Wanderers struggle in the sunshine
Cambrian Welfare 31
Wanderers 27
“A glorious day, the sun was shining, the view was lovely and we all topped up our summer tans. Enough about the positives what about the game!” Anonymous quote from all the Wanderers faithful!
“The players are clearly disappointed with the performance. Too many errors allowed a spirited opposition possession, territory and their team spirit was crucial” commented head coach Paul Matthews.
As the nursery rhyme goes “The grand Old duke of Ely (Mark Gould) marched his twenty men up the hill and marched them down again” but they forgot to play the game in between!!!
The visitors began brightly, keeping the ball in hand they moved the ball back and forth with forwards and backs involved but there were signs early on that the execution and accuracy was not as it should be. The home side absorbed the pressure and with a predominately kicking game strategy they got into the game. One of their first forays into the Wanderers 22 resulted in the first score as they peeled away from a driving lineout crashed over to score the first try of the game 7-0. The home side approach was clearly unsettling the visitors whose lineout was malfunctioning and all-round play was struggling for continuity. There were clear glimpses of the ability available, but it was often interspersed with mistakes. Evan Gregg did land a penalty to make it 7-3 but when Cambrian kicked off we were caught knapping and they went straight back on the attack. The second try followed and their tails were up at 14-3. The Wanderers were forced into some early changes and the quality of the Wanderers backs appeared (they’d only just made it up the hill!). From their own 22 Ceri Morris set the backs away. Ed Thomas made good ground and after Gruff Tough had gone down the blindside Aron Arthur, who was a real threat all afternoon, was up in support and he raced away to score the visitors 1st try 14-8. As the half drew to a close the Wanderers were handed another chance when a neat grubber from Tom Morrissey created a chance only to see the ball bobble from Thomas’s grasp with a certain try beckoning. The half ended with the visitors on the attack again but once again poor hands let them down and the sides went into the break at 14-8.
The half began with the Wanderers back on the attack. A poor goal line drop out from the home side gave the visitors field position and after several drives by the pack Morris forced his way over 14-13. The Wanderers faithful hoped that would be the settling score but optimism was soon dashed as poor defensive tackling allowed a clear line break which set up the third Cambrian try of the day. There was clear frustration in the Wanderers ranks and that led to more and more mistakes and several penalties being given away. The home side accepted the invitation gladly and landed three penalties at regular intervals to make the game safe at 28-13. The visitors started to throw caution to the wind and as the time began to run out they mounted a period of pressure. After several forward drives Luc Cummins was on hand to take a pass from Arthur and he crashed over to make it 28-20 after the Gregg conversion. The Wanderers went in search of the losing bonus points and after a penalty gave them field position they won a lineout and Huw Dowden forced his way over. Gregg landed the conversion and with time for one last play the Wanderers were remarkably back in it at 28-27. The referee said there was time for the kick off but it probably summed up the Wanderers day when nobody claimed the ball, Cambrian stole the ball and they landed a drop goal for a deserved victory. Final score 31-27
Wanderers scorers:
Tries: Ceri Morris, Aron Arthur, Luc Cummins, Huw Dowden
Cons: Evan Gregg (2)
Pens: Evan Gregg
Massiv Man of the match: Aron Arthur
Management Man of the match: Aron Arthur
Pics: https://flic.kr/ps/c7gzd