News

The third round of the cup competition brought familiar visitors Canton RFC to the Recreation Ground. Llantwit were expecting a tough encounter which didn't materialise as they cantered to a 45-3 win. This was partly due to a very good performance from the home team and also Canton’s decision to field a development XV consisting of a mixture of first and second XV players.

The game was all about the first half as Llantwit racked up 38 points with only an early penalty in reply by Canton. The forwards set the platform as yet again they dominated a much bigger pack in the scrum with a strong performance putting Canton under early pressure which they never really recovered from. An early Dan Powell penalty was just reward for the good start and big tackles being put in across the field.
Next saw the highlight of the game as man of the match fullback Wise Vakacegu took a pass inside the Llantwit half and make an audacious shimmy and dummy pass which left not only the opponents but most of the crowd flummoxed as to what was happening. By which time Wise had already split the Canton defence apart and broken away, good handling and support from his fellow backs putting Jack Austin over at the Clubhouse End for a converted try. This was soon followed by a second try again coming from some excellent back play and quick passing putting strong running wing Luke Dawes over under the posts.
There was no doubt by this time that Llantwit were going to be too strong for their opponents as they were dominating all set pieces particularly the scrum; confirmed with a  well organised push over try being grounded by number eight Rob Carter. It was then the turn of the backs as wing Rhys Balmont showed his pace in racing over from another move started from inside their own half. The first half ending with Steff Godwin capping a solid performance at scrum half by diving over from some more forward pressure.
The second half began as the first half ended with Llantwit quickly crossing the whitewash at the school end with a Gareth Watts try and a touch line conversion from the ever dependable Powell who contributed 13 points from his accurate kicking.
The rest of the half sadly did not live up to the start as the game saw no further score as Canton to their credit stubbornly refused to lie down and defended strongly and through everything they had at the home team. The Llantwit coaching team also took advantage of the big lead to make several changes and give some fringe players a good run out. The game though was still entertaining with plenty of open rugby from both sides and a sin-binning each to contend with. Another pleasing aspect for the coaches was Llantwit's defence in not conceding any points when down to fourteen men and for the second game running not conceding any tries.
Hopefully this will be good preparation for next weeks game as they take the long trip up the A470 to Merthyr Tydfil as Cefn Coed RFC are the opponents, k.o. 2:30p.m. The game will provide a stern test of Llantwit’s early season form as they face the unbeaten league leaders. Any supporters are welcome to travel on the team bus leaving at 12:00pm.

A final note to make is disappointingly there has again been an increase in dog muck being found on the Recreation Ground. This is unacceptable as the health of players and children is at risk. Dog mess is not only unsightly and unpleasant but can spread disease, or in extreme cases, cause blindness. The Rugby Club is appealing to dog owners who allow this practice to stop before any harm is caused.