Fixture

Bedlinog RFC | 1st Team 6 - 19 Penallta RFC | 1st Team
Gregg James Hains
1 Try
Joseph Scrivens
2 Conversion
1 Try
Elliott Tasman Keep
1 Try

Match Report
15 November 2014 / Team News

Pitmen triumph in the Foxes lair

Bedlinog RFC  6 - 19  Penallta RFC

 

Penallta travelled to Bedlinog for an evening kick off in the first round of the Mid District cup. The fixture gave the coaching staff the opportunity to test several new combinations and blood some new talent in the 1st team environment.

The late withdrawal of front row stalwart Martyn Dunn meant that Kieran Mahoney started alongside Greg Haines and Lloyd Bridges. A brand new second row pairing saw Rhys Spanswick return from injury alongside Corey Tucker. Whilst the back-row saw a start at 7 for hooker Garin Eldred, the return of Luke Purnell at 8 after a shoulder injury and former "Fox" Nick Thomas return to his old stomping ground at 6.

The backs had a familiar look to them - Ryan Davies, Elliott Keep and Gareth Davies made up an exciting back three. Jonny Wright returned to action at inside centre with Greg Callow partnering him in the midfield. Mercurial fly-half Joseph Scrivens started at 10 with Andre Soroko adding his experience at scrum-half.

The bench had a mixture of youth and experience - Matthew Angel, Rhys Cleverly and Matthew "Omz" Davies provided forward cover. The back cover was provided by young prospects Matthew Williams and Laurence Pritchard, whilst it was great to see Joe Merriman and James Powell back in the fold following spells away from the club. Exciting youth captain and scrum half Matthew Flanagan made up the substitutes.

The game started at a frenetic pace. The Bedlinog pack was probably the biggest the Pitmen had faced in all competitions this year and with Penallta boy Bleddyn Corns at 9 and Ben Grizecka at 10, the Foxes strategy was clear - use their big ball carriers to get over the gain line and kick for territory. Some great territorial kicking pinned Penallta back in their own half but the Pitmen defence held firm. Worryingly for the away side - the bulky Bedlinog pack, with two premiership props on show, clearly had dominance in the scrum and were giving the Penallta pack a torrid time. Pressure told and Corns slotted a penalty to make it 3 - 0.

Penallta looked to hit back but were finding it tough to build any momentum off the back of a retreating scrum and the big, heavy hits from the Bedlinog back-row. The lineout though was functioning magnificently and gave the backline opportunity to punch holes in the Bedlinog midfield. Subsequent pressure from the Pitmen saw a penalty awarded but the usually reliable boot of Andre Soroko misfired and the kick shaved the upright. At this point the unfortunate Rhys Spanswick was forced to leave the field with a recurrence of a knee injury. With only front-row cover on the bench, he was replaced by prop Matthew Angel, a player who certainly wasn’t going to be doing any "Leaping Salmon" impressions at lineout time. The Pitmen were now really up against it with such an unbalanced pack.

Bedlinog struck another penalty through Corns to stretch the lead to 6 - 0. The home pack were giving the young Penallta boys a real warm "Bedrock" welcome and to their credit the youngsters didn’t take a backwards step, giving as good as they got. It was inevitable that tempers would boil over and after a couple of minor altercations a full blown scrap broke out in back play. Frustratingly for the Pitmen, after allowing play to continue whilst the players exchanged pleasantries, the referee decided to halt the game just as the scoring pass was given to flying winger Elliott Keep and the try was chalked off. A few stern words from the referee and the game was restarted.

The punch-up near the Bedlinog supporters brought a real spice to the game, and with Penallta facing serious sustained pressure for the first time this season, they found their usual passionate voice and created a cauldron atmosphere for the young Penallta team. The Pitmen needed an immediate response and it came from winger Gareth Edwards. With Bedlinog applying the pressure, a high floated pass drifted towards the Bedlinog outside centre. Seeing his chance Edwards flew out of the line and put in a huge man-and-ball hit that resulted in a spilt ball and the unfortunate recipient having to leave the field. The hit was greeted by an even bigger roar from the Penallta faithful and it drew the first half to a close with the Pitmen trailing 6 - 0.

Penallta only made one change during the interval - youth team captain Matthew Flanagan made his senior debut coming on for Soroko at scrum-half. It was great moment for the club to see another talented member of the Flanagan dynasty gracing the field in a Penallta jersey.

