Fixture

As you head up the A470 you get to see some sights that remind you of those things we associate with being Welsh. Beautiful hillsides, sheep grazing on the pastures, historical coal mining sites and of if you’d headed to Ynysowen RFC you’d have seen rugby played purely for the unadulterated pleasure of it. In a time when rugby is criticised for its boring kicking play, two junior teams both playing with mixed under 13 and under 12 age groups played out an exciting performance that kept the fans on the edge of their seats until the final blow of the whistle.

Llantwit had the better of the early exchanges and a team that is normally slow out of the blocks raced into a 10-0 lead. The first try came after scrum half Eli Hickman took a quick penalty and quickly moved the ball into the wide channels into the hands of centre Dylan Rees. Seeing an inviting gap open in the Ynysowen defence Rees pressed the accelerator and run in 50 metres to score the first.  This was soon followed by the swashbuckling Aaron Moce who burst through several would be tacklers to give the visitors their 10-0 lead. Shocked into action Ynysowen started to play with more aggression and soon start to cause the visitors problems. Llantwit’s errors with ball in hand provided the home team number 12 with ample room to burst clear and get his team back into the game. Enthused with confidence it wasn’t long before the home took and subsequently extended the lead. A flurry of tries was scored in quick succession as firstly Ynysowen forward pressure allowed them to score in the corner. This was soon followed by another score for the 12 who made easy work of the Llantwit defence to score his second.

Ynysowen were now the dominant team in the game and this continued into the 2^nd half. With Llantwit still trying to play Barbarianesque rugby the odd dropped ball was inevitable and they could put enough phases together to challenge the home defence. Ynysowen extended their lead with another good try and at 26-10 it looked a lost cause for Llantwit. However Llantwit were not finished just yet and Aaron Moce soon got back on the scorecard. This was more old-style Neath rugby than Fiji as he used his strength and power to burst through and maintain a god sprint to the line. The visitors were now on the hunt for more and following some good pressure on the Ynysowen line, Tyler Lee crashed over and with the subsequent conversion it was 24-26.

Both teams searched for that crucial score and Ynysowen were camped in the Llantwit 22 in the closing minutes. As they pushed for the try a turnover ensued and after a few passes Liam Davies looked to have escaped the defence and was heading for the try line. However, some courageous tackling from the home defence pulled him down just short and as they reached for the line the visitors knocked on. The home team cheered as the referee blew his whistle and secured a fantastic victory.

A fine Sunday morning spectacle and a great first outing for the combined 13’s and 12’s from both clubs.