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SWALEC Cup 2011-2012  Round 2

TREDEGAR v RUMNEY

The Recreation Ground, Tredegar
Saturday 28th January 2012, k.o. 2.30 pm

 
Tredegar v Rumney 07.01.2012
Past playing record : played 21, Tredegar 10 wins, Rumney 11 wins

Rumney : 15.Joe Offside  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Paul Niblett  12.Luke Fear  11.Solomon Matthews  10.Danny Clark (Capt)   9.Lewis Andrews   8.Matthew Way  7.Ryan Fenton  6.Simon Barry  5.Paul Bull  4.Michael Kelly  3.Darren Fenton   2.Carl Fish  1.John Leadbeatter
Replacements : 16.Jordan Allen  17.Dan Holliday  18.Sion Hutchings  19.Paul King  20.Chris Milton  21.Lee Bendon  22.George Kemble

This game is now subject to a pitch inspection on Saturday morning at 10.30 am

Referee : Mike Bethel, Treherbert

Mallett Cup 2011-2012  Round 2

RUMNEY ATHLETIC v LLANRUMNEY

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 28th January 2012, k.o. 2.30 pm

Rumney Athletic : 15.D.Turner  14.L.Plummer   13.A.Bodin  12.D.Evans   11.L.Baptiste  10.C.Maton   9.J.Morgan   8.A.Wilson   7.R.Sutton   6.A.Leach   5.S.O'Connor   4.M.Young   3.K.O'Connor    2.S.Spavin   1.A.Davies
Replacements : 16.R.Matthews   17.C.Cobbold   18.L.Facey  19.R.Maton

BARRY YOUTH v RUMNEY YOUTH

Barry RFC
Saturday 28th January 2012, k.o. 2.30 pm

SWALEC League Division 1 East

BLACKWOOD v RUMNEY

Glan Yr Afon Park, Blackwood
Saturday 21st January 2012, k.o. 2.30 pm

 
Rumney v Blackwood 08.10.2011
Past playing record : played 23, Blackwood 16 wins, Rumney 6 wins, 1 draw

Rumney : 15.Joe Offside  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Paul Niblett  12.Luke Fear  11.Solomon Matthews  10.Danny Clark (Capt)   9.Chris Milton   8.Jordan Allen  7.Ryan Fenton  6.Matthew Way  5.Paul Bull  4.Michael Neal  3.Darren Fenton   2.Colin O'Donoghue  1.Dan Holliday
Replacements : 16.Michael Kelly  17.Nathan Bridson  18.Joe Mills  19.John Leadbeatter  20.Jimmy Morgan

Blackwood : 15.Sean Emery  14.Kristan Perry (Capt)  13.Jamie Jones  12.Adam Jones  11.Rhodri Usher  10.Jeremy Roberts   9.Mark Birkby  8.David Brake  7.Greg Baker  6.David Ford  5.Marc Gwilt  4.Lee Taylor  3.Keiron Brown  2.Jack Williams  1.Rhys Morgan
Replacements : 16.Huw Jones  17.Ross Cornwall  18.Greg Knapp  19.Anthony John  20.Tom Moss

Referee : Craig Evans, Glynneath

Blackwood 17   Rumney 8

Scorers for Rumney : Matthew Way try, Danny Clark conversion and penalty

Scorers for Blackwood  : Jamie Jones try, Adam Jones try and conversion and penalty, Jeremy Roberts conversion

An impressive, disciplined first half performance by Rumney was followed by a second half in which they failed to score a point as a resurrgent Blackwood side took the honours and the points at Llan Yr Afon Park. The visitors started at pace, playing a carefully structured game and soon flanker Matthew Way made a dramatic, early breakthrough, second row Mike Neal battered and thundered at the opposition and snappy scrum half Chris Milton and centre Luke Fear looked particularly dangerous with ball in hand. All the play had so far taken play in the home team's half, Blackwood defendingly stoutly and concentrating on a good link between No8 David Brake and scrum half Mark Birkby to relieve pressure, but in the seventh minute, livewire Birkby took a quick tap penalty inside his own twenty two, raced to halfway and connected with his threequarters, the ball being switched back from winger Rhodri Usher to centre Jamie Jones who sidestepped his way to the posts for the opening score, co-centre Adam Jones adding the extra points for a 7-0 lead. Rumney attacked again from the restart but conceded another penalty and Blackwood made their first real incursion into the visitors' territory, requiring decisive tackling from centres Paul Niblett and Fear and also second row Paul Bull. The home backs were by now also starting to click, full back Sean Emery running strongly from depth, but when Rumney wing Gareth Stoppani hacked on from a dropped ball and was heading for the inevitable touchdown, he was astonished to be called back by Mr Evans for an alleged jersey pulling incident, the flying winger's look of shock and stress clearly indicating a firm belief in his innocence. In the heavy conditions the Rumney backs showed skill in attempting fast, open play, outside half and Captain Danny Clark judging situations well, Milton and wing Solomon Matthews making breaks, and forwards Neal and No8 Jordan 'Texas' Allen, the club's first American 1st XV player, bursting upfield and creating phases on the home twenty two. In the thirteenth minute Clark slotted a penalty for an offside offence and from the restart the outside half once more opened play up, Bull and hooker Colin O'Donoghue working intricately with the backs, and flanker Ryan Fenton, Way and Allen carrying it on further, but the earlier tendency to concede penalties reappeared and large gains of ground were lost. The visitors did however keep possession well and enjoyed a steady supply of lineout and scrummage ball, the front row of Darren Fenton, O'Donoghue and Dan Holliday in their element at the breakdowns and in the tight forward exchanges, where their skilful interplay looked sure to eventually bring points. At no time did Blackwood panic, even when Allen, Neal and Darren Fenton made further drives deep into their territory, the home back row of Greg Baker, David Ford and Brake using any possession to counterattack out of defence. The visiting backs were now looking particularly threatening, fullback Joe Offside, Matthews and Stoppani breaking away and cantering down the tramlines, and in the thirty eighth minute Matthews took play right down to within ten metres of the Blackwood tryline. From the subsequent lineout Way secured the ball and a superbly executed, unstoppable forward drive took Rumney over the line, Way himself touching down for the try which sent his side in at the interval, now confidently leading at 7-8.

Within minutes of the restart it was clear that Blackwood had upped their game considerably, as their backs attacked aggressively and the forwards showed good retention skills to take them close to the Rumney line, prop Keiron Brown getting down and winning hard ball on the floor. The visitors' defences functioned well, Clark repeatedly clearing his lines and taking advantage of penalties to relieve the pressure, but having once more worked their way upfield, a fumble on the Blackwood ten metre line was punished by centre Adam Jones who hacked the ball all the way to the tryline and touched down, outside half Jeremy Roberts adding the conversion to regain the lead at 14-8. The home side was now confidently running the ball whenever possible and they were only kept out by outstanding tackling from Stoppani and Niblett. Rumney decided on tactical replacements, Joe Mills taking the field in the second row, John Leadbeatter at prop, Nathan Bridson at hooker and Michael Kelly in the back row, the forward encounters showing no sign of any reduction in intensity and powerful ball carrying being need to gain any advantage, and with Jimmy Morgan now at scrum half, the high speed link between forwards and backs gave the three quarters the occasional chance to counter. Big forward drives by the Blackwood pack resulted in more outstanding defensive work but also forced the visitors into making errors, and in the seventy fourth minute, play having been lodged in the Rumney half for an extended period, Mills was yellow carded and Adam Jones stretched the lead to two scores with a successful penalty. Rumney battled to the end, Niblett leading a final, sweeping counterattack but Blackwood carefully exploited their one man advantage to close down the game and take the spoils at 17-8.

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "In all honesty this is a game we could have won in the first half. We spent thirty seven minutes in Blackwood's twenty two but squandered opportunity after opportunity, and we also failed to get any flow into our game as we consistently gave away penalties. I feel Blackwood were there for the taking and once again, as against Newbridge last week, we failed to capitalise on four or five clear cut scoring opportunities. It is frustrating from the coaching point of view, as the boys are doing enough to win these matches, but we must now concentrate on our finishing, being patient and focusing on taking the tries on offer. To Blackwood's credit, I think they realised at half time that they'd been let off the hook, they then woke up and played some good rugby in the second half, with the main difference between the two teams being that Blackwood know how to score tries and how to close a game out. As i mentioned earlier, I can not ask any more of this team mentally and physically, but we now need to concentrate more on the technical and tactical aspects of our game. Next week will be a welcome break from the league as we are playing Tredegar in the Cup. Solomon Matthews was today's Man of the Match, Sol's game is developing every week and he is now becoming a well respected player in Division One East".

Solomon Matthews, wing Rumney 1st XV : "In the first half we played very well and were camped in Blackwood's twenty two but we lacked the finishing touch and weren't clinical enough. The forwards were very good in the scrums and lineouts, Mike Neal made some excellent breaks and we kept the ball alive well and there were three or four clear cut chances to score in the first half. It went to pot in the second half, we were stuck in our own half and gave away penalties over and over again, we made sloppy mistakes and we switched off. Mike Neal had a great game, all the forwards did well in the scrums, and there were some good breaks from Colin O'Donoghue."

