Pack Power breaks down resilient Aberdare

Wanderers 49
Aberdare 16

“Great performance from the pack. Good control second half playing to our strengths. I believe we’ve a lot more in the tank to come as well” commented head coach Paul Matthews.

“Tough game against a dogged opposition. Great contributions from the scrum and driving maul. Good to see the bench also contributing and not just making up the numbers” added Forwards coach Huw Dowden.

“Dwi’n falch iawn wnaeth y blaenwyr cymryd fy sylwadau doeth yn y raglen o ddifrif” added Steff Davies.

A grey but bright day welcomed the sides for the second meeting of these teams in 3 weeks with both sides showing half a dozen changes to the first encounter. The Wanderers were straight out of the blocks with a move of several phases, taking play deep and testing the Aberdare defence. The visitors dug deep but a penalty offence allowed Bleddyn Morgan to open the scoring for the home side with a penalty 3-0. The first scrum of the day then set the tone for the afternoon with the Wanderers pack clearly on top. The resulting penalty gave Morgan another shot but this one hit the post and the Snakes cleared. The subsequent lineout set up play for the Wanderers a drive resulted in another penalty and this one was kicked to the 5-metre line for another chance. The lineout drive followed and Sam Reed carried over for the first try of the day. Morgan converted 10-0. Aberdare responded well. Pressurising the kick off they regained possession and when the home side were caught offside they had a penalty of their own. Taking it quickly they caught the defence napping and after some slick hands they crossed for their first try 10-5. Back came the Wanderers. A counter ruck by Nathan Williams turned over possession and AJ Walji and then Steff Davies took play into the opposition half. The Snakes defence scrambled back but again infringed and Morgan extended the lead with his second penalty 13-5. Aberdare clearly showed that they were more than capable of competing and when the Wanderers took a quick lineout in their own half they intercepted a pass and raced away to reduce the arrears with their second unconverted try 13-10. As the score took place there was heated discussion in midfield when several players debating Steff’s grammar in his programme piece thought that some of Steff’s mutations were wrong. Fortunately the linguistic scholar Mr Cox was on hand to defuse everything. Buoyed by the score Abedare were soon on the attack again and following a cross kick it took good defence from Ed Thomas and Captain Walji to prevent another score. The Wanderers then regained possession and after another attack was thwarted Morgan stepped up to once again land a penalty making it 16-10. Back came the visitors and they landed a penalty themselves to keep then firmly in the game at 16-13. Some aerial tennis followed and Thomas, Walji and Morgan combined in a counter attack to take play deep once again. With the scrum now firmly on top Aberdare were under pressure and despite their resilience the tide was certainly going the Wanderers way. The home side drove with the forwards and when awarded a penalty 5 metres out the predictable scrum followed. The Wanderers 8 piled on the pressure and Nathan Williams was on hand to control the ball at the back of the scrum and force his way over for the score. Morgan converted 23-13. With the half in its final minutes Aberdare were not going away and another penalty kept them in the hunt and within a score as the sides went into the halftime break at 23-16.
On the back of the dominant scrum the Wanderers started to make life difficult for the visitors. The Snakes defended valiantly and with some fresh legs from the bench they kept the home side at bay. The game was camped deep in Aberdare territory and with such a dominant scrum the visitors were up against it. A yellow card made their life even more tricky and from another penalty the home side scrum scored a second pushover with Williams once again the man to touchdown. Gruff Ab Ieuan, on as a sub, took over the kicking duties and he landed the extras 30-16. The Wanderers also started to send on fresh legs as the game began to open up. The Aberdare resistance was finally broken when scrum half Steff Davies broke clear through the defence and he raced away 35 metres to score the 4th try. Ab Ieuan converted 37-16. The Wanderers now had their tails up and after the backs had taken play right to the opposition line it was Williams again who was on hand to take a scoring pass and to crash over for his third try of the afternoon. Ab Ieuan converted again 44-16. The game entered its final quarter and even though the score suggested the game was over the visitors were not going to roll over. A period of pressure from the Snakes followed and a series of penalties gave them great field possession. Plenty of close quarter drives followed and when the home side were penalised again Ed Thomas saw yellow. Electing for tap penalties the visitors tried their best to break the Wanderers down but the home side defence was in no mood to give up another score and they finally caused a turnover when the ball was held up over the line. The final action of the day once again involved the home side dominant forwards. A penalty gave them field position and after another drive Williams popped up again to crash over for his fourth try of the game. Final score 49-16.

Wanderer’s scorers

Tries: Nathan Williams (4), Sam Reed, Steff Davies
Cons: Bleddyn Morgan (2), Gruff Ab Ieuan (3)
Pens: Bleddyn Morgan (3)

Massiv MOM: Jared Williams Special Mention: Nathan Williams
Management MOM: Steff Davies Special Mention Nathan Williams

Match Pics: https://flic.kr/ps/c7gzd