Bargoed v Rumney 30.01.2010

SWALEC League Division 1 East

BARGOED v RUMNEY

Bargoed Park
Saturday 30th January 2010, k.o. 2.30 pm

Rumney v Bargoed 28.02.2009

Past playing record : Played 7 games, Bargoed 7 wins, Rumney 0 wins

Rumney : 15. Dafydd Evans  14. Dan Millward 13. Paul Niblett 12. Lee Mullane 11. Luke Fear 10. Danny Clark 9. Chris Milton 8. Michael Kelly  7. Matthew Way  6. Anthony Wilson  5. Joe Mills 4. Paul Bull   3. Matt Russell   2. Michael Feneck (Capt) 1. John Leadbeatter   Replacements: 16. Ryan Sutton 17. Lewis Fox 18. James Monck  19.Mike Neale   20. Daniel Morris

Bargoed : 15. G. Carlow  14. G. Jones   13. D. Humphries   12. R. Humphries    11. L. Protheroe   10. S. Jones    9. M. Roberts    8. L. Wayman     7. A. Cullen    6. N. Cochlin    5. C. Lynch   4. L. Williams   3. C. Nutt   2. L. Meads (Capt)   1. R. Jones
Replacements: 16. L. Pearson    17. M. Hucheson     18. I. Jenkins    19. G. McCarthy    20. G. Rogers  

Referee : Huw Griffiths, Cwmavon

Bargoed 17  Rumney 18

Scorers for Rumney : Michael Kelly try, Chris Milton try, Danny Clark conversion and 2 penalties

Scorers for Bargoed : Mike Roberts try, Lewis Protheroe try, Steffan Jones 2 conversions and drop goal

  

After sub zero temperatures on Friday night, there were fears that the game would not take place but by 2.30 pm on Saturday afternoon Bargoed Park was  perfectly playable and the bright sunshine and dry weather created excellent playing conditions for what proved to be another gem of a game and an absorbing spectacle for spectators. From the kick off Rumney second row Joe Mills was a tower of strength under the high ball and fullback Dafydd Evans marked his return from injury with an outstanding performance both in attack and defence. Bargoed started in characteristically lively fashion, scrum half Mike Roberts adopting a high pace approach and outside half Steffan Jones popping over a neat drop goal after three minutes. The first scrum set the pattern for the match, the visiting front row of John Leadbeatter, Michael Feneck and Matt Russell controlling the whole set piece and leading a forward push which usually drove back the Bargoed eight and opened the opportunity for turnovers and counterattacks, however an excellent counterattacking break by winger Dan Millward resulted in his suffering a leg injury and Lewis Fox took to the field. In the lineout Rumney also dominated through the ability of flanker Anthony Wilson to monopolise possession, while in midfield centres Paul Niblett and Lee Mullane tackled brilliantly to contain the dangerous Bargoed threequarters who had posed Rumney so many problems in the teams' earlier encounter at Riverside Park in October. In the eleventh minute Niblett and Mullane also demonstrated their attacking skills when more Wilson lineout possession set off the threequarters, Niblett drawing in the opposition before giving a beautifully timed pass to Mullane on the burst who raced fifty metres before feeding Fox, the winger doing particularly well to flick the ball to No8 Michael Kelly whose excellent backing up saw him power over for the first try. Mills continued to be central to the Rumney offence and half backs Chris Milton and Danny Clark drove play downfield with effective bursts and kicks for position, while in loose play second rows Paul Bull and Mills combined well as did Feneck and Kelly, and Leadbeatter, Russell and flanker Matthew Way tidied up well at the controlled drives. It was these drives which led to the second Rumney try, Captain Feneck smuggling the ball forward with massive support until the home forwards conceded a penalty close to their tryline and while everyone prepared for the expected formality of three easy points, hotshot Milton tapped the ball and hurled himself over for a remarkable opportunist try. Clark's conversion put the visitors into a 3 - 12 lead but Bargoed struck back immediately when flanker Nicky Cochlin picked up well from another difficult scrum and flicked a neat pass to Roberts who scorched down the wing to score a very good individual try. Outside half Steffan Jones added the difficult conversion to close the gap to 10 - 12, after twenty four minutes. Rumney continued to have the edge in the scrums and mauls, Russell and Leadbeatter working well with tight possession, and the visitors made occassional lineout variations where Way gathered and burst forward, while the home forwards preferred a looser approach where Roberts could kick them into attacking positions, but ironically it was from a retreating scrum in the twenty ninth minute that the scrum half made a fine break and sparked a sweeping threequarter movement that was finished off by winger Lewis Protheroe crossing in the corner. Jones added the extra points with another difficult kick but Rumney finished the half well, Wilson, Kelly and Way gaining plenty of territory with their ball handling skills and Clark making huge touchfinders, the half time scoreboard showing  Bargoed to be in the lead at 17 - 12.