Above, left to right : Matt Silva, Solomon Matthews, Jordan Allen, Jimmy Morgan

WRU 2nd XV League

BARGOED 2nd XV v RUMNEY ATHLETIC

Bargoed Park, Bargoed
Saturday 21st January 2012, k.o. 2.30 pm

Rumney Athletic squad : D.Turner   L.Baptiste   A.Bodin    A.Jones   C.Maton   L.Facey   L.Plummer   P.King   J.Kelly   C.Edwards   A.Thompson   L.Andrews   D.Evans   D.Perks   A.Davies   S.Spavin   R.Matthews   R.Maton   S.O'Connor   K.O'Connor   C.Cobbold   R.Sutton (Capt)   A.Leach   H.Applegate  S.Barry

Bargoed 2nd XV 26   Rumney Athletic 6

Athletic catch Yellow Fever !

The Athletic caught a severe dose of yellow fever on Saturday! Not from any of the 'Brothers' but from the referee who handed out a total of ten yellow cards and two reds in the match. The Athletic were lucky, they only got yellow fever and no red!  Twenty seven penalties plus five free kicks were awarded against an Athletic side whose discipline was excellent the previous Saturday. Although conditions were very windy at Bargoed, the game was played on the 1st XV pitch, which was in good condition. At one stage the Athletic were down to twelve men and Bargoed down to thirteen, so it was impossible to get any sort of continuity going. The day had started on a positive with two of the squad, Jimmy Morgan and Tex being selected for the 1st XV. As a development side, this is what the Athletic had been formed for and the reason for going into the WRU 2nd XV League. However, back to the game, which started with the Athletic on the defensive as they were up against a strong crosswind. An early Bargoed attack was held up and although they went 0-6 down after a couple of penalties for offside, it was the Athletic who dominated field position, thanks to good play from the pack with the back row of Stevo, Bazza and Willow on top. Sparkle and The Monk kept the team going forward and it was good to see Daf back from injury in the centre and Josh Kelly making a debut. In the end the Athletic pressure paid and although they should have got over the try line on three occasions, they were well satisfied with two Monk penalties to draw level at 6-6. However careless work from the kick off gifted Bargoed a penalty and it was 6-9 at the half time interval.

All seemed ready for a repeat of last Saturday's game against UWIC. Keep our discipline and we win! But rugby is never that simple. The second half became a procession of yellow cards and sendings off. An injury to The Monk, which caused him to leave the field, did not help and in the middle of yellows to Willow, Linc and Cogs, Bargoed took advantage to score a couple of break away tries. Late in the game it was good to see Dave turner, Ross, Henry and Simon Grimshaw get some game time but those were the only positives to take out of the game. "On to the next Battle !" said Gainsey, and battle it will be, Llanrumney away in the Cup on Saturday! What chance of a yellow or a red card then ? What no takers ?

GLAMORGAN WANDERERS YOUTH v RUMNEY YOUTH

The Memorial Ground, Ely, Cardiff
Saturday 21st December 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Glamorgan Wanderers Youth 23   Rumney Youth 0

SWALEC League Division 1 East

RUMNEY v NEWBRIDGE

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 14th January 2012, k.o. 2.30 pm

 
Newbridge v Rumney 01.10.2011
Past playing record : played 23, Newbridge 15 wins, Rumney 7 wins, 1 draw

Rumney : 15.Joe Offside  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Paul Niblett  12.Luke Fear  11.Solomon Matthews  10.Danny Clark (Capt)  9.Chris Milton  8.Michael Kelly  7.Simon Barry  6.Matthew Way  5.Paul Bull  4.Michael Neal  3.Dan Holliday  2.Colin O'Donoghue  1.John Leadbeatter
Replacements : 16.Anthony Wilson  17.Ryan Fenton  18.Lewis Andrews  19.Carl Fish  20.Nathan Bridson

Newbridge : 15.C.Young  14.A.Bevan  13.S.Thomas  12.G.Langdon  11.G.Jones  10.N.Burnett  9.T.Edwards  8.R.Coombs (Capt)  7.A.Coupe  6.G.Knapp  5.G.Short  4.J.Noble  3.D.Evans  2.D.Hughes  1.G.Lewin
Replacements : 16.D.Price  17.G.Weaver  18.D.Gibbs  19.R.Addis  20.D.Phillips

(Rumney played the first half in black and white and, because of the muddy conditions, changed to dark blue and white for the second half. Newbridge played in blue and black.)

Referee : Huw David, Cefn Cribbwr

 

Rumney 10   Newbridge 23

Scorers for Rumney : Gareth Stoppani try, Danny Clark conversion and drop goal

Scorers for Newbridge  : Tom Edwards try, Neil Burnett try and 2 conversions and 3 penalties

This was an exciting and close match which, despite the heavy conditions underfoot, produced three good tries and plenty of skilful play. The Rumney forwards started strongly, No8 Michael Kelly, second row Miike Neal and flanker Simon Barry carrying well and taking the game to the visitors, and scrum half Chris Milton darting everywhere, getting the ball out to his backs who also showed an early willingness to run, even on the heavy pitch. Newbridge were well organised and composed from the start, efficiently claiming lineout ball and binding closely in tight forward drives, and when Rumney conceded three penalties, one after another, visiting outside half Neil Burnett opened his side's account in the seventh minute by kicking the last one for an opening three points. Newbridge fullback Ceri Young threatened from deep, second row Gareth Short continuously set up quality possession and half backs Tom Edwards and Burnett organised the moves, while for Rumney, the pack kept up their high workrate, Milton excelled under the high ball and attacked non stop, and centre Luke Fear produced a scything break. Both sets of threequarters ran the ball and there were exciting exchanges, but with the visiting backs being penalised for offside and second row Paul Bull and props Dan Holliday and John Leadbeatter being up quickly to make important tackles, the home side showed no signs of conceding a try. Newbridge also favoured a high paced approach, outstanding No8 and Captain Ross Coombs rapidly delivering the ball to Edwards from the base of the scrum in order to start close, handling movements, and further, committed tackling and defensive work was needed from the Rumney back three of fullback Joe Offside and wingers Solomon Matthews and Gareth Stoppani, but in the seventeenth minute the pressure finally told when the home team was caught offside and Burnett added three more points. The visitors' powerful second row pairing of Short and Noble was at the centre of much of their controlled play, Rumney finding success in the loose where Leadbeatter and hooker Colin O'Donoghue burst through, and where Neal, Barry and flanker Matthew Way created space and gained turnovers, the home side moving into a far more attacking period of play. Clark's accurate boot worked the home side into the corners, winning penalties and setting up drives which looked as though they were bound to bring a try, but Newbridge kept their line intact, so Milton flashed the ball back to Clark who slotted over a well taken drop goal. Two minutes later however, in the thirty fifth minute, Rumney were penalised for jersey pulling at a maul and Burnett reclaimed three points, the remaining minutes of the half seeing strong forward tussels between the twenty twos, but no further scores, and the halftime scoreboard read Rumney 3 Newbridge 9.

  

After the break Ryan Fenton took to the field at open side for Rumney and was straight into the fray as Newbridge pressed forward, keeping tight possession and gaining useful attacking positions. In the fifty second minute at a defensive Rumney scrum on the five metre line, the visitors disrupted the set piece and Coombs drove forward to set up phases, and when Edwards spotted the home defence drifting wide, he dummied his way through a big gap to touchdown under the posts. Burnett's conversion took the lead to 3-16 but Rumney heads did not drop and in fact, they came back strongly and quickly, Matthews chasing up a Clark kick and gaining the put in at a scrum, from which a massive front row effort gave Kelly a quick pick up at the back and the impressive No8 fed Milton, the ball flying out to centre Paul Niblett, whose superbly timed pass sent Matthews through the gap on the burst and Stoppani away to score a fine try. Clark's difficult conversion brought the sides back to 10-16. Lewis Andrews took the field at scrum half for Rumney and along with Bull, Barry and Fear, put in important tackles as Newbridge hit back with more expansive play, the reliable Burnett carefully controlling moves through safe and accurate kicking from hand. In the sixty seventh minute the visitors again lodged in the home twenty two, and in a move reminiscent of their earlier try, Edwards dummied through a defensive gap and offloaded to Burnett who crossed for the try and added the conversion to stretch the lead to 10-23. Rumney brought on Nathan Bridson at hooker, Anthony Wilson at No8 and Carl Fish at flanker, three dynamic players who all contributed well to the intense forward effort, the home side playing adventurously using effective lineout variations, Clark and Fear making good breaks and Fenton and Neal battering through midfield, but Newbridge defended well and also ran and attacked with determination, both sides competing for the full eighty minutes, and an absorbing game came to its conclusion with the score remaining at Rumney 10 Newbridge 23.

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "Despite losing out on a victory today we were pleased with the manner in which we approached the fixture on a difficult underfoot surface, I have to commend the players on their intent to play an open game. Newbridge played the conditions well, adopting a ten man style and taking their chances well. In reality they scored two soft tries when they were camped under the posts in our twenty two, and that proved to be the difference between the teams. Tredegar showed composure and patience, which is something we would do well to emulate. With that said, I would not ask the players to change their style of rugby, which they play week in week out, and this is evident in the fact that the Newbridge coaches commented on how much they enjoyed watching our style of play. It was a good fifteen man performance with Colin O'Donoghue and Mike Neal having outstanding games. Dan Holliday played out of position at tight head and gave one hundred percent for eighty minutes, and for this he deserves to be named Man of the Match."

