Llanharan v Rumney 03.10.09

SWALEC League Division 1 East

LLANHARAN v RUMNEY

The Dairy Field, Llanharan
Saturday 3rd October 2009, k.o. 2.30pm

Llanharan v Rumney 18.04.09
Past playing record : played 17 games, Rumney 6 wins, Llanharan 11 wins

Rumney : 15. Dafydd Evans 14. Carwyn Thomas 13. James Thatcher 12. Paul Niblett 11. Lewis Fox 10. Danny Clark 9. Chris Milton 8. Michael Kelly 7. Matthew Way 6. Ryan Sutton 5. Paul Bull 4. Joe Mills 3. Darren Fenton 2. Michael Feneck (Capt) 1. John Leadbeatter
Replacements: 16. Craig Fitzpatrick 17. Dan Millward 18. Leighton Davies 19. Lewis Andrews 20. Ryan Fenton

Referee : Phil Connett, Llannon, Llanelli

Llanharan 22 Rumney 23

Scorers for Rumney : Joe Mills try, Matthew Way try, Dafydd Evans try, Danny Clark conversion and 2 penalties

Scorers for Llanharan : Glen Slater try, Neil Dallimore try, Arwel Davies try, Cody Rees 2 conversions

Billed as the Match of the Day in the First Division, this big clash between two of the top undefeated sides lived up to all expectations and was a thrilling and event filled game from beginning to end. Rumney played with the strong wind and rain in the first half but it was Llanharan who did the initial attacking, driven forward by scrum half Glen Holloway and kicked into position by fly half Cody Rees. The visitors' defence was secure with excellent early tackles being put in by scrum half Chris Milton, prop Darren Fenton and hooker Michael Feneck, while second rows Joe Mills and Paul Bull blocked the close range forward attacks. Rumney appeared to have an immediate edge in the set pieces where No8 Michael Kelly was again in fine form, and also benefitted from flanker Ryan Sutton's ability to take opposition ball in the lineouts, while outside half Danny Clark kicked superbly to relieve pressure and put his side into clear attacking positions. In the tenth minute Clark found an excellent touch and from the disrupted lineout Milton broke forward to set up second phase before Mills drove over to score, supported by Bull and flanker Matthew Way. Clark's use of the wind and Milton's chip kicking kept Rumney in good positions and Llanharan pulled out all the stops to prevent a second try, but the intensity of the game led to a series of sin-binnings and by twenty five minutes into the game Llanharan were reduced to fourteen men and Rumney to twelve ! Taking advantage of this situation and of the penalties they were being awarded, The Dairymen lodged themselves near the Rumney line and applied pressure in the scrum, resulting in a fast, loose ball which home No8 Glen Slater snapped up before touching down in the corner to level the score at 5 - 5. To compensate for their reduction in numbers the visitors made use of the counterattack, where full back Dafydd Evans and wingers Lewis Fox and Carwyn Thomas kept possession wherever possible and chased and tackled ruthlessly. The speed of the Rumney attacks disrupted Llanharan, centre Paul Niblett and Clark accurately driving play upfield, and in the thirty eighth minute Niblett, Sutton and speedy prop John Leadbeatter were quick to pounce on a defensive lapse and force a penalty. Clark expertly judged the difficult kick to take his side in at the interval with a 5 - 8 lead.

