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The First XV hosted Ynysowen from Merthyr Tydfil in this league game last week and after a tight first half eased to a 31-6 win thanks in no small part to their pack who completely dominated the set pieces.

The match was played out in dour weather with cold strong winds and torrential rain making for challenging conditions for much of the game. The first quarter a cagey affair as both packs tore into each other in search of some ascendency. Llantwit just edging the exchanges with two penalty licks to the visitors one.
Then came a bright spark in the deluge as some strong running from Llantwit’s tight forwards led to a couple of phases on the ten metre line before the ball was whisked out to outside half Loz Howley who on sighting a gap in the defence made a scintillating break leaving the Ynysowen line in tatters he then offloaded to supporting number eight Rob Carter who took the move further on before nicely passing onto fullback Josh Austin who rounded the covering defenders to go in at the corner.
Despite the often frenetic action it was the weather conditions that ruled the rest of the half as the game became a frustrating one as any dominance by either team soon thwarted as passes were spilled or kicks were blustered straight into touch. The half time score 11-6.
With Llantwit now having the strong wind in their favour as they played towards the School End they quickly started dominating their opponents especially at the set pieces where their scrum really started to turn the screw. Such was its superiority that a stream of penalties were soon rewarded and with Howley more than happy to slot the kicks over from any distance the scoreboard was quietly ticking over in the Blood and Blacks favour.
Then came the killer punch as a period of dominant possession in the visitors 22 saw a succession of pick and go drives to the line battle back by a desperate defence until replacement Damian ‘the cannon ball’ Ponting got up enough steam to power over for a well earned try. Howley converting.
Ynysowen did battle back for a while but the brief resurgence was quickly undone as they were unable to breach the home defence and demoralised further with a couple of turnovers from Llantwit.
And sadly the frustration then got to a couple of the visitors as they descended into a period of ill discipline with two of the visitors going for an early shower. In the mean time Llantwit kept their composure and with their scrum now like a runaway steamroller they were rewarded again before e the final whistle this time with a penalty try.
Man of the Match was tight head prop Dave Taylor the big man being the rock which their scrum platform was built on. With mention to number eight Rob Carter who had another good game especially in the loose and Howley who had a great day with the boot taking a personal tally of sixteen points.
Llantwit’s coach Stuart Edbrooke commenting after “We gave all we could there today in difficult conditions. I thought the pack were outstanding and with Loz booting the ball from everywhere we knew it was in our hands. Now we have to front up and do it against one of the top teams where we have it’s fair to say come unstuck this season but we have that opportunity again in our next game”.
A solid display then from the Llantonians then who will now travel with confidence high as they next take on fourth placed Caerau Ely in the capital. Llantwit keen to close the two point gap separating them in the league. Back at home there is a real treat in store as the second team The Druids entertain a visiting French side, Rugby Club Du Confolentais. Both games kick off at 2:30pm.
On the social side with the Six Nations commencing it will be a busy weekend in the Clubhouse with all games shown live, with special drink offers and food provided.
Llantwit: Josh Austin, Evan Holloway, Jack Austin, Josh Austin, Steff Godwin, Loz Howley, Connor Morgan, Geraint David (Captain), Huw Williams, Dave Taylor, Jamie Lewis, Shaun Shea, Gareth Watts, Stuart Edbrooke, Rob Carter. Replacements Damian Ponting, Dan Bawden, Rhys David and James Morgan.
A.H.