Dan Holliday, prop Rumney 1st XV : "It was a dogged game all round. We dominated at forward but it was just those two lapses where Tredegar scored, we switched off and they took them. We dug in well all the way to the end, it was an uphill battle but we showed a lot of character and we can try and take the positives from it into the next few games. Solomon Matthews played very well, Sol seemed to have a part in a lot of the good things that we did."

Above, left : Matt Silva, right : Dan Holliday

WRU 2nd XV League

RUMNEY ATHLETIC v UWIC 2nd XV

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 14th January 2012, k.o. 2.30 pm

Rumney Athletic squad : D.Turner   L.Baptiste   A.Bodin    A.Jones   C.Maton   L.Facey   L.Plummer   P.King   J.Kelly   C.Edwards   A.Thompson   J.Morgan   D.Perks   A.Davies   S.Spavin   R.Matthews   R.Maton   S.O'Connor   K.O'Connor  J.Allen   C.Cobbold   R.Sutton (Capt)   A.Leach   H.Applegate

Rumney Athletic 27    UWIC 2nd XV 9

Scorers for Rumney Athletic : Luke Facey try, Alex Bodin try, Chris Maton conversion and 5 penalties

Man of the Match  : Chris Maton

Band of Brothers give Band 1 performance to beat Students

The Monk was magic and Stevo was sensational. The day the Wales Assembly Government published its Banding 1-5 for educational establishments, was the day the Athletic gave an A* performance to send the UWIC students packing. The Athletic provided the eighty minutes of rugby that coaches and players have been waiting for, and all knew that they were capable of. The WRU referee summed it up : "I looked at the League Table and thought that this would be an easy one for UWIC but after ten minutes I changed my mind ". The omens were good, the team had trained on Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday and were ready to start 2012 with a win. Forwards win matches and so it proved to be, the front five of Ockners, Spav, Dessie and Rob Maton dominated the bigger UWIC pack and backed up by Captain Stevo, who was everywhere, Tex and Chris Cob in the back row caused panic in the students' back line. This gave half backs Jimmy Mogs and The Monk a good platform to set centres Paul King and Luke Facey in motion. The back three of Dave the Rave and wingers The Linc and Bapo were everywhere.

The game started with the Athletic dominating field position but an early penalty allowed UWIC to break, and good defence did stop them short, but it cost a penalty and a 0-3 scoreline. It was at this point that the game changed, the Athletic surging upfield from a Tex break, The Monk slotting over a penalty, the Athletic getting back down into the UWIC half and The Monk slotting over another penalty to put them 6-3 up ! UWIC came back but the Athletic's defence was superb and when UWIC got over the Athletic's line three times they were held up on each occassion and all they came away with was two penalties, the Athletic having the final word when The Monk slotted his third penalty for a 9-9 score at half time.

A couple of terse words from Gwyndaf followed, "Give away as many penalties this half and we gift them a game we have dominated". The Athletic took this on board, UWIC were nilled in the second half and never got a kick at goal. TJ and TG rang the changes with Dom Perks, Chris Edwards and Screech coming on early, with Gogs, Youngy and Alex Bodin coming on later. It was the Athletic on the charge with Stevo dominating the lineout and The Monk putting them in the right area. Pressure brought two more penalties from The Monk and a 15-9 lead as the students lost their discipline. Panic set into the student ranks and they were soon in Band 5 mode as they chased the game, spilling the ball fifteen metres out, only for Facey to sweep it up and score at the posts, The Monk converting the try for a 22-9 lead. Further panic in the student ranks led to more penalties and good back play saw Alex Bodin go over for a 27-9 scoreline. There were still ten minutes to go and UWIC were desperate to get a score, but not this time, the Athletic defence was superb - "They shall not pass !". It was summed up in the final seconds, Cogs flattened their scrum half, got the penalty and when the referee nodded that it was all over, Youngy booted the ball out and the celebrations began. What does two twos give you ? No, not four, but twenty two brothers who gave one hundred percent for Rumney Athletic - bring on Bargoed next Saturday.

SWALEC League Division 1 East

TREDEGAR v RUMNEY

The Recreation Ground, Tredegar
Saturday 7th January 2012, k.o. 2.30 pm

 
Rumney v Tredegar 24.09.2011
Past playing record : played 20, Tredegar 10 wins, Rumney 10 wins

Rumney : 15.Joe Offside  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Paul Niblett  12.Luke Fear  11.Solomon Matthews  10.Danny Clark  9.Chris Milton   8.Michael Kelly  7.Simon Barry  6.Matthew Way  5.Paul Bull  4.Joe Mills  3.James Monck  2.Michael Feneck (Capt)  1.John Leadbeatter
Replacements : 16.Ryan Fenton 17.Anthony Wilson  18.Darren Fenton  19.Colin O'Donoghue  20.Lewis Andrews

Tredegar : 15.Scott Amber  14.Gareth Lloyd  13.Kevin Lewis  12.Craig Lloyd  11.Craig Lewis  10.Greg Jones  9.Rhys Hallett (Capt)   8.Jordan Williams  7.Ryan Bevan   6.Lloyd Williams  5.Ryan Thomas  4.Ryan White  3.Andrew Grant  2.Owain Crowley  1.Brett Mountney
Replacements : Jamie Morgan   Daffydd Dew   Paul Edwards   Kristian Jones   Matthew Cummings   Kyle Scrivens   Richard Dennington

Referee : Paul Richards, Droitwich

 

Tredegar 21   Rumney 22

Scorers for Rumney : Paul Bull try, Gareth Stoppani try, penalty try, Danny Clark 2 conversions and penalty

Scorers for Tredegar  : Rhys Hallett try, Matthew Cummings try, Greg Jones try and 3 conversions

After almost a seven weeks layoff Rumney started the match well, taking good lineout ball and setting up controlled forward drives where No8 Michael Kelly immediately announced that he would be one of their major dangermen. Tredegar also showed few signs of rustiness and were a power to be reckoned with at the set pieces where their No8 Jordan Williams also started very strongly. Concentrating play in the Tredegar half of the field, visiting outside half Danny Clark set up moves for his backs, trying to release wingers Solomon Matthews and Gareth Stoppani through long passes, while aggressive bursts from his flankers Simon Barry and Matthew Way, and second row Joe Mills kept the home side penned in their own territory for the opening exchanges. The visitors' powerful scrummage functioned well from the outset, props John Leadbeatter and James Monck, and hooker Michael Feneck providing a mighty front row, and in the ninth minute Tredegar were penalised for obstruction on the side of a scrum, allowing Clark to open the scoring with a twenty five metre penalty. From the restart the outside half again drove Tredegar back with an enormous, accurate touchfinder but the home forwards were well marshalled at the set pieces and with Rumney giving away penalties, they were able to move into the visitors' territory, only to concede a penalty themselves when they too were caught offside. What followed was a good period for Rumney, Barry continuing to gain clean lineout ball and to impress in the loose, and Milton working well to link with Stoppani and Mills, but when Monck drove hard into a breakdown on the Tredegar twenty two, he suffered an injury to his arm and was replaced by Darren Fenton. The Tredegar halfbacks Rhys Hallett and Greg Jones had looked sharp from the start and a series of unnecessary infringements by Rumney gave them chances to get their side moving forward. In the twenty first minute home winger Gareth Lloyd received a loose kick on his ten metre line, ran it back and set up the possession for scrum half Hallett to feed his supporting forwards and when Williams went through on the burst, Hallett snapped up the pop pass to run in for the first try of the game. Jones added the conversion for a 7-3 lead but the visitors came back fiercely with more forward drives, winning turnovers and moving back to the Tredegar twenty two, where the home side set up a sturdy defensive line and prevented both Kelly and Leadbeatter from grounding the ball over the try line. Mills, Barry and Bull kept up their huge workrate for Rumney and centres Paul Niblett and Luke Fear tackled decisively to close down the midfield, and Fear, Stoppani and fullback Joe Offside created a sweeping counterattack which involved all the backs, while play switched to and fro as Tredegar countered through an equally exciting movement sparked by Jones and centre Craig Lloyd. In the forty fourth minute Tredegar stole a lineout just inside the visitors' half and flanker Lloyd Williams drove forward, the Rumney defence reacting with a lack of confidence, and when Tredegar centre Craig Lloyd charged down a clearance kick, he quickly regained the ball and fed Matthew Cummings who went in under the sticks, Jones' conversion giving the home side a 14-3 half time lead.