After the break, Ryan Fenton came on in the Rumney back row for the injured Kelly with Way switching to No8, and with the pack now restored to a full complement, the dynamic scrummaging machine went back into gear, Leadbeatter, Captain Feneck and Darren Fenton leading the drive and making their considerable presence felt in the loose. The visiting backs were also looking menacing, centre James Thatcher proving a handful on the burst and Evans, Fox and Thomas finding more room in which to work. In the forty eighth minute, having forced a series of penalties, Way picked up at the back of a five metre scrum and capped another oustanding performance by bursting over for an excellent try. Trailing by 5 - 13, Llanharan's reaction was to immediately return to the offensive and a blustering run by centre Elliott Folls gained plenty of ground and led to his side's best period of the game. Magnificent defensive work by Sutton gave Rumney a scrum near their own line but the ball shot out of the scrummage and Llanharan pounced to spin it wide, allowing centre Neil Dallimore to cross under the sticks. Rees added the points and in the sixty fifth minute slotted a very good, long range penalty to edge The Dairymen into a 15 - 13 lead. Having nosed in front, Llanharan went all out on the attack, making full use of their threequarter line, one particular break only being stopped at the last moment by a crunching tackle from Fox. Fox was however looking sharp whenever he came infield, and it was in the midfield that Bull and Ryan Fenton in particular were marauding and making big gains. At this point Rumney brought on Craig Fitzpatrick at prop and Dan Millward on the wing, and with Mr Connett's use of the yellow card having reduced both sides to fourteen men, a very exciting climax was in prospect. Millward sought work dodging through the opposition and the threequarters pressed and threatened to break through, resulting in errors in the Llanharan defence and in the seventy second minute Clark landed another difficult penalty, against the strong wind, to nudge the visitors back into the lead at 15 - 16. Feneck, Bull and Ryan Fenton were now linking at speed and causing major problems for the home defence and in the seventy sixth minute, following more quality lineout ball from Sutton, another rolling maul seemed to be on the cards, but Fitzpatrick cleverly controlled the ball at the rear and released to Milton whose long booming pass was expertly gathered by Evans, who had a lot to do but sliced through the opposition to score a top quality try. Another brilliant and vital kick by Clark put Rumney further ahead at 15 - 23 but in the seventy ninth minute the visitors conceded a penalty and quickfire Holloway sent winger Arwel Davies over in the corner, Rees's excellent conversion closing the scores to a nailbiting 22 - 23. Rumney however, were determined to seal the game and took a disciplined approach to the remaining minutes, Leadbeatter in particular claiming and securing turnover possession, until Mr Connett finally brought the thrilling proceedings to an end, the scoreboard indicating the tighest of contests and reading Llanharan 22 Rumney 23.

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "This was the game that was going to tell us where we were as a squad. All the games so far have been tough matches which have asked questions of us, but today's game was a true yardstick of where we have come as a team. With the new coaching team of Graham Daley, Mike Morgan and myself, I would certainly say that the boys have taken on board what Graham and Mike have been coaching, a big part of coaching is getting players to buy into your policies, and they have been taking what they do on the training field on to the park and they are gelling into a very good side. They showed a steely resilience today, going down to twelve men at one point and showing great togetherness against a very dangerous Llanharan side. At one point we only had five players in the scrum but they still refused to let Llanharan get a solid platform to work from. Basically, the pack was outstanding in all aspects of phase play and open play, and the half backs were clever in their approach, constantly driving Llanharan back. The midfield was solid and the back three were very, very good and made the right decisions under pressure. We now look forward to welcoming Bargoed to Riverside Park for what will be another keenly fought contest. Ryan Sutton had an outstanding game today and was the Man of the Match."

 

Ryan Sutton, flanker Rumney 1st XV : "It was a good game, I enjoyed it and it was the kind of game that makes you want to play rugby. The boys dug in and as Craig Fitzpatrick says 'We are a family'. We made a good fast start, had the upper hand and it felt as if we were going to win, but this was the first time that we've also had our backs up against the wall and we responded well. Morale is high, in times like this you get the luck of the bounce and make the most of it. It was a good all round performance, including Chris Milton's attempted drop goal, everyone played well. You can tell good rugby players when their backs are up against the wall. We are not getting paid but we are competing against sides at the top of the league, games like this are the reasons why you play rugby."

Click here to see all the tries from this game and add your comments

Try scorers : Joe Mills (10 mins), Glen Slater (27 mins), Matthew Way (48 mins), Neil Dallimore (65 mins), Dafydd Evans (76 mins), Arwel Davies (79 mins)