The second half began where the first half had finished - Bedlinog controlling territory with some accurate kicking and looking to squeeze the away side in the tight. Under pressure, the Penallta defence again held firm and both sides refused to blink. Next came a critical point in the game. Following some good work from a driving lineout, Kieran Mahoney was shown a yellow card for pulling down the maul. The home side turning down the three points on offer was not massively surprising, but the decision to kick to the corner rather than opt for a scrum where they were already dominant against an 8-man Penallta pack certainly was. The resulting line out was lost and Penallta breathed a sigh of relief as they cleared their lines still within a single score. A nine or twelve point lead at that point would've forced Penallta to chase the game from more than a converted score behind. It was a massive missed opportunity for the Foxes, possibly one which cost them the win.

At this point hooker Rhys Cleverly replaced Nick Thomas in the back-row to create an amazingly arranged Pitmen pack, now containing three hookers and three props, with Lewis Rowden, a former Penallta hooker, packing down for Bedlinog.

Penallta could sense that their bigger opponents were starting to tire and despite being down to 14 men they looked to up the tempo. Following a penalty, from a quick tap, the Bedlinog blind-side failed to retreat 10 yards and after making another bone-crunching tackle was shown a yellow. Only minutes later, following a loose Bedlinog kick, Ryan Davies returned a kick in midfield only to be hit late by a member of the opposing front row union. The referee reached for another card and suddenly the home side were down to 13 men. At this point the home sides second rows were replaced after putting in an almighty shift, and with their departure, the scrums appeared to become a bit more of an even contest.

Joe Merriman made a return to fist team action and replaced Greg Callow in the centre. With a man advantage Penallta started to turn the screw. Following some good work in midfield from Merriman, the Pitmen were on the front foot. After several tight drives, Bedlinog ran out of defenders and Greg Haines crashed over for a score that reduced the arrears to 6 - 5, with the conversion to come. Amazingly, as Scrivens attempted the relatively straightforward conversion, an on-rushing Bedlinog player managed to charge the ball down and Penallta remained a point behind on the scoreboard. Having experienced five minutes of sustained pressure and with the tide turning, the charge-down brought about one of the biggest roars of the night from the home crowd. More importantly, it kept Bedlinog in front.

But travelling Penallta support sensed that the momentum had switched and they are used to watching the extremely fit Penallta side dominate the final quarter of games. Inevitably, they didn't have to wait long until the Pitmen got their noses in front. With the extra space on offer and legs starting to tire, the visitors looked to put some width on the game. From a scrum, some slick passing across the three-quarters saw Elliott Keep put into space on the half way line. Going at full tilt, the young winger outpaced his opposing number, put in a deft chip over the full back's head which he gathered on the full, before powering over in the corner despite the interest of three tacklers.. It was a fantastic individual effort and one which kept up Keep's prolific try scoring record this season of 12 tries from 10 games. In his usual contrarian way, having just been charged down in front of the posts, Scrivens slotted the touchline conversion and for the first time in the match Penallta went into the lead at 6 - 12.

Lawrence Pritchard replaced Ryan Davies at fullback for the final ten minutes. Now chasing the game, Bedlinog started throwing the ball around and the game opened up. Penallta looked to ping the corners and keep the home side camped in their own half – a complete role reversal from the first 70 minutes.

Running on empty after a battling, fired-up performance, it was too much of an ask for the Foxes to find a winning score. Chasing the game from their own 22, a Bedlinog three-quarter threw a speculative pass and it was intercepted by Scrivens who went in unopposed under the posts. The resulting conversion ended the game as a contest with the score at 6 – 19 to the Pitmen.

Matthew Davies, the son of legendary Penallta prop Deano Davies, who himself endured many an enjoyable scrummaging afternoon in the fabled Bedlinog far corner, entered the fray for the final throes and helped see out the victory.

It was a great team performance in what was very much a test of character for a lot of the Penallta youngsters – a test that they passed with flying colours. There were outstanding performances across the park with Corey Tucker putting in a tremendous shift and young Flanagan and Joe Merriman catching the eye when they came on. Flanagan looks a particularly intelligent player; very composed, excellent when covering in defence and intuitively aware of where the ball will be. Another stand-out performance was that of Garin Eldred at open-side. A hooker by trade, he filled-in at flanker in his willing manner, and had a really good game. He will be feeling it today, having bravely put his head in where it hurts again and again. He tackled his heart out.

It was a thrilling game, a proper spicy derby which could’ve gone either way, every minute of the game full of tension; a treat for the spectators. A mention too for ex-Penallta players Bleddyn Corns and Lewis Rowden who both showed up well for the Foxes - it is good to see our former players playing so well for their new clubs.

Lots of food for thought for the coaches and with another development game scheduled for Thursday night against Ystrad Rhonnda, it is another opportunity for players to put their hands up for selection ahead of the return to league action in December.

The Penallta faithful knew that they had witnessed a hard fought, hard earned victory up in “Bedrock” that doesn’t come along to often and they made their way up the hill for a beer to tell the youngsters to savour every moment of it.

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