Wanderers get league campaign up and running

Wanderers 48
Talywain 10

“Frustrating at times with so many errors” Commented forwards coach Huw Dowden “It improved in the second half and the result was some lovely tries”.

“48 points but still plenty of things to work on” added Manager Mark Gould

On A blustery afternoon with a surprisingly strong wind the Wanderers came through a tough test to record their first ever win over Talywain (only played them 3 times!). The early exchanges were tight as both sides probed and tested each other’s defence. A penalty conceded by the home side on their 10-metre line broke the deadlock and Talywain opened the scoring with a well taken penalty 0-3. The Wanderers responded well chasing the kick off well they started to mount pressure on the visitors. Moving the ball through the hands from a counter-attack Ned Bennett went close but the Talywain defence remained strong. When awarded a penalty withing easy kicking distance the home side elected on a new penalty move! Things didn’t go according to the script and a spilled ball resulted in the visitors clearing their lines. The game ebbed and flowed with the Wanderers having plenty of territory but nothing to show for their efforts. Showing a willingness to play wide and from deep on occasions both Ed Thomas and Sam Hayman posed threats for the visitors but still no scores appeared. Eventually something had to provided dividend. Once again making ground on the left Thomas went close but when he was closed off near the line, he threw a pass inside to Steff Davies who was tracking the play and he cantered over for the Wanderers first try. Ceri Morris converted 7-3. The score settled the Wanderers faithful, but Talywain were not going away. Going through the phases themselves they tested the home side defence only to be undone by forward passes or knock ons. Back came the home side. Dylan Lawley carried well and prop Evan Price put second row Nathan Williams through. With a real head of steam up Williams charged through the defence and smashed his way over from 22 metres (no doubt to be 50-60m after several sherbets later!). Morris converted 14-3. The half entered its final minutes and just before the break the visitors struck back. Moving into midfield they found space and with some good support they broke away to score under the posts. The conversion was good and the sides went into half time with the Wanderers just ahead 14-10.

The second half started with the visitors on the attack and both sides started to send for fresh legs. An early penalty from Morris extended the lead to 17-10 and the Wanderers set piece began to show some signs of dominance. A scrum drive resulted in a penalty and when the lineout drive also went forward at a rate of knots Cai Ifans took advantage and dived over for the home sides third try. Morris converted 24-10.  A second penalty from Morris then extended the lead as the home side started to look more comfortable 27-10. Both forwards and backs handled well and the strong wind made it difficult for Talywain to clear their lines. The bonus point try followed when after a series of close quarter drives appeared to see Finn Davies go over, but the referee was unsighted and as play continued the Wanderers recycled the ball wide where Ed Thomas was able to stroll over for the score. Morris converted again 34-10. The visitors were then dealt a body blow as they went on the attack. A loose pass was intercepted by Morris who, with the opposition tiring, raced away to score. He converted his own try and the result was no longer in doubt at 41-10. Talywain didn’t give up though and they battled to the end. A high tackle when they were on the attack resulted in sub Archie Lloyd seeing yellow but they were unable to decrease the deficit. The final score came from a penalty try given when a Wanderers kick through saw Bleddyn Morgan hauled down 2 metres from the ball he was chasing and then a torrential downpour arrived as the final whistle ended the game. Final score Wanderers 48 Talywain 10

Wanderer’s scorers

Tries: Steff Davies, Nathan Williams, Cai Ifans, Ed Thomas, Ceri Morris, Penalty try
Cons: Ceri Morris (5)
Pens: Ceri Morris (2)

Massiv MOM: Nathan Williams
Management MOM: Anthony Cox

Match Piucs: https://flic.kr/ps/c7gzd