 

The opening period of the second half found Fox and Evans attacking from deep for the visitors, Leadbeatter and Feneck setting up phases in midfield and Clark putting in more punishing, accurate kicks to the corners. In defence Kelly was proving outstanding in his work from the base of the scrum and Clark made huge gains with relieving touchfinders but in the fifty second minute Rumney's persistent forward power forced a penalty and the outside half added three important points to bring the score to a narrow 17 - 15. Bargoed maintained their open running approach and an excellent tackle by Feneck was all that prevented a try but the Rumney captain was now causing havoc in midfield attacks and in the sixtieth minute was only stopped by a penalty offence. This was to prove decisive because Clark's kick put the visitors back into the lead at 17 - 18 and from this point tactical changes saw James Monck join the Rumney front row and Mike Neale the second row. Mullane found space to cut through in the centre and right wing Luke Fear made threatening breaks, Neale , Monck and Wilson also carving out gaps in the opposition defences, but the menace of the Bargoed threequarters was clear when centre Darren Humphries broke loose and was only stopped by a crunching Niblett tackle. Kelly also produced important tackles and the pack moved into home territory again through a series of closely controlled drives and clean ball from lineout expert Ryan Sutton, who had joined the Rumney back row. Bargoed won a number of turnovers and took risks running from all positions, while for the visitors, Fear, Fox and Evans combined cleverly and counterattacked at pace. Dan Morris came on and worked well at hooker for Rumney and Milton and Niblett sniped and attacked, Clark firing off more commanding, long range kicks to keep his side moving forward as the clock ran down, and although Bargoed counterattacked at every opportunity, the visitors' defence was solid and their particularly disciplined performance guaranteed a famous victory at 17 - 18.  

 
(Left) Michael Kelly and (right) Chris Milton

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "This is our best performance to date and I have to say that it was nothing short of outstanding. I don't say this lightly, but everything we've worked on over the past seven months as a team of coaches fell into place. Our scrum was highly destructive and I don't think Bargoed will come up against a stronger scrummaging unit this season. Not only did we get parity in the lineouts, but we also disrupted a lot of their possession, which prevented them from gaining any momentum and presented their back line with slow ball. We needed to achieve this as Bargoed are the most complete team in Division One and have a very good balance through the forwards and backs. We ourselves have been guilty of lacking balance this season, with the forwards being the dominant part of our team structure. Mike Morgan has done a lot of work with our backline this season in attack and defence, and today we saw both the backs and forwards combining to create a fifteen man game. It would be difficult to single out anybody, even the substitutions that were made took nothing away from our gameplay, in fact all the substitutions played a part in this victory. One player gave a little more than his team mates to earn the Man of the Match award and once again it was Chris Milton who, at twenty one years of age, is developing into one of the top scrum halves in the League."  

Graham Daley, Forwards Coach Rumney 1st XV : "It was an exciting game to watch between two evenly equipped sides. I feel we edged Bargoed out at the set piece and the breakdown by applying constant pressure and they are probably not accustomed to that. For myself, it was a particularly pleasing performance at the scrum where an outstanding eight man effort resulted in a very uncomfortable time for the Bargoed scrum half. A great away win but most of all, an enjoyable game to watch for all present."