Fixture

Having successfully seen off the challenge of one Amman Valley side last week Birchgrove travelled to Ammanford today to play a rare successive week game in this disjointed season.

Starting with a strong wind in their favour Birchgrove steadily started to build up momentum and were  going through the phases and making ground towards the home line.  A steal by the home forwards though quickly reversed things and a sweeping length of the field movement gave the home side first blood, an unconverted try and a 5 – 0 lead.

Gaining from the confidence of the first try the Ammanford side started to exert some pressure as their backs started to make  use of good ball from a solid forward platform. But  Birchgrove as we know are a team of resolve and resilience and they slowly started to stubbornly strike back with sorties in to home territory with half backs Hawkins and Di’iulio combining well with the muscle and vigour of Richards, Downing. Cox and Green to make menacing advances.

And it was this away team endeavour that was next to pay off as forward pressure presented Lewis Cox with an opportunity to make another trade mark ball in hand 40 yard run. Astute full back Luke Butler was rapidly in support and a neat off load  gave him the touchdown , unconverted 5 -5.

A shocked Ammanford side quickly regrouped though and making full use of the expansive home pitch were soon back on the Birchgrove line looking to regain the advantage. A couple of forward skirmishes left Birch temporarily down to 14 men and from a resultant tap penalty the home forwards were able to take advantage and drop over for their second try and a half time 10 -5 lead.

With the blustery conditions now favouring the home side it was they who were next on the board as once again their backs made ground towards the away line. A neat fleet of foot feint from their centre outfoxed our defence and he was in for the first converted try of the day and a 17 – 5 lead that with the conditions looked ominous for the visitors.

But it was Birchgrove who dug deep again and having contained the home side close to their line  a forward effort allowed Liam Richards to score an archetypical 40 yard front row try !! converted by Josh Jarrett and Birch were back in this game big time 17 -12.

Indeed containment continued to be the theme of the game as despite the home side having the advantage of the conditions the game was being played predominately in their half. Leigh Di'uilio , Ritchie Beynon and busy Josh Jarrett all seriously testing the home side defence and a minimum return of a losing bonus point looked as if it were there for the taking.

But it was once again chance allied to the weather which was to be our undoing as a massive Ammanford  hack downfield from a defensive position set up a foot race between the home full back, who had looked lively all day, and the scrambling Birchgrove defence. Some deft first touch control,  that would not have been amiss from Lee Trundle playing on the adjoining football ground , allowed him to get over for a somewhat fortuitous bonus point try and a 22 – 12 lead.

With the minutes ticking down and Birch’s brave reserves of resolve and doggedness now running low added to the  disadvantage of now operating with only 14 men  the game slipped away from us with the disappointment of a courageous performance unfortunately yielding nothing but  Personal Pride – an important and significant  commodity in this  strangest of all Seasons.

Another week off next week and then our final home game of the year against Waunarlwydd Sat 26^th March k.o 2.30.  Get there and support the lads.