Fixture

Great win against a very good unbeaten side.

This really was a game of 2 halves though.

Everyone was there bright and early (apart from Lloyd and Morgan who were still travelling back from Turkey!). The coaches warmed up the team and worked on some key aspects particularly the lineout, scrum and backs moves. The forwards were instructed to hit every ruck in the first 15 minutes with sheer aggression and commitment and the backs were told to concentrate on keeping their shape and anticipating their team mates breaks, whilst working very hard on defensive line speed.

The boys were lined up ready to go and from the off we exerted unbelievable pressure on the opposition at the set piece and breakdown through Jayden, Lloyd, Briden and Sam Alway-Dean. We turned over ball after ball in the scrum allowing our backs to fire  resulting in several attacking phases. With the opposition committing very few to the breakdown the forwards concentrated on the pick and drive, making excellent hard yards in and around the breakdown. Some strong runs from Will, Nathan and Morgan and some superb ball retention,  Chepstow looked a real threat with ball in hand. The backs were really firing with Will keeping the defence true by sniping around the breakdown and with Ben picking up the big runners of Jayden, Nathan and the exceptional Kieran who straightened the line. The defence was now having to work very hard to contain us. Eventually through relentless pressure the first score came through Will Morgan with a very quick dart to the line, Josh converted from the touch line, (7-0).

Following the first try the team were looking to exert more pressure on the opposition. The pick and drive was delivering great results and Bens kicking game was putting us into the right areas. With Taylor and Sam putting pressure on the lineout and Briden taking balls against the head we had plenty of possession and territory and even though the defence held strong Briden managed to go over from close range for the games second try, converted by Josh (14-0)

From the kick off we put ourselves under pressure allowing the ball to bounce when there was plenty of time to claim it and attack again, this allowed Cwmbran to put the pressure on but our defensive line speed was excellent hitting them behind the gain line time and time again and through our counter ruck approach we were able to regain possession, with Steven, Ieuan, Owen and Josh making excellent yards in attack. Phase after phase took us up the field and we crossed the line again only for Nathan to lose control before getting the ball down.

We continued to attack but unfortunately through a combination of excellent defensive work by the opposition, poor ball handling and decision making by us it meant that we turned over the ball very close to their line allowing them to clear. We should have scored 3 or 4 more tries in the first half but continued to miss our chances and unfortunately the inaccuracy and poor handling would spill over to the 2^nd half.

Half Time (14-0)

The coaches made minimal changes at half time, attempting to maintain continuity, so Owain came on for Ieuan, Steven moved to the wing in place of Owen and Sam slotted in at centre where he continued his comeback after a lengthy injury absence. Up front Lewis went to prop with Lloyd moving to the back row and Taylor having a much deserved rest. At half time we talked about continuing where we left off with our aggressive defensive line but we were also looking for an improvement in our handling so that we could convert more of the chances we had created but not taken in the first half, unfortunately things went from bad to worse in that department, and we must have spurned 6 or 7 clear trying scoring opportunities in the second half. Déjà vu  started to kick in with the coaches and the team started to self-destruct dropping the ball time and time again and giving away silly penalties which gave the opposition a foothold in the game when really we should have been out of sight. Travis was brought on at scrum half with Will having to slot in at centre, Steven moved back to outside centre due to an injury to Sam, however this demonstrated the strength in depth in the team and also the ability for players to play a number of positions, something we previously didn’t have. Joe Clough was brought on for some fresh legs and did really well hitting rucks and tackling their big runners.

Due to silly mistakes and penalties Cwmbran managed to score after a significant period of pressure on our line, (14-7), we now looked nervous and starting to lose control of the game, with Cwmbran attacking and going close several times. Our defence held firm and we created even more chances but just couldn’t finish them off. We had another perfect try scoring opportunity 5 metres out but failed to score again, luckily from the resulting lineout we regained possession and the quick thinking Wammo kicked it in to touch to end the game.

Good Win, enjoy the break ready for a fresh start next week.

Things to be pleased about:

·         Defence was excellent particularly up front

·         Set piece

·         Attacking play

Things to work on:

·         Claiming Kick offs

·         Game management

·         Finishing chances

Man of the match: Please all vote on Teamer.

Cheers,

Matt