Fixture

Well, between those having weekends away and those suffering with the lurgy, dropping out at various intervals between Thursday evening and 11.30am this morning, it was an interesting build-up to today’s game! New look teams were taking the pitch simultaneously in Abergavenny for our U14s and at home against a big Merthyr U15 team. Massive credit goes to all those braving it despite not feeling great, there was a lot of coughing and spluttering going on!

Steady rain overnight and throughout the morning meant very slippery & sticky conditions. We agreed to focus on ball retention and only making those sure fire passes, low risk was the name of the game. Harry Taylor was captain for the day and decided to play up the slope in the first half. From the kick-off Merthyr got on the front foot with one of their big ball carriers charging upfield, Thomas clattered into him to set the tone for the game. Both sides had big ball carriers with a number of big collisions early on. Thomas had to come off with a jarred shoulder very early which meant a backline reshuffle: James Brasher coming on at full back, allowing Ieuan Rose to step into scrum-half and Edwin to move to outside half. The game ebbed and flowed with the slope favouring the visitors territorially. The Chepstow pack was working very hard: Jake Summers was everywhere again, Spencer & Rhys were tackling themselves to a standstill and the front row of Lloyd, Angus and Jayden were very aggressive in and around the breakdown area.  No one gave an inch and soon the pressure told as Harry Taylor, leading from the front, made yet another burst forward with the ball to muscle over for the first try of the game, duly converted by Keegan (who was suffering with a mild dose of the plague).

From the restart we struggled to clear our lines and got bogged down trying to play rugby in our own half. Merthyr attacked relentlessly, with some strong backline running, but the Chepstow backline defence was up to the challenge. The pack, Angus in particular, sped out of from the fringes to push the attacks wide and the Chepstow backs cut-off the threat with crunching hits, notably from Steven Volau and Joe Beard. Steven had to come off halfway through the first half due to a number of knocks which introduced Morgan at inside centre whilst Keegan’s plague worsened and he needed to come off, allowing Thomas back on. So, lots of upheaval but we now had 3 strong distributors at 9, 10 & 12 and it showed. A successful exit from our defensive third, after 10 minutes of hard defending, saw momentum swing. A sweeping series of backline play, left and right across the field, had broken the Merthyr defensive line and, in broken play, Harry Taylor again created havoc to score the 2^nd try.

Chepstow sensed they had the measure of the opposition now and the backline took over as the main attacking threat. Great distribution from Ieuan and Edwin was allowing Thomas to run his usual straightening line, getting behind the defence and then popping to Morgan to make more hard yards. Phase after phase was tiring the opposition and Thomas took full advantage to dummy, straighten and pin his ears back, 2 more dummies and steps saw him get home for our 3^rd try with Edwin converting for 19-0.

Merthyr didn’t travel all that way to make up the numbers and they again pressed from the kick-off. They had a big pack and were difficult to stop when they built momentum, with their prop charging over from 20 metres out to rattle the home side. The halftime whistle went at 19-7.

There wasn’t much to say at half-time other than well done, keep going, do not let the visitors get any further momentum. The second half was very similar to the first, James Brasher had to field a number of kicks bravely and secured possession, Jake Allbert made 5 or 6 excellent tackles on the wing to shut down some dangerous Merthyr attacks. The lineout, which had been working so well with Rhys Swain, fell into jeopardy as Rhys landed awkwardly and rolled his ankle and had to come off, Morgan also had a knock and had to come off. This meant Joe Beard had the chance to continue his good defensive work in the pack, Steven was reintroduced and Keegan bravely agreed to come back on, coughing like a dog! The rhythm of the game didn’t change, there was quick ball being produced by the very efficient, aggressive pack and Ieuan was making the most of it. Edwin took the ball on the move and got the rest of the backline travelling in the right direction, Steven made a number of searing runs upfield to cut the defence open with the backrow in good support. Yet again, Harry Taylor’s alertness enabled him to take advantage to score his 3^rd try and make it 24-7.

Merthyr didn’t give up, they kept throwing everything into attack. A change in game plan saw the visitors ask questions around the fringes, with strong runners coming straight off 9 and a number of pick and go options being taken. The Chepstow pack was equal to the challenge, hitting everything that moved: Lloyd, Angus, Jayden, Jake, Joe, Spencer and Harry were all very physical even though they had a size disadvantage. Again, no score was conceded. This lifted the home team and the backline again became the point of attack, Steven Volau deservedly finished off another great passage of play to make it 29-7. Merthyr fought until the end and scored to make it 29-14 and pressed again but the Chepstow defence was not going to tire anytime soon and they kept answering the challenge, time and again. The final whistle went for a very deserved 29-14 win.

Things to be pleased about:

·       The commitment of each player was above and beyond, each man gave everything they had and grafted it out

·       Handling was terrific in such difficult conditions

·       Strength in depth given so many missing and so much reshuffling during the game – no-one would have known…….

Things to work on

·       Kick-offs still need sorting, it will make life a lot easier when we get that nailed

Well done everyone, on we go………….