SOUTH GOWER 0 YSTRADGYNLAIS 18 THE BEST OF TIMES AND THE WORST OF TIMES With an edited pinch from the opening of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, we can describe an incredible turnaround. After a weakened side taking the biggest hammering for years, another weakened side with just 15 players faced the same opposition again in this Swalec Bowl match at Pwll Du. Ystradgynlais came with a swagger that suggested anticipation of a repeat performance, but were stunned with the match of the season by a magnificent effort from the home side. A tale of two matches, then. Late cry-offs led to uncontested scrums and a loose defensive kick allowed the visitors to take the game straight on the offensive, but a steal from Andrew Rennie gave Rhys Davies a chance to clear. A kick-through and chase was spoiled by an offence by Ystrad and Gower took a shot at the posts that dropped just short. It was noted that the score was nil after 11 minutes, whereas no fewer than 19 had been racked up the previous week. The resistance was highly active! A mistake let the visitors get within 10 metres with a charge-down, but last-ditch tackling meant that the opposition had to resort to handling in the ruck, but they were soon back. Eventually, the ball was worked out wide for a try. Gower came back into the game and got to the 22, but lost the line-out. There was a very heavy penalty count, mostly for the away side. At long last, to the relief of the spectators, a penalty was awarded to the home side; not, as many thought, for a blatant high tackle, but for coming in from the side of a ruck. Unfortunately, in the final minute of the half, a yellow card was issued against a home player for going over the top. The score at the whistle was far closer than the away game. HALF TIME: SOUTH GOWER 0 YSTRADGYNLAIS 5 Following a splendid tackle by the home wing, there was a nasty reaction from the tackled player and a major fist-fight started, resulting in the referee awarding a red card against each side. Open side flanker Ashley Stokes made the tackle of the year so far to stop a try on the line and again continuing attacks were met with dogged defence to keep them out. On the hour, it became clear that the visitors were worrying about the possibility of scoring further and opted to go for the posts instead of trying for territory, gaining the three points. All the team was tackling superbly, the back row leading the way. South Gower continued to stand up to immense pressure, but eventually Ystrad managed to get round the wide outside again with 10 minutes to go and then stretched out to the other wing for a further score. South Gower finished with a flurry, twice going close and finally leaving the visitors feeling a degree or two less cocky and we all take our hats off to a courageous and hard-fighting team that deserves all the support we can give the as we return to the league next week for a home game against Vardre. A tale of two games, indeed – and pride is totally justified. The worst of circumstances and the best of performance. Team: Dave Allen, Tom Gwynn, Rhys Corey, Nathan Leach, Brandon Davies, Rhys Davies (Capt), Rob Gadd, Ashley Stokes, Ben Davies, Rhydian Morgan, Andrew Rennie, Charlie Heard, Bari Davies, Nick Gwynn, Alex Hurlow.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 17:13:19 +0000
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