Fixture

After last week’s confidence sapping reversal at Swansea Uplands you wondered how the Birchgrove response was going to pan out at Bryncoch , a team who for some length of the season had been the only team to deny us a try scoring bonus point.

Well  I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again there is plenty of spirit left in this team !

Against a strong wind and playing up the slightly sloping pitch Birchgrove set off like a wounded animal trying to prove a point and following one or two decent forward drives a cheeky Ricky Rosser half break found flanker Tom Lewis on his shoulder. A sweet offload and Lewis was over for the first try 0 – 5.

Swansea Uplands !!    Swansea Who !!!!!!!!

Birchgrove now playing with a noticeable return of confidence continued to play their high tempo game and to be honest it was only the  final ball going astray, a strong wind and some inconsistencies in scrum and lineout creeping in to their game that prevented further try scoring opportunities not being  finshed off.

One classic move well worthy of a score started with Josh Key picking up from a retreating scrum, an art he has now truly mastered and  James Evans supporting and carrying like a young Gazelle (That’s another fiver James ! ) The second phase was carried on by  Scott Beard with the ball moved  on quickly  to the busy R J Di’iulio before a sublime slight of hand from Darren Poland  brought Beard back in to the move and finally Josh Key who was thwarted only by desperate defence.

With Bryncoch having offered only one real threat to the line when their Prop was deemed to have been held up over the line it was disappointing to concede a penalty just before half time which eroded the visitors lead to 3 – 5. The visiting support was not too disheartened though on the evidence of the first half performance and the wind and slope in our favour for the second half.

The optimism was soon rewarded  after the restart as some concerted loose forward pressure saw Scott Beard pop up to feed R J Di’iulio who went over for try number two converted by Nick Fisher   3 – 12. Fisher was again swiftly  on the scorecard as he converted a penalty and at 3 – 15 things were going in the right direction.

Try number three although some time coming was well deserved.  The irrepressible Rob Green on in the back row rather than his more accustomed hooking berth was appointed carrier as the visiting pack built up a formidable head of steam and trundled towards the Bryncoch line. Green duly delivered for try number three 3 -20.

Bryncoch to their credit with changes to their front row personnel  now started to put some moves together but they were met with firm  physical resistance  from the Birchgrove first line defence with the tackling machine Adam Percival and centre partner  Chris Shill  standing firm.

The bonus try was the goal now though and although Birchgrove thought this had been achieved as Leigh Di’iulio crossed in the corner after a typical powerful 20 yard burst, the referee chose to overrule the score in controversial circumstances resulting in both sides losing a man to the bin.

Not to be outdone though pressure and composure was maintained and  the visitors had their just reward as in the dying minutes the record was set straight with a final converted try and a 3 – 27  bonus point victory.

So the train is back on the track and with a good head of steam built up for another big game at home against Top table rivals Porthcawl next week.

Good to see in this week of weeping coaches that born and bred Birchgrove boy  and Bryncoch coach James Jenkins after the game took the defeat on the chin and in best Carlos Carvalhal style indicated to me that perhaps he should have “put more meat on the Barbecue”  a little earlier in the game.

Well done to both sides.