The second half started with Rumney in a very different mood, Feneck and Bull ferociously driving at the opposition with forwards and backs linking well at speed. Tredegar were forced into giving away penalties and with only two minutes of the half gone, Way took clean possession at a lineout ten metres out, Fenton and Leadbeatter led the way as an expertly worked forward movement resulted in Bull crossing for the try. Three minutes later, following an excellent breakout by Stoppani, Tredegar were penalised for offside and Clark took an unexpected tap on his own twenty two, linking with Bull and then Milton, Niblett, and Kelly before Way passed back to Stoppani on the burst and the flying winger sprinted in at the posts, Clark's conversion edging his side ahead at 14-15. The outside half was becoming difficult fot the home side to contain as he made breaks, kicked accurately and drew in defenders, but Tredegar were particularly dangerous on the counterattack and an outstanding movement was only called back for a final forward pass when Jordan Williams was already heading for the tryline. Rumney increased their control of the scrummages and confidently used the ball carrying skills of Kelly and Colin O'Donoghue, now at hooker, to relieve pressure, with Stoppani, Offside and Matthews also running out of defence. The visitors made changes at scrum half and flanker where Lewis Andrews and Anthony Wilson took to the field, and following another Stoppani break and huge drive from the forwards, Andrews nearly scored in the corner, only be stopped inches short of the line. With eight minutes remaining on the clock, Wilson and Barry put in immense work to draw in Tredegar defenders and at a disrupted home scrum Leadbeatter ripped the ball and burst on with Fenton and O'Donoghue, before Clark attacked and drew in more tacklers, and when his final scoring pass was deliberately knocked on by Gareth Lloyd, a stern faced Mr Richards flashed his yellow card and headed under the posts to award a penalty try. Leading 14-22 and with an extra man, Rumney's dominant pack created more space and Bull, Kelly, Matthews and Niblett carved out big gaps but the visitors nevertheless conceded penalties and Tredegar forced them back towards their tryline. In the final minute, from a lineout on the Rumney twenty two, the ball was worked quickly across the Tredegar backs until Jones spotted a gap and jinked through to touchdown under the posts, his conversion bringing the game to an end with the closest possible score of Tredegar 21 Rumney 22.

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "After a seven week layoff it was good to get back into the swing of things with a hard fought victory over a stubborn Tredegar team. We appeared to be rusty and lethargic in the first half but at the same time we did create numerous scoring opportunities, but lacking a cutting edge, we failed to capitalise on the good work we had created. After half time we played with a lot of tempo and accuracy and scored two well created tries, having shown for the first time a lot of composure and patience. Tredegar are an improving team who have not had the best start to the season and were very threatening with ball in hand. This was evident in the fact that they scored the same amount of tries as us and inevitably it came down to the boot of Danny Clark, who kicked the extra points on offer. The Man of the Match was Gareth Stoppani, Gareth is establishing himself as one of the top wingers in the Division, and this is not to be taken lightly as there are a lot of quality wingers in Division One. Whilst we have been blessed today with a formidable pack, we don't always recognise the improving stature of our back line, they are improving week on week and are now playing some of the best rugby I have seen since I started in my role of Coach at the club. We have a tough game next week against Newbridge, we were well beaten at the Welfare Ground in October and it is a fixture that the boys have been looking forward to for a while."

Matthew Way, flanker Rumney 1st XV : "We were really rusty at times, the first half was poor with too many mistakes and panicking when we made a break. The second half was much better, we came out of the blocks like we should have, and played with some good pace on the ball and sorted out the mistakes.  The set piece was quite poor in the first half but that has to be expected after a seven week layoff, but the backs were good in attack and made some nice breaks. Gareth Stoppani and Simon Barry had very good games."

 
Above, left : Matt Silva, right : Matthew Way

RUMNEY YOUTH v YSTRAD RHONDDA YOUTH

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 7th January 2012, k.o. 2.30 pm

Rumney Youth 27    Ystrad Rhondda Youth 5

YSTRAD RHONDDA YOUTH v RUMNEY YOUTH

Ystrad Rhondda RFC
Saturday 10th December 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Ystrad Rhondda Youth 5   Rumney Youth 30

WRU 2nd XV League

PONTYPOOL 2nd XV v RUMNEY ATHLETIC

Pontypool Park, Pontypool
Saturday 10th December 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Rumney Athletic : 15.C.Cobbold  14.S.Barry  13.B.Evans  12.L.Andrews  11.J.Offside  10.C.Maton  9.J.Morgan   8.M.Young  7.R.Sutton (Capt)  6.A.Leach  5.R.Maton  4.A.Davies  3.K.O'Connor  2.C.Fish  1.R.Matthews
Replacements : 16.A.Jones  17.T.Gee  18.S.O'Connor

Pontypool 2nd XV 43   Rumney Athletic 12

Scorers for Rumney Athletic : C.Fish try, R.Sutton try, L.Andrews conversion

Man of the Match : Ryan Sutton

PONTYCLUN YOUTH v RUMNEY YOUTH

Pontyclun RFC
Saturday 3rd December 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Pontyclun Youth 17  Rumney Youth 25

Mallett Cup 2011-2012  Round 1

RUMNEY ATHLETIC v CIAC

Riverside Park, Rumney
Friday 2nd December 2011, k.o. 7.15 pm

Rumney v CIAC, Mallett Cup Semi Final, March/April 1978
Referee : Dangerous David Escott

Rumney Athletic : 15.D.Turner  14.L.Baptiste  13.J.Offside  12.A.Bodin  11.L.Plummer  10.C.Maton  9.J.Morgan   8.J.Allen  7.R.Sutton (Capt)  6.S.Cobbold  5.R.Maton  4.S.O'Connor  3.K.O'Connor  2.C.Fish  1.R.Matthews
Replacements : 16.A.Davies  17.S.Spavin  18.M.Young  19.A.Leach  20.S.Matthews  21.P.Dimeck

Referee : Brian Patterson

Rumney Athletic 31   CIAC 6

Scorers for Rumney Athletic : C.Fish try, J.Allen try, L.Plummer try, M.Young try, C.Maton 4 conversions and penalty

Man of the Match : Jordan Allen

 

SWALEC League Division 1 East

GILFACH GOCH v RUMNEY

The Welfare Park, Gilfach Goch
Saturday 26th November 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

  
Gilfach Goch v Rumney 11.09.2010
Past playing record : played 3, Gilfach Goch 1 win, Rumney 1 win, 1 draw

Rumney : 15.Dan Millward  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Paul Niblett  12.Luke Fear  11.Joe Offside  10.Danny Clark (Capt)  9.Chris Milton   8.Michael Kelly  7.Simon Barry  6.Matthew Way  5.Michael Neal  4.Joe Mills  3.Jamie Pincott  2.Colin O'Donoghue  1.John Leadbeatter
Replacements : 16.Ryan Fenton 17.Paul Bull  18.Nathan Bridson  19.Michael Feneck  20.Jimmy Morgan

Gilfach Goch : 15.Ian Davies  14.Kayne Hendrickson  13.Ryan Evans  12.Shaun Roberts  11.Adam Wray  10.Gareth Walters  9.Josh Hughes   8.James Locke  7.Lee Purnell  6.Andrew Williams  5.Damien Adams  4.Scott Purnell  3.Michael Hughes  2.Josh Clark  1.Dan Matthews
Replacements : 16.Matthew Parker 17.Ashley Copic  18.Carl Townsend  19.Liam Trew  20.Adam Mings

Referee : Colin Kirkhouse, Birchgrove, Swansea

Gilfach Goch 30   Rumney 6

Scorer for Rumney : Danny Clark 2 penalties

Scorers for Gilfach Goch  : Shaun Roberts 2 tries, James Locke try, Ian Davies 3 penalties and 3 conversions

Non stop rain and strong cross field winds persisted throughout the whole game and both sides battled hard for the full eighty minutes, but Gilfach Goch adapted best to the conditions and ran out winners by a substantial margin. Rumney promised much in the opening period, flanker Matthew Way defying the conditions to win usable lineout ball, No8 Michael Kelly driving hard off the back of the scrums, and hooker Colin O'Donoghue and second row Mike Neal also gaining ground with determined drives. The early handling movements were also surprisingly good, Gilfach half backs Josh Hughes and Gareth Walters willing to spread the ball, and Rumney centre Paul Niblett coming close to scoring with a chip and chase and visiting scrum half Chris Milton in his element darting and breaking over the soddden playing surface. The Gilfach front row of Dan Matthews, Josh Clark and Michael Hughes locked horns with Rumney's John Leadbeatter, O'Donoghue and Jamie Pincott in a contest which was one of the highlights of the match, both packs refusing to give an inch and fully committed in the loose and at the contact area, but the conditions underfoot led to errors, so scrums were frequent, followed by speculative kicks and chases. Joe Mills put in another towering performance for the visitors, he and Kelly running strongly and straight down the field, and in defence, wingers Gareth Stoppani and Joe Offside and fullback Dan Millward were more than up to the job of covering back and blocking attacks, but Rumney found themselves giving away penalties, the fifth of which presented home fullback Ian Davies with the chance to land the kick from forty metres out and open his side's account in the twentieth minute. Milton supplied Danny Clark with quick accurate ball which allowed the Rumney outside half to make breaks and kick for position in order to take his side away from threatening situations, O'Donoghue and wing forward Simon Barry tirelessly putting in tackles to keep Gilfach from getting close to the try line, but in the twenty seventh minute an attempted penalty by Davies drfifted wide and appeared to have been cleared, but Gilfach centre Shaun Roberts gathered the ball thirty metres out and made a deceptive sidestepping run past five tacklers to sprint in at the posts, Davies' successful conversion taking the score to 10-0. More enthusisatic bursts by O'Donoghue and Neal took Rumney into the home half, and with the set scrums still going well, Pincott on his debut fitting in and working hard at tight head, referee Colin Kirkhouse decided that the Gilfach front row had popped up and he awarded a penalty, which Clark put over to peg back the score to 10-3. Four minutes later however, in the thirty sixth minute, Rumney gave away a penalty for holding on and Davies restored the lead to 13-3 and the half finished with the Gilfach half backs trying out attacking variations and chips to the corners, but finding Millward and the visiting threequarters anticipating the kicks and making them safe.

