Wanderers ease through in Mallett Cup
WANDERERS 67
LLANISHEN 21
“Great work out for the squad and it just showed that we are developing some real depth” commented Manager Mark Gould.
On a bitterly cold night at the Memorial Ground both sides served up a feast of running rugby to entertain the crowd that witnessed 14 tries. The early exchanges were all in favour of the home side as their slick backs showed too much pace for the battling Llanishen side. New club signing Amir Jiwa Walji stood out, showing why he has been a premiership player in recent seasons helping himself to 3 first half tries. The Wanderers scored reasonably at will in the first 20 all orchestrated by Captain Ceri Morris ably assisted by the Old stager Lee Highgate who also crossed the whitewash something he last did in 1999. The scoreboard ticked along nicely which allowed the home side coaches plenty of scope to get the bench on early giving plenty of game time to squad members. That is not to say that Llanishen were overrun. They were competitive throughout and as the game went on they improved more and more.
The evening got colder and colder in the second half and that seemed to bring the best out of the visitors who arguably had the better of the half. With so many changes to the Wanderers a little white line fever may have taken hold although the handling became very difficult as the temperature continued to drop. Lee Highgate was removed from the play on 65 minutes as fear for his old bones took hold. He went straight off for a bath in WD40. Llanishen backed up a first half converted try with two more in the second half as the home side could only add two of their own and testament to their battling qualities they scored with the last play of the game with a move from deep in their own half. Final score 67-21, a decent run out for the Wanderers squid and it’s on the St josephs in the next round.
Wanderers Scorers:
Tries: Amir Jiwa Walji (3), Chadd Davies (2) Lee Highgate, Ceri Morris, Harry Paul, Ashley Bissett, George Cottrell, Harry Carson
Con: Ceri Morris (3), Iwan Palfrey (3)
Massiv MOM: Lee Highgate
Management MOM: Lee Highgate
Pics: https://flic.kr/ps/c7gzd