Wanderers take a caning from students
Cardiff Met 56
Wanderers 7
“Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and concede that the opposition played so much better than you. I thought the way the students handled the conditions, their decision making and all round play was excellent” commented coach Daren Gibbon.
“The squad must now show some character, dust themselves off and go again” added Manager Mark Gould “We have a massive game away at Bargoed next week so it won’t get any easier”
On a very grey drizzly day the die was set from the off as the home side kicked off and the ball was spilled giving them good field position. They exploited the position and finding the Wanderers defence a lot more porous than it had been last week Cardiff Met soon opened their account with a converted try. Some early cheer for the visitors at scrums was soon neutralised by the slick home side back who defied the conditions to constantly put the Wanderers under pressure. The scoring continued at a steady pace as Cardiff Met used the conditions to their advantage and played astute tactical rugby which the visitors just could not match. A rare visit to the home side 22 did give the Wanderers an opportunity, but the Met defence was as resolute as their attack and when a chance arose they were willing to attack from their own line. Each time the home side ventured into the visitors 22 a try seemed inevitable and it was no surprise that they went into half time with a healthy 35-0 lead having scored 5 converted tries in the first 40 minutes.
The second half saw a brief revival in the Wanderers fortunes as they at last went though some phases with the front five carrying well. Unfortunately, the brief upturn in the action was short lived and normal service was resumed with the home side running in more converted tries. Both sides rang the changes but the Wanderers could not alter the course of the events. The home side scored their 6th and 7th tries before at last the visitors had something to cheer about. A Met attack out wide left saw Jamie Murray intercept a pass and race 60 metres to score. Cavan Slade converted. This was to be the only moment for the Wanderers and the home side rounded off a superb day with their 8th converted try to give them a resounding 56-7 victory.
Wanderers scorers
Try: Jamie Murray
Con: Cavan Slade
Management MOM: Anthony Cox
Massiv MOM: Jack James (hooker)
Pics on Flickr: https://flic.kr/ps/c7gzd