Fixture

The AmmoKnights headed to the Forest of Dean for the second big away day of the season with a trip into the unknown to play Berry Hill RFC. A warm welcome by club officials was soon to be matches by the players as within a few minutes of the opening the bigger opponents had opened the scoring. Still dazed by Berry Hill’s aggressive start, Llantwit struggled to find any kind of momentum in a breathless first 10 minutes until Will Stewart picked off an interception and raced away to open the scoring. 7-5 soon became 14-5 when some good interplay created a gap on the right for Chris A’Hearn to exploit and score in the corner. Ethan White enjoys those kicks and adeptly slotted over and all of a sudden the away players could breathe a little easier. That luxury didn’t last long as Berry Hill engineered space of the own with their 10 gliding through some slap shod defending to bring the game back to 10-14. Both teams then exchanged tries, firstly Llantwit as wing Sam Williams managed to find space enough to dance around the defenders. Like a great counter punching boxer, Berry Hill hit back with another well worked try that kept the scores close. The AmmoKnights had the last word of the half when after calling for the ball for what seemed like 28 minutes, the visitors finally released Morgan Heselton who still had to fend off two defenders before closing the half with the 4^th Llantwit try.

With 43 points already on the board, both sets of fans wondered if the players could keep up that remarkable tempo. It was evident within minutes of the break that it was undoubtedly be the case as both teams went at each other looking for the crucial first score of the half. That prize went to the AmmoKnights with Morgan Jenkins getting over his bout of travel sickness to score a great solo run and increase the lead to 35-15. Llantwit now seized control of the match and scored two further tries, the first a typical Heselton try before Ethan White was rewarded for his endeavour when he side stepped 3 Berry Hill players to score. At 45-15 you’d think Berry Hill would have crumbled but their spirit and courage was a great testament as they hit back and looked to finish the game the stronger. Two excellent tries in quick succession brought the score to 45-27 and they still searched for more. As the pummelled the Llantwit line the ball spilled and allowed a clearing kick to alleviate some pressure. A turnover at the next play gave the ball back to Llantwit who used it wisely to release Heselton to wrap up his hat trick and give them a generous 52-27 victory. A score line that belied the closeness of the game with Berry Hill being far better opposition that a 25 point margin.

Llantwit’s road trip unearthed yet another new friend and future opponent with the promise of future fixtures already in the bank. We left with another case of club house envy but will hopefully plan a longer stop for our next visit.