Wanderers power to win on the road
Bridgend Athletic 17
Wanderers 43
“A good result on the road” commented forwards coach Huw Dowden. “A solid set piece laid the foundation for the win but a few too many errors for us to be 100 % happy”.
“Great to see the new faces settling in well and the team spirit growing week on week” added Mark Gould “Its giving us great strength in depth”.
On a bright sunny afternoon in Bridgend the early exchanges were cagey with both sides going to the air in attack as the teams sized each other up. There was little to show in the way of an advantage for either side in the first 10 minutes but the deadlock was broken when, after an offside decision against the home team, Jake Lloyd was able to slot over a penalty to get the scoreboard moving 0-3. The Athletic settled into their play and levelled things up after an offside decision against the Wanderers gave them a penalty, duly converted 3-3. Some more aerial tennis followed and when another up and under from the home side was gathered by Ed Thomas the visitors struck. Thomas countered and with the back row in support down the left wing Ashley Bissett got clear. He fed the ball inside to Finn Davies who cantered in for the first try of the game. Lloyd converted 3-10. The score galvanised the Athletic and showing that their backs certainly were more than capable they went on the attack. A penalty gave them a chance to set up a 5-metre lineout and from the catch and drive the Wanderers were deemed to have pulled the maul down and the referee awarded a penalty try to the home side along with a yellow card for Davies 10-10. Buoyed by the score and with their confidence growing the Athletic were soon on the charge again. Good handling in midfield set them away and after good recycling they crossed under the posts to put them ahead 17-10. The visitors turned to their pack to re-establish control and with the scrum becoming more and more dominant the tide began to turn. From a scrum penalty the Wanderers set up good field position and the forwards pummelled away at the Bridgend line. The home side dug deep and even when the ball went wide they were up to the task keeping the visitors out. Another penalty saw the home side reduced to 14 with a yellow and from the resulting scrum Ashley Bissett powered over for the Wanderers second try. Lloyd converted again levelling it up at 17-17. The half started to draw to a close and with the visitors restored to 15 in injury time they made the extra man count. More impressive scrums allowed play to be taken deep and when the backs were released Ned Bennett came off his wing, shrugging off several defenders and he crossed for the third try of the half sending the sides into the break at 17-22.
The second half began brightly for the Wanderers. A carry by Shaun O’Rourke and then Zak Fifield took play deep into the home side half only thwarted by good covering defence. Both sides went back to the air and as in the 1st half an Ed Thomas collection and counter proved crucial. Taking play deep he fed Bennett and when the ball went back inside a good jackal deep in the Athletic 22 gave the Wanderers a penalty in prime spot. Electing for the scrum the power came on again and Aled Reed picked up and had a dart. He was pulled down short, but Jack Griffiths picked up and forced his way over for the bonus point try. Lloyd converted 17-29. The Wanderers faithful started to relax a little and with Bridgend starved of any real good possession control was firmly in the visitor’s hands. The game entered its final quarter with both sides sending for fresh legs. The scrum dominance continued and with more space available the Wanderers backs started to relish their challenge. A move of several phases took play deep into the Athletic 22 and when Rees flashed back blind Reagan Moore broke through. He fed Bennett who crossed for his second try. Lloyd converted again 17-36. With the game now gone for the home side they started to throw caution to the wind and they showed that with a little more ball they could certainly be dangerous. Back and forth the game went with the pace certainly not diminished from both sides. The Athletic took play deep and a penalty set them up for another attack. The Wanderers dug deep and with time running out they struck from their own 22. A move of several phases both left And right involving carries by forwards and backs. Took the ball into the home side half and with another recycle the ball went wide again. A lovely dummy by Bissett in the attack allowed him to put Thomas away and he duly crossed for the 6th try Lloyd added his 5th conversion 17-43. The Athletic had one last flurry to end the game but they could not add to the total and the Wanderers ran out 17-43 winners.
Wanderers Scorers:
Tries: Finn Davies, Ashley Bissett, Ed Thomas, Ned Bennett (2), Jack Griffiths
Cons: Jake Lloyd (5)
Pens: Jake Lloyd
Massiv MOM: Sam Reed
Management MOM: Sam Reed
Match Pics: https://flic.kr/ps/c7gzd