 

Conditions in the second half deteriorated further and many set pieces became lotteries with the players' feet slipping from under them and balls being spilled. Michael Feneck came on at hooker for Rumney with O'Donoghue  moving to prop and in the forty sixth minute Clark landed a long range penalty following a scrummaging offence. Both sides still tried to run the ball though it frequently slipped from players' hands, but when Milton snapped a pass to Stoppani, the winger set off on an outstanding break to take play to the Gilfach line but the recycled ball went astray and the visitors' best chance of scoring a try disappeared in the mud. Rumney centres Luke Fear and Niblett, Stoppani and Barry continued to work hard in midfield looking for chances to cut through the Gilfach defences and tackled vigorously when their opposite numbers targetted gaps. Gilfach looked to their No8 James Locke to provide a steadying focus and Locke did particularly well in securing difficult possession at the base of scrums and gaining hard yards, and in the fifty fifth minute he fed Hughes, whose neat chip took play to the Rumney five metre line, where the visitors were caught offside under pressure and Davies added the three points for a 16-6 lead. Another period of Gilfach pressure followed with a series of scrums in the Rumney half and when Mills went down and was judged to have killed the ball, he received a yellow card. The home side took advantage of their superiority in numbers and the power of second rows Scott Purnell and Damien Adams, opting for a scrum which enabled them to organise a powerful forward push, Locke carefully controlling the ball until he was ready to ground it for the try. Davies converted for a 23-6 lead and with fifteen minutes remaining Rumney made changes, bringing on Ryan Fenton, Paul Bull and Nathan Bridson in the back row and Jimmy Morgan at scrum half. Although they remained under pressure the visitors made powerful attempts to counterattack, Leadbeatter disrupting and winning ball, Neal battering forward and Clark kicking accurately for position in the unpredictable wind. Way and Fenton covered well when Gilfach attacked from set pieces and Bull and Bridson put in important tackles, but in the seventy fifth minute, what appeared to be a successful clearance kick was snapped up on the twenty two by Roberts, who repeated his earlier star turn and jinked past despairing tacklers to go all the way and score his second try. Davies' conversion gave Gilfach Goch the spoils at 30-6 and the players soon gratefully headed for the changing rooms at the end of a challenging and intense eighty minutes.

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "For those who were not present at this game, I can only describe it as a mud bath, the conditions were some of the worst that I have seen a game of rugby played in. I was quite pleased to go in at half time with a narrow scoreline in Gilfach's favour and felt that if we played within our structures and stuck to our game plan, we could have won, but sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition when you are outplayed. They served up a powerful performance, especially upfront where we suffered our first pushover try in three seasons. It is not very often that you see a side relieved to hear the final whistle. Joe Mills matched up their big, heavy forwards and on such a difficult day for backs, Joe Offside was outstanding and just shaved it for Man of the Match."

   
Above, left : Matt Silva

WRU 2nd XV League

RUMNEY ATHLETIC v BEDWAS 2nd XV

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 26th November 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Rumney Athletic squad : D.Turner   A.Dacruz   A.Jones   P.Dimeck   C.Maton   L.Andrews  C.Edwards  D.Perks   A.Davies   S.Spavin   R.Matthews   R.Maton   S.O'Connor   K.O'Connor  J.Allen   C.Cobbold   R.Sutton (Capt)   A.Steele   C.Fish   N.Paul   L.Plummer   P.King   A.Leach

Rumney Athletic 6   Bedwas 2nd XV 13

BedWAS the turning point ! Athletic awesome, Stevo sensational.

The Athletic came of age in this game, and despite the narrow loss it was a 'win win' day for all the squad. Discipline was superb with only seven penalties conceded, ball presentation and recycling was first class and that gave Sparkle an easy ride on his season 'debut'. This, coupled with a ninety five percent success rate in scrum and lineout, thanks to accurate throwing in by Carl Fish and Spav, meant that the Athletic dominated a team which had a number of Premiership players in their squad. Another big plus was the introduction of Dom Perks, Christian Edwards and Paul King into the Athletic from the Youth squad, showing that the team is all about development. From the kick off the Athletic showed that they meant business with Stevo soaring up to take lineout ball, which allowed Monk Maton to get his line moving. It came as no surprise when Bedwas were forced to give away a penalty and Monk slotted it over. From the restart there followed an unfortunate turnover which allowed Bedwas to rumble over and take a 3-5 lead, much against the run of play. This setback only served to fire up the team and with Tex Allen, in front of his family who were over from the Lone Star State, charging through the backs with Ben Evans, Paul King, Christian Edwards and the Lins buzzing around, they all showed what they could do with ball in hand. Stevo was everywhere and had already made twelve tackles before half time ! Forwards win matches and with Dessie, Soc and Koc, Rob Maton and Cob all making hard yards and ensuring a solid scrum, it came as no surprise that it was the Athletic who were well on top for the rest of the half and only desperate defence kept them out. The vital penalty came and Monk slotted it over from thirty five metres out to end the half with the Athletic deservedly 6-5 up.

The second half followed the pattern of the first and TG and TJ were able to put on fresh legs with Spav and Ash Dacruz, but it was a more difficult task against the wind however, and top class defence kept Bedwas at bay until the sixtieth minute when they scored in the corner. From the restart the Athletic again hit back, and driven on by Captain Fantastic Stevo, who made over twenty tackles and took fifteen lineout balls, they were very close to getting the vital score. In the final ten minutes Bedwas were able to get downfield and add a penalty, it was a win for them but a bigger gain for the Athletic who now know how to win. Bring on the CIACs in the Mallett Cup next Friday night !

SWALEC League Division 1 East

RUMNEY v BARGOED

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 19th November 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

 
Rumney v Bargoed 19.03.2011
Past playing record : played 11, Bargoed 9 wins, Rumney 2 wins

Rumney : 15.Dan Millward  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Paul Niblett  12.Luke Fear  11.Lewis Rees  10.Danny Clark  9.Lewis Andrews   8.Chris Jones  7.Ryan Fenton  6.Simon Barry  5.Michael Neal  4.Paul Bull  3.Colin O'Donoghue 2.Michael Feneck (Capt)  1.John Leadbeatter
Replacements : 16.Chris Milton 17.Michael Kelly  18.Nathan Bridson  19.Joe Mills  20.Dan Holliday

Bargoed : 15.Andrew Mclaughlan  14.Lewis Protheroe  13.Darren Humphries  12.Rhys Humphries  11.Lee Pearson  10.Matthew Hurley  9.Michael Roberts   8.Lewis Wayman  7.Gareth Davies  6.Adam Cullen  5.Darren Lynch  4.Craig Lynch  3.Craig Nutt  2.Leigh Meades (Capt)  1.Vinny Lott
Replacements :16.John Lavender  17.Luke Harwood  18.Lee Williams  19.Gareth Dare  20.Craig Wilson

Referee : Phil Connett, Hafodyrynys, Crumlin

 

Rumney 14   Bargoed 38

Scorers for Rumney : Colin O'Donoghue try, Paul Bull try, Danny Clark 2 conversions

Scorers for Bargoed  : Matthew Hurley try and 5 conversions and penalty, Andrew Lewis Protheroe 2 tries, Andrew McLaughlin try, Lee Pearson try

The first quarter of the game was spent largely in the Rumney half of the field as Bargoed used a wide range of attacking techniques to get themselves into scoring positions, but nevertheless found the home defences to be impenetrable. Bargoed second row Craig Lynch supplied steady ball from the early lineouts and one of the first attacks was halted by an excellent tackle from home centre Paul Niblett, but the dangers continued and when visiting winger Lewis Protheroe appeared from a maul and set off on a long run towards the posts, he was only kept out by a superb covering tackle from home scrum half Lewis Andrews, who had raced back to stop the try. Bargoed were linking well between forwards and backs, centre Rhys Humphries  being called back from scoring for a forward pass, and only another vital tackle by Niblett and a similar one by flanker Ryan Fenton, stopped certain touchdowns. The visitors varied tactics in the lineout, using flanker Adam Cullen as a different source of possession, and the scrummages were equally contested, further waves of high speed attacks being blunted by strong defensive work from centre Luke Fear, wingers Gareth Stoppani and Lewis Rees, and fullback Dan Millward, with more essential tackles coming from hooker Michael Feneck, second row Paul Bull and outside half Danny Clark. Despite conceding a number pf penalties, and losing powerful No8 Chris Jones who suffered a head injury, Rumney started to move forward and took play into the Bargoed half for the first time, where Bull and fellow second row Mike Neal handled well, and on separate occassions put Rees and Stoppani away, both wingers being brought down just short of the try line. In the twentieth minute, deep in the Bargoed twenty two, Bull disrupted the visitors' lineout, Neal pounced on the loose ball, flanker Ryan Fenton drove close to the line, and prop Colin O'Donoghue snapped up the ball and dived over for the opening try. Clark's conversion gave Rumney a 7-0 lead, and the home side kept up the pressure with more driving work in the loose from Bull and Neal, blustering carries by new No8 Michael Kelly, flanker Simon Barry and prop John Leadbeatter, with Clark running out of defence when needed in order to return play to the visitors' half. Bargoed lost influential scrum half Mike Roberts to injury and were forced back to their tryline, but were awarded a penalty and quick thinking hooker and Captain Leigh Meades took an instant tap, darted to the twenty two and linked with Protheroe on the burst, the winger racing the full eighty metres to score a fine try under the sticks. Outsie half Matthew Hurley added the conversion and within minutes Meades was back in the thick of things, winning a turnover on his own ten metre line from which Mclaughlin launched a speculative kick down field, and although Stoppani managed to hack it into touch, Rumney were very slow to get back and Pearson took a quick throw in to prop Anthony Lott and Meades snapped the ball to Hurley, who was following up and had a clear run in under the posts, and who also converted his own try to put his side ahead at 7-14. The hosts battled back with Leadbeatter, Fenton, Barry and Millward making sniping runs but Bargoed now looked very settled, continued to dominate territorially and came close to another score when centre Rhys Humphries cut through in the midfield. In the thirty ninth minute, No8 Lewis Wayman broke from the base of a Bargoed scrum and Meades popped the ball to Prothero who was coming up at top pace and shot straight through to score under the posts, Hurley's conversion sending the teams in at half time with the scoreboard reading Rumney 7 Bargoed 21.

