Fixture

Having beaten Nantyfyllon at home earlier in the Season in a thrilling 7 try extravaganza of running rugby we approached our trip up the Garw Valley today with some confidence. Add in the fact that they had shipped 49 points in last week’s 49-27 defeat at Skewen and we thought, eh ! this could be our first double of the Season here !

Well, it was definitely not to be. We started well enough and after less than 1 minute were 3 up with a Steff Gibson penalty that could well have been a try save for the pedantic whim of the ref 0 – 3. But then things started to go drastically wrong !!.

Led by their dynamic back row with the openside being truly outstanding in breaking down our first defensive lines and linking with pacy and committed backs a frenetic period of high tempo Rugby saw the home side run in 3 tries in quick succession leaving the visitor’s players and supporters shell shocked and 17 – 3 adrift.

After the initial onslaught we did manage to steady the ship with improved defence and occasional promising counter attack that unfortunately though came to nothing. We could possibly have pegged back the lead by taking some of the penalty points on offer in our rare visits to the opposition 22 but the reality was we were well beaten in the first period and pleased to see the break to hopefully regroup.

The frenzy unfortunately was to repeat itself though as within minutes of the restart the home side plundered their 4^th and bonus point try 22 – 3. Playing with confidence and pace now and with Birch looking to stem the flow try number 5 came from a well drilled catch and drive manoeuvre and it was 29-3 to the home side.

To be fair to the visitors and with some fresh legs on, the counter attacks were becoming more frequent and our pack was holding its own. But in this desperate plight and having to force the game it was becoming less and less likely that we would be capable of reducing the deficit. Try numbers 6 and 7 were to see the game out without response and a 43-3 score line was disappointing to say the least.

It is not my role to criticise nor would I deem to do so, no one in this team looks to deliberately underperform and there is a rich vein of quality running through the side. I am sure therefore that we can galvanise this as we move forward together and capitalise on the games in hand advantage we hold over every other team in the league to raise above the disappointment of today.

We go again next week at home against Bridgend Athletic, a few scores to settle there following the away fixture so lets all pull together and start climbing that league. See you there.

The independence of the Man of the Match panel was reinforced today with the inclusion of the Nanty/ Maesteg/Neath and Llanelli legend Jeff Bird on board.

The unanimous selection for his energy and all-round commitment- Rob Green

Unfortunately cameraman Jeff Miles was unable to attend today's game so no action photos this week.