Fixture

This weekend the combined Llantwit Major U15 and U16 team welcomed fresh opposition for a home game, in the form of the wasp like, yellow and black stripes of Llandaff North.  

With half term now finished and several players returning from injury or Covid isolation, the home team finally had a healthy squad of 20-players available for the game.  The visitors had also travelled with good numbers of players and coaches, so after a lengthy inspection of the pitch to clean up the firework debris from the recent bonfire night display, the game could get underway.

The bright Autumn day enjoyed by the spectators, was only spoilt by a strong north westerly wind blowing in the direction of the gentle downward slope of the Llantwit Major first-team pitch.  This combination of factors, would prove to have a major influence on what turned out to be a dramatic game of two halves.

Playing up the slope and with the wind in their faces for the first half, the challenge for the home team was to break the recent habit of starting slowly, and resist the pressure from a physical looking Llandaff North side.  To their credit, the visitors played some smart rugby, using their big forwards effectively and creating plenty of opportunities that allowed them to storm into a big lead.  Injuries and simple errors hampered the home team, but there were still encouraging signs as they battled against both the opposition and the elements, encapsulated no more so than in eventual man on the match, Zac Grinter, who continued his great form at scrum half, showing drive and determination.

Eventually the Llantwit Major team’s hard work was rewarded with a try of their own.   Poor discipline by the visitors resulted in a succession of penalties on the Llandaff North 5-metre line, just to the left of the posts.  Good work by the forwards narrowed the opposition defence, and on the next infringement and reset, the ball went quickly to inside centre Dylan Marsh, who barged his way over the line.  With the conditions beating the kicker on this occasion, the first half finished with the visitors in the lead by 31-points to 5.

With fresh instructions from head coach Mat Dixon at half time, and a firm reminder to make best use of the conditions, the home team started the second half with a spring in their step.  With the wind in their faces and perhaps guilty of a little complacency, Llandaff North suddenly faced a different proposition, with the home team constantly trapping them in their own half.  This pressure was soon reflected on the scoreboard.

The first try of the second half went to hooker Corey Cox, who started the half with a great break from one 22 to another, before being forced into touch.  From the resulting line out, aggressive defence forced a turn over that allowed outside centre Kelyn Joseph the opportunity to charge into the heart of the Llandaff North side.  With a ruck formed on the 5-metre line, it was the home hooker who reacted quickest and forced his way over the line.

An unusually scruffy conversion from tight-head Ieuan Harrison, brought the scores closer at 12-31.

With the home team clearly getting into the heads of the opposition, Llantwit Major continued to benefit from ill-discipline by the visitors, and with the wind behind them and some great kicks from prop Lewys Ingram, they worked their way back into the oppositions 22.  A well rehearsed line out move almost resulted in another score, but the ball was held up over the line.  The home support didn’t have to wait long for the next score however, as from the resulting goal-line drop-out came the move of the game.   With home outside half Daniel Taylor setting up a ruck on the Llandaff North 22, Kelyn Joseph took full advantage of a disorganised defence.  Beating one defender with a dummy and side step, the impressive centre took the next tackle and popped up a perfect one-handed pass straight into the hands of team captain and number 8, Jakub Jeziorski who strolled over in the corner un-opposed.

Benefiting from his pre-match kicking practice, this time a more elegant conversion by Ieuan Harrison brought the scores to 19-31.

The momentum was completely with the home team, but they failed to fully capitalise on this with some basic handling errors and ill discipline, blowing four or five clear chances, including having one try disallowed.  The pressure was showing on the visitors who continued to be penalised by referee Liam Padmore, eventually finding themselves defending another close range penalty.  With their defence sucked in by the threat of another forward drive, this time the ball found centre Dylan Marsh who intelligently drew a tackle and fed the ball out to Jakub Jeziorski who barged his way over for his second try.  The challenging conversion was missed, making it a one score game at 24-31.

The Hollywood ending was to remain just out of reach however, as with time running out it was Llandaff North who eventually dragged themselves out of their own half for the last try of the game, making the final result, 24-36.

Congratulations go to Llandaff North for the win, but Llantwit Major will know that this is one that got away.  A great second half performance however, and something that shows what the team are truly capable of.