Fixture

With a squad of 26-players, there was some concern in the combined Llantwit Major U15 and U16 camp, that mainly due to injuries or Covid related factors there were only 13-players available for todays home game against CCRC.  Being similarly affected, CCRC were happy for the game to go ahead with some modifications to even things up.

Playing four 15-minute quarters, and with one player borrowed from CCRC in their line up, the home team kicked off on a warm, bright Autumn day on the Llantwit Major RFC home team pitch.

Having not played each other in a long while, there was some nervous anticipation in not knowing how the game would pan out.  Everyone watching would certainly not have been prepared for the classic that unfolded.

From the kick off, the home team showed the aggressive defence that the coaches have been asking of them.  This appeared to catch the visitors off guard, so with indiscipline costing them territory, Llantwit Major soon found themselves with an attacking penalty on the visitor’s 5-metre line.  After an initial, seemingly kamikaze charge, by flanker Rob Dixon, scrum half Zac Grinter rescued the ball and fed prop Lewys Ingram who charged into the heart of the defence before offloading to second row Cameron Hegney.  The rangy lock fought off 3 defenders to score just to the right of the posts.  A perfect position for left footed kicker Jack Robson to draw the ball in for the conversion.

The visitors soon struck back.  After stubbornly resisting further attacks by the determined home forwards, CCRC eventually made some territory gains and found a weaker edge to attack, eventually crossing out wide on the left before dotting down under the posts, allowing an easier conversion to bring the scores back even at 7-all.

Both teams then had further chances, with one barnstorming break by inside centre and captain for the day, Kelyn Joseph, scattering CCRC players and leading to another penalty in midfield around the visitors 22m line.  Cameron Hegney’s tap and go sucked in the defence allowing the home scrum-half to dart, then pop up a pass to flanker Kieron Martin,who drew in more defenders, before offloading intelligently to outside half Daniel Taylor.  Still with work to do, the number 10 handed off one defender, stepped inside a second and then dragged another over the line with him to score a great try.

Perhaps this led to a little overconfidence in the Llantwit team as the next 2-scores went to CCRC.  The single successful conversion was enough to give the visitors a healthy 7-point lead.  But with time running out in the second quarter the home teams aggressive defence paid dividends when Kelyn Joseph intercepted a poor pass and sprinted clear to touchdown.  In a carbon copy of his first attempt, Jack Robson kicked the conversion to leave the teams tied at 19-points all at the half time interval.

The start of the second half saw CCRC on the attack, but some gutsy home defence held the ball up over the line.  Unfortunately, this passage of play was marred by some totally out-of-character foul play by home player Cameron Hegney who gave referee Liam Padmore no choice other than to show a straight red card.

With one player short so early in the half things seemed ominous for the home team, but on a positive they were now playing with the advantage of the gentle incline of the Llantwit Major first team pitch.  On the right flank, home winger Maison David was unlucky to just go into touch after evading 3-tackles following more hard work by Zac Grinter and Kieron Martin, while on the other flank winger Rees Harris scrapped for everything, putting in a great defensive shift.

It was centre, Kelyn Joseph, who started the scoring in the second half however, with a typical burst through the midfield, breaking tackles and sprinting away to touch down under the posts for his second score of the game.  Jack Robson added the conversion from in front of the posts.  

CCRC counter punched once again to reduce their deficit to just 2-points, before snatching the lead back with another unconverted try to end the third quarter ahead, 26-29.

The message from head coach Mat Dixon during the break was for the boys to keep pressing with the aggressive line speed worked on in training, as this was forcing errors from CCRC.  He asked for a big final 15-minutes and the team delivered.

Relishing in the midfield battle, the threat presented by captain Kelyn Joseph meant that 3 defenders were drawn in to stop another of his hard, direct runs.  Unfortunately for the visitors, a clash of heads resulted in 2 of their players going to ground, leaving space for the attack to take advantage of.  First to react was outside centre Emlyn Miles.  Playing out of position from his usual wingers berth, he picked up the ball, side-stepped the closest defender and then beat the covering defence with pace to touch down in the corner.  

The tricky conversion was missed, but the home team were back in the lead 31-29.

CCRC of course continued to battle and always looked threatening, but the home defence managed to thwart their efforts with every player stepping up and putting in a great shift of offensive defence.  It should be noted that this was especially impressive considering they were down a man and each had played every minute of the game with no substitutes.  

With time left on the clock, and considering the to and fro nature of the game, a 2-point lead never felt like being enough for victory, but in a man of the match performance, centre Kelyn Joseph once again grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and looked to have sealed victory with a rapier break in midfield and an arching run outstripping all defenders, allowing him to touch down once again under the posts for his hat trick try.  Jack Robson again added the extra points, extending the lead to 9-points with just minutes left.

That had to be it surely.  Nope, there was still time for one more twist with a determined CCRC team never letting their heads drop, getting back up the field and scoring again with an unconverted try to bring it back to a one score game.  Instead of sitting back and soaking up pressure, the home team went on the offensive yet again, with some dominant tackles forcing the visitors onto the back foot.  In attack some lovely kicks kept CCRC pinned in their own half, with one perfect box kick causing chaos that Kieron Martin and Daniel Taylor almost took advantage of to break free for another score.

With the last play of the game called by the referee, CCRC secured a vital turn over on their own 5-metre line and were presented with one final chance to snatch a victory.  With the hearts in the mouths of the home supporters, there was a collective sigh of relief and a huge cheer from the home players as fly half Daniel Taylor nailed a cover tackle to drive the attacker out of play and end the match.

What a game!  Credit to both teams for the effort shown and in the fair play demonstrated by CCRC to keep swapping players that meant that the game could be a good contest.  

Well done to everyone involved on both sides