain Chris Bevan forced the home team into
giving away a penalty for not rolling away. Outside half
Wayne Jervis narrowly missed with his first attempt at goal.
Newbridge outside half Richard Powell got the scoreboard
ticking with a well struck penalty. As was the case against
Bargoed Ystrad were hungrier for possession in the loose
where flankers Bevan, Masin Al Azzawi & second row Nathan
Hughes excelled.
Jervis registered his first points courtesy of a penalty
& added a long range effort when a big tackle in midfield
by hooker Carl Facey saw Newbridge holding at the resulting
ruck.
Poor tap-down ball at a Newbridge lineout allowed second
row Hughes to gain possession & a good offload to Masin
resulted in the speedy flanker powering into space where
only a last gasp tackle by the Newbridge right wing prevented
a certain try. With the home defenders again preventing
quick ball release referee Mike Bethell saw fit to award
a penalty which Jervis duly converted & also gave the
offender a yellow card.
With half hour played, 9-3 to the visitors & Newbridge
down to 14 men all looked rosy for Ystrad, however the yellow
card seemed to spark Newbridge into life & the next
ten minutes before half time saw them dominate & were
rewarded with two tries, a conversion & penalty to arrive
at the break 18-9 in front.
The second half deteriorated into a ten man game where neither
side managed the tackle area effectively, a result of which
meant subs John Watkins & Dean Perry received yellow
cards as did wing Dean Jones for a dangerous tackle.
Newbridge furthered their lead with a pushover try though
Ystrad can take heart from the fact they had the better
of the last quarter as Newbridge went in search of a bonus
point. Another Jervis penalty finished the scoring.
Prominent for Ystrad was the back row trio of Bevan, Hetherington
& Masin plus second rows Nathan Hughes & Dai Owen
who grafted throughout the eighty minutes.
Ystrad’s next game
Friday (13th) v Penallta at Gelligaled Park kick off 7.15
www.ystradrhonddarfc.co.uk
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