The second half started with positive play from both sides, Kelly and Neal carried well, and Fenton, Fenecck, Barry, and O'Donoghue all gained hard yards for Rumney, while Bargoed spread the ball across the backs and also worked moves around Wayman as the pivot. An excellent break by Stoppani took the home side deep into the visitors' half where they lodged in the twenty two, applying pressure for a lengthy passage of play, and in the fifty eighth minute, when Bargoed conceded a penalty, Kelly tapped and went, feeding Bull, who took defenders over the line with him as he scored the try. Clark's conversion closed the gap to 14-21 but having fought back to such a strong position, indiscipline was to again cost Rumney dear, first Mr Connett awarding a penalty against them for an incident after the try had been scored and within minutes, Bargoed fullback Maclaughlin gathering a clearance kick on his own twenty two and proceeding to jink and sidestep his way seventy five metres through despairing tacklers to touch down for an outstanding try and conversion. Two minutes later, Mr Connett awarded a penalty and then marched the home side back a further twenty metres when he received unwelcome comments, Hurley's simpler kick adding a further three points and creating a large gap in the score at 14-31. Rumney had already brought on Joe Mills at second row and Chris Milton at scrum half, Mills immediately putting in tremendous bursts at the opposition and Milton giving a hundred percent, playing with great urgency and sending out rapid passes to set the threequarters loose, while Bargoed brought on Luke Harwood at hooker with Meades coming out of the front row to play at scrum half. The home side were still competing well however, O'Donoghue and Leadbeatter again proving hard to bring down, Barry creating turnovers, and Niblett, Neal and Rees pressing hard, but they also had to defend fiercely and Mills brought off an important try saving tackle to keep the opposition out. Nathan Bridson took the field at hooker for Rumney and Dan Holliday at prop, and more promising attacks developed, Millward, Rees and Holliday breaking out of defence and taking their side into threatening positions, but in the seventy fifth minute, Mclaughlin gathered a Rumney kick thirty metres from his line, set off at pace, chipped ahead, gathered neatly and offloaded perfectly to Pearson, who sprinted in for the fifth Bargoed try. Hurley converted to stretch the lead to 14-38 and although both sides attacked non stop for the remaining minutes, the rousing end to the game did not produce any further scores.

Match photography by Norman Harwood

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "Commitment wise I couldn't have asked any more from the boys today. Even talking to the Bargoed coaches and players post match, they commented on what a gutsy performance it was and I would have to agree with their sentiments. Bargoed are a very good side and to be fair, it took a monumental effort to contain them for the periods that we did. We will miss our fixtures with them as they go into the Championship next season, but this is the first year for three years that they have done the double over us. It was good performances all round for us today, a couple of decisions went against us at crucial times, which in turn led to three well taken tries and killed the game off for us. The boys threw their all at Bargoed in the final quarter but just couldn't get that elusive score. Colin O'Donoghue was once again outstanding, playing out of position at tight head, and Mike Neal, John Leadbeatter and Ryan Fenton also had commendable performances. The back line is improving week by week and Danny Clark and Paul Niblett are playing the best rugby that I have seen them play since I have been at the club, Gareth Stoppani and Luke Fear did well to contain a talented set of backs, Dan Millward is also becoming a solid, strong running fullback and Lewis Andrews is maturing well as a first team scrum half. Colin O'Donoghue was an easy choice as Man of the Match."

Michael Kelly, No8 Rumney 1st XV : "We started well in defence, there was some very good tackling from Paul Niblett, and for the first quarter of the game we kept them out, and then got on top with a good try. It was just a lack of concentration that let Bargoed back into the game. The set piece scrum went very well and the lineout was ok but we need to play for the full eighty minutes, we score a try and then we turn off. Paul Niblett had a very good game and in the forwards Colin O'Donoghue was outstanding."

Above, left : Matt Silva, right : Michael Kelly

LLANISHEN 2nd XV v RUMNEY ATHLETIC

Llanishen Park, Newborough Avenue (off Tyglas Road), Cardiff
Saturday 19th November 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Rumney Athletic squad : D.Turner   L.Baptiste   A.Bodin   P.Dimeck   B.Taylor   B.Milton   C.Maton   J.Morgan   L.Plummer   A.Davies   S.Spavin   R.Matthews   R.Maton   S.O'Connor   K.O'Connor   J.Allen   C.Cobbold   R.Sutton (Capt)   M.Young   A.Steele   C.Fish   N.Paul   M.Way

Llanishen 2nd XV 12   Rumney Athletic 26

Scorers for Rumney Athletic : R.Sutton try, C.Fish try, L.Baptiste try, L.Plummer try, C.Maton 3 conversions

Man of the Match : C.Maton

Athletic Come Up With A* Performance At Llanishen - Plummer Provides The Missing Linc

The Athletic produced their best performance of the season, taking Llanishen's unbeaten record in the process. A squad of twenty six rocked up to Llanishen Park (note to all : Terry Gee may be the top man in Communications but a crap navigator who got your reporter and Stevo lost twice !). The game started well with Matthew the Silent Assassin taking out their second row at the kick off and with solid set pieces at scrum and line, the Athletic, playing up the slope, soon had points on the board as Chris The Monk Maton put Bapo in on a ghost next to the posts, and with The Monk slotting the conversion, they  were 0-7 up and coasting. The Athletic's lack of discipline at the breakdown however, came back to haunt them and a string of penalties saw a very good Llanishen side score a try and right on half time, further indiscipline led to them scoring another one to lead 12-7 at the break. Following a few home truths at the interval, the Athletic knew they had to score next. There then followed ten minutes of pressure with Spav finding Stevo at every lineout and Jimmy Morgan getting the line moving. It was fifteen man champagne rugby, "It's not sevens" moaned Gainsy. With Terry Gee and Ant Jones able to bring on fresh legs, Youngy and Carl Fish entered the game, however the key moment came with Phil Dimeck coming off and Lincoln The Linc Plummer making his debut. (The Linc had already provided one highlight, having to climb thirty feet up a tree to get a ball he had kicked there). He soon showed what he is capable of at ground level, side stepping his wing before putting Stevo in for an unconverted try which tied the score at 12-12. The Athletic then really took charge and it was The Linc who squeezed in at the corner following a good blindside break with Dave The Rave Turner giving the scoring pass ! The Monk converted from the touchline and the Athletic were in control at 12-19. Llanishen were now under constant pressure and it was no surprise that, following a forward drive, Carl Fish dived over, and when The Monk converted, it was game over at 12-26. Llanishen had one last attack but it was The Linc who bundled their winger into touch and the final whistle blew. A positive day for all with the whole squad getting playing time, however it is back to WRU action next Saturday with Bedwas at home, that will be the test to see if the Athletic Band of Brothers has turned the corner.

YNYSYBWL YOUTH v RUMNEY YOUTH

Ynysybwl RFC
Saturday 19th November 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Ynysybwl Youth 3   Rumney Youth 24

 

SWALEC League Division 1 East

RUMNEY v BEDDAU

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 12th November 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

 
Rumney v Beddau 09.10.2010
Past playing record : played 12, Beddau 8 wins, Rumney 4 wins

Rumney : 15.Dan Millward  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Paul Niblett  12.Luke Fear  11.Lee Bendon  10.Danny Clark (Capt)  9.Chris Milton   8.Chris Jones  7.Ryan Fenton  6.Simon Barry  5.Michael Neal  4.Paul Bull  3.Darren Fenton  2.Colin O'Donoghue  1.John Leadbeatter
Replacements : 16.Lewis Andrews 17.Michael Kelly  18.Nathan Bridson  19.Michael Feneck  20.Michael Young

Beddau : 15.Ieuan Coombes  14.Mark Addis  13.Robin Lock  12.Dolu Umi  11.Daniel Fox  10.Cameron Pimlow  9.Dai Francis  8.Dave Smith  7.Rhys Watkins  6.Scott Britton  5.Graham Hart  4.Robert Jones (Capt)  3.Gareth Waite  2.Matthew Hunt  1.Tarian Emmanuel
Replacements : 16.Ryan Lewis  17.Liam Bodman  18.Luke Crocker  19.Greg Williams  20.Carl Thomas

Referee : Simon Wycherley, Penmaen

Rumney 32   Beddau 15

Scorers for Rumney : Gareth Stoppani try, Michael Neal try, Simon Barry try, Danny Clark try and 3 conversions and 2 penalties

Scorers for Beddau  : Mark Addis try, Scott Britton try, Cameron Pimlow penalty and conversion

Rumney scrum half Chris Milton gave a good indication of the way his side would play in this game, attacking at speed from the start, pouncing to grab a turnover and closely marshalling his forwards to set up phases before releasing the ball to the backs. Beddau also started at a high pace, scrum half Dai Francis and outside half Cameron Pimlow getting their threequarters into gear from good scrummage ball provided by No8 Dave Smith, but within three minutes suffered a set back when fullback Ieuan Coombes picked up a leg injury and had to be replaced by Carl Thomas. The home side's formidable front row of props John Leadbeatter and Darren Fenton and hooker Colin O'Donoghue, provided a rock solid platform for the pack and all worked tirelessly in the loose and the contact areas for the whole game. The visitors also benefitted from a strong scrum, one of the very best encountered by Rumney this season, and were well drilled in gaining yards through tight driving mauls, second rows Robert Jones and Graham Hart working closely together, supported by their lively wing forwards Rhys Watkins and Scott Britton. In the eighteenth minute, following a lengthy passage of play deep in the Beddau half, the home forwards set up good possession, forcing the opposition to kill the ball and concede a penalty in a kickable position, but Milton was off like a shot, tapping and passing to mighty second row Mike Neal who scattered three tacklers on an unstoppable burst to the try line. Outside half and Captain Danny Clark added the extra points and was straight back into action controlling play, kicking well for position and bringing wingers Gareth Stoppani and Lee Bendon in to attack at speed. The Rumney lineout worked well from the start, flanker Simon Barry jumping and catching expertly, and the set scrum also provided a steady supply of quality possession, and when home No8 Chris Jones picked up at the base of a scrum, linked with Milton and then Dan Millward up from fullback, the momentum was increased and the visitors forced back on the defensive. By varying tactics, Rumney kept Beddau under pressure in their twenty two, wing Lee Bendon making a dangerous outside break, and Darren Fenton, Neal and O'Donoghue combining as a unit to threaten breakthroughs in midfield, and in the thirtieth minute Chris Jones and Milton again launched an offensive from the base, play switching back and forth involving Neal, Clark, and second row Paul Bull, before Barry was put clear to crash over for a try in the corner. Clark's superb touchline conversion gave the home side a 14-0 lead but Beddau responded by taking play right back to Rumney, producing their best period so far, gaining territory and setting up attacking positions from which Francis moved the ball out to centres Robin Lock and Dolu Umi, who drove hard at the opposition and in the thirty third minute indiscipline from Rumney gave Pimlow a penaty in kickable range, which the outside half calmly slotted. The visitors now looked far more settled and enjoyed a steady stream of lineout ball from jumper Robert Jones, while winger Daniel Fox sliced through tacklers and crossed the gain line on more than one occasion and Pimlow increasingly found his runners with good passes. It was from a clean lineout, following a penalty for a high tackle, that Beddau set up a tight pick and drive, and Umi burst through to set up possession for Pimlow, whose long pass out to Mark Addis put the winger clear to scoot in at the corner. The outside half's excellent touchline conversion reduced the gap to 14-10 with just a few minutes remaining until the interval, but after a somewhat ragged period, Rumney surged back, centres Paul Niblett and Luke Fear running out of defence, and the pack returning the visitors to their own half, where hard working flanker Watkins was served with a yellow card and Clark collected the three points for a score of 17-10 at the break.

A determined start to the second half found Bull doing some useful ball carrying and gaining yards, and Rumney playing more expansively, looking to step up the threat posed by their backs. Beddau continued to impress at the lineout and benefit from the effective play in the loose of Hart and Robert Jones, and they also spent an increasing amount of time in Rumney territory after hooker Matthew Hunt won turnover ball in the contact area. Barry continued to provide steady lineout ball which allowed Clark to relieve any real pressure with lengthy touchfinders and kicks to the corners where Bendon and Stoppani also pressed by chasing every possible opportunity to get the home side back into attacking positions, while Milton was in his element battling forward and disrupting the visitors with Niblett carefully distributing the ball in midfield. The increasingly confident running and interpassing between backs and forwards would soon reap rewards for Rumney, flanker Ryan Fenton bursting through the loose, backed up by Leadbeatter, Darren Fenton and O'Donoghue, and in the sixtieth minute, from a lineout which featured Bull as rear jumper, another forward thrust into the Beddau twenty two led to Clark making a surprise dart on the blindside for a clever try. Umi's strength in the Beddau midfield became a focus for a variation in tactics and his battering runs and ball ripping sparked attacks wide out where Addis and replacement fullback Luke Crocker posed definite threats, but Rumney relished any chance to counterattack, Clark linking with Fear and Niblett, and Bull and Ryan Fenton carving out gaps. The home side had brought on Lewis Andrews at scrum half and his accurate distribution was vital when Stoppani made another characteristic, sixty metre infield break and the ball was first flashed out to Neal, Bull, O'Donoghue and Bendon, before it went back across the field to Chris Jones, Fear and Clark, for Stoppani to finish it all off himself with a fine corner try. Clark's perfect touchline conversion stretched the lead to 29-10 with eight minutes left on the clock, when Rumney brought on powerful No8 Michael Kelly, but Beddau were soon attacking again with an excellent handling movement, Lock, Umi and Watkins making huge territorial gains and, when Rumney killed the ball, Kelly was judged to be the main sinner and was sent to the bin. From the subsequent lineout the Rumney pack appeared to have halted a menacing Beddau forward drive but the visitors carefully worked the ball to the blindside where flanker  Britton thrust his way over to score a well constructed try. Five minutes remained and Rumney made the most of the restart, Mike Young, now at second row, and Leadbeatter taking possession and setting up phases, but Beddau had also made tactical changes, bringing on Ryan Lewis and Liam Bodman in the front row and Greg Williams at No8, and created a high paced counterattack to put them back into scoring range. Rumney's scrummage was a solid as ever and a massive drive resulted in a last minute penalty which Clark successfully put between the uprights to bring an absorbing game to its conclusion, with a final score of 32-15.

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "A pleasing win today as Beddau are doing well in the League and after our loss to Ebbw Vale last week, it was good to get things back on track. It was a strong all round performance with everyone committed, I know that Beddau were missing six or seven key players and they struggled to get any continuity and made too many mistakes, but we still had to stick to our structures and we did this to good effect. Today's Man of the Match was second row Mike Neal."

Gareth Stoppani, wing Rumney 1st XV : "Things went well and we kept up the tempo. The backs functioned ok but we could have done better in the first half, we had chances out wide but didn't always make the best of them. In the second half we were down to 17-10 and we had gone to sleep a bit, but then we turned it up again. I'm enjoying playing with such good boys, they make it easy for me and it is nice to be part of a winning team. Danny Clark played very well, he scored yet another try and is pushing me for top try scorer, and Mike Neal had an oustanding game."   

Above left : Matt Silva, right : Gareth Stoppani

WRU 2nd XV League

GLYNNEATH 2nd XV v RUMNEY ATHLETIC

Glynneath RFC
Saturday 12th November 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Glynneath 2nd XV 6    Rumney Athletic 3

Man of the Match : Matthew Way

SWALEC League Division 1 East

EBBW VALE v RUMNEY

Eugene Cross Park, Ebbw Vale
Saturday 5th November 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

 
Ebbw Vale v Rumney 15.01.2011
Past playing record : played 2, Ebbw Vale 2 wins, Rumney 0 wins

Rumney : 15.Dan Millward  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Lewis Rees  12.Luke Fear  11.Lee Bendon  10.Danny Clark (Capt)  9.Lewis Andrews  8.Chris Jones  7.Ryan Fenton  6.Simon Barry  5.Joe Mills  4.Paul Bull  3.Colin O'Donoghue  2.Carl Fish  1.John Leadbeatter
Replacements : 16.Chris Milton  17.Michael Kelly  18.Michael Neal  19.Nathan Bridson  20.Desmond Matthews

Ebbw Vale : 15.Charlie Simpson  14.Wesley Cunliffe  13.Tristan Davies  12.Dan Dearden  11.Tom Ashmead  10.Dorian Jones  9.Dai Jones   8.Ethan Matthews  7.Ronnie Kynes  6.Nicky Coughlin  5.Ashley Sweet  4.Damien Hudd (Capt)  3.Dan Goode  2.Ben Parry  1.Josh Powell
Replacements : 16.Rhys Miller  17.Nathan Ace  18.Ewan Hopkins  19.Dan Haymond  20.Tom Macpherson

Referee : Jason Langdon, Brackla, Bridgend

   

Ebbw Vale 34   Rumney 5

Scorer for Rumney : Danny Clark try

Scorers for Ebbw Vale  : Charlie Simpson try and 2 conversions, Dan Dearden try, Josh Powell try, Ashley Sweet try, Nicky Coughlin try, Dorian Jones penalty and conversion

Ebbw Vale moved to the top of the Division One East league table with a convincing win over Rumney at Eugene Cross Park, running in five tries to secure maximum points. From the kick off the visiting forwards enthusiastically entered into the contest but within a minute they were penalised for not releasing, and Ebbw Vale outside half Dorian Jones kicked the three points. The early scrummages, though equally contested, were messy affairs with The Steelmen being penalised for wheeling the first set piece, and both sides tried to open up play, the home backs looking particularly incisive when fullback Charlie Simpson cut through on a weaving run. The visitors conceded penalties and consequently gave away vast amounts of territory, Ebbw Vale happy to have Dorian Jones kick for position and lineout specialist, second row Ashley Sweet guaranteeing quality possession for elusive scrum half Dai Jones. In contrast, the Rumney lineout was surprisingly unreliable, scrum half Lewis Andrews doing the best possible with difficult balls, and a delayed put in allowing Dorian Jones to take play into the visitors' twenty two for the first time. The Steelmen continued to spread the ball, Rumney flanker Ryan Fenton and centre Lewis Rees putting in important tackles to force errors, No8 Chris Jones driving forward from the base of the scrum and Captain Danny Clark kicking expertly out of hand, but the home forwards were starting to exert controlled pressure, with flanker Nicky Coughlin also gaining ground through powerful bursts in loose play. In the fifteenth minute Chris Jones was yellow carded for playing the ball on the floor and Dorian Jones kicked The Steelmen down to the Rumney five metre line, where Sweet accurately won the lineout and set an unstoppable rolling maul, leading to prop Josh Powell's touchdown for the first try. Dorian Jones' conversion gave Ebbw Vale a 10-0 lead and the outside half was soon pegging the visitors back again after Rumney fullback Dan Millward and flanker Simon Barry had attacked with strong individual runs. Rumney launched attacks at every opportunity, hooker Carl Fish, prop John Leadbeatter and second row Joe Mills relishing their battles in the contact area, and Barry harassing the opposing halfbacks, but The Steelmen were quick to bring up their defensive line, win turnovers and when in possession, carefully build up efficient phase play. Athough the Rumney lineouts were still ragged at times, second row Paul Bull did win useful ball at the back of the line and prop Colin O'Donoghue battered his way forward, but Ebbw Vale absorbed the drives and counterattacked at speed, prop Dan Goode, Sweet and Captain Damien Hudd leading with midfield bursts, and Simpson constantly looking to run from deep positions. The closing period of the first half found the Steelmen patiently setting up more phased play, especially from the lineouts, and Rumney looking to Chris Jones, Barry and Fenton to make fast breaks out of defence, but the visitors arrived at the interval having been pinned largely in their own territory.

Rumney needed to defend fiercely again after the break, Rees making important tackles and centre Luke Fear and Andrews trying hard to counterattack, but gaps did start to appear and in the forty fifth minute Andrews was sent to the sinbin for an offside offence, though he was soon joined there by Dorian Jones who had also incurred the wrath of referee Jason Langdon. With the sides again having an equal number of players, the visitors enjoyed their best period of the game, Fenton and winger Lee Bendon taking on the opposition and the forwards gaining a strong foothold in the Ebbw Vale twenty two. Rees had now taken over the scrum half role and from the set piece fed Clark, whose perfectly timed pass sent Gareth Stoppani away on a superb break infield, and when the dynamic winger was pulled down just short of the line, he set it up for Rees to spread the ball wide to Clark on the loop, who crossed in the corner for a fine try which narrowed the score to 10-5. The Steelmen struck back quickly, wingers Wesley Cunliffe and Tom Ashmead making a dangerous breakout from deep in their own half, and when outstanding home forward Sweet won a midfield turnover, the backs were released and Cunliffe worked Simpson clear to score another good try. The fullback's successful conversion of his own try took the score to 17-5 and five minutes later, in the fifty ninth minute, this was stretched to 24-5 when Ebbw Vale took advantage of more penalty awards to set up their favoured attacking lineout, but this time Dai Jones wrongfooted everyone and instead of feeding his backs, slipped a clever reverse pass to Sweet on the burst, the speedy lock slicing straight through and crashing over for the try, Simpson again adding the extra points. Rumney tried to regain the initiative, Barry claiming a turnover and Clark organising the moves, but more indiscipline and penalty infringements had the effect of taking the Steelmen back into the visitors' twenty two for another lineout and rolling maul, this time flanker Nicky Coughlin finishing it off with the touchdown. Trailing 29-5 and with fifteen minutes remaining, Rumney made personnel changes, brining on Michael Neal in the second row, Michael Kelly at flanker and Chris Milton at scrum half, all three immediately making their presence felt and showing determination to take on The Steelmen in the closing period. Ebbw Vale again penned the visitors deep in their own half and Rumney found it increasingly difficult to get out of their twenty two, their scrummage remaining solid but their lineout still not functioning smoothly, and Milton disrupting the hosts' movements wherever possible near the set piece, but in the seventy fourth minute The Steelmen spread the ball from a scrummage, Simpson creating an overlap and Dearden running in his side's fifth try. The final minutes were a frantic affair, both sides spinning the ball and opening play up, Rumney bringing on Nathan Bridson and Desmond Matthews to maintain pace in the pack, and Rees and Milton sniping and running at the opposition, but Ebbw Vale applied more controlled pressure to secure an impressive 34-5 victory.

Match photography by Graham, Ebbw Vale RFC

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "We went into this match after preparing well in training this week, it was important to go to Eugene Cross Park feeling confident and going there to win. It was a big ask but even at fifteen minutes into the second half it was still 10-5 and we felt we may have had a chance to push them all the way, but with a few powerplays Ebbw Vale scored three tries and gained a bonus point. I have read numerous reports that we went there to spoil and slow down the game, at no point in our preparations this week did we discuss this, it beggars belief that if a high flying side scores less than forty points it is because their lowly opposition slow up games. If it had not been for their driving lineouts and close quarter play Ebbw Vale would not have achieved a scoreline of thirty four points, in short it was a lack of application and accuracy on their part, as opposed to our using negative tactics, but we are looking forward to welcoming them to Riverside Park for the return fixture. I have to say a big thank you to Colin O'Donoghue for playing in what is possibly the most physical and challenging position of tight head, if it was not for him we would have had to start with passive scrums, and I was also pleased with another Rumney Youth product, Lee Bendon, who had an excellent game on the wing. Today's Man of the Match was Ryan Fenton."

Neil Coles, Forwards Coach Rumney 1st XV : "The boys put in a lot of effort today, we competed against one of the best sides in the League and if it wasn't for a purple patch in the second half, the match would have been a lot closer. Special praise goes to Colin O'Donoghue who had an oustanding game, out of position at tight head. John Leadbeatter, Chris Jones and Ryan Fenton had excellent games and hopefully we can build on this performance for next week, and get a result against Beddau."

Above left : Matt Silva, right : Neil Coles

WRU 2nd XV League

RUMNEY ATHLETIC v BEDDAU 2nd XV

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 5th November 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Rumney Athletic :  15.T.Gee  14.L.Baptiste  13.D.Perkins  12.B.Evans  11.L.Hudson  10.A.Bodin  9.J.Morgan  1.A.Davies  2.S.Spavin  3.C.Fitzpatrick  4.S.O'Connor  5.R.Maton  6.C.Cobbold  7.J.Allen  8.A.Young  Rep : D.Gee

Rumney Athletic 7   Beddau 2nd XV 37

Scorers for Rumney : Jordan Allen try, James Morgan conversion

Man of the Match : Jordan Allen

Athletic buried by Beddau but dig themselves out by the end !

Injuries and late work call ups saw a much changed Athletic go down fighting against a strong Beddau team. With a total squad of only sixteen, Coach JPR Gee turned out in the No15 shirt. The pack were ably led by Cogs who formed a solid front row with Spav and Fitzy, who has now made more comebacks than Gavin Henson ! The team took a little time to settle, but discipline and defence were much improved and all Beddau had to show in the first twenty minutes was two penalties. However, the much heavier Beddau pack got on top and a couple of defensive lapses saw them lead 0 - 27 at the break. Half time saw a quick rotation with Liam Hudson moving to seven, Cobbo going to centre and Perksy on the wing. Gainsey then delivered a Churchill like speech, "We will fight them on the ground, in the rucks, in the mauls, we will never give in !", which seemed to have the desired effect, as the final twenty minutes were all the Athletic, with Spav launching himself like a human cannonball at Beddau, Alex Bodin cutting through at outside half and Youngy on the charge. Liam Hudson put in Macaw work at the breakdown and Jimmy Morgan and Perksy got the line going. The last score again went to the Athletic with Lone Star Tex getting over and Jimmy Morgan slotting the conversion. "We win," said Fitzy, "last score counts 1000 !" and in true Rumney style, the Athletic had proved against the odds that they never give up and played their hearts out for the full eighty minutes. The next challenge for the Band of Brothers is a tour to Glynneath next Saturday.

SWALEC League Division 1 East

RUMNEY v MOUNTAIN ASH

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 29th October 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

 
Rumney v Mountain Ash 07.04.2007
Past playing record : played 6, Mountain Ash 3 wins, Rumney 3 wins

Rumney : 15.Dan Millward  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Paul Niblett  12.Luke Fear  11.Solomon Matthews  10.Danny Clark  9.Chris Milton  8.Chris Jones  7.Simon Barry  6.Ryan Fenton  5.Michael Neal  4.Paul Bull  3.Darren Fenton  2.Michael Feneck (Capt)  1.John Leadbeatter
Replacements : 16.Colin O'Donoghue  17.Carl Fish  18.Joe Mills  19.Michael Young  20.Lewis Andrews

Mountain Ash : 15.Gareth Roberts  14.Liam Cooper-King  13.Dale Keepin  12.Rhys Parfitt  11.John Manuel  10.Keiron Olden  9.Meirion Thomas  8.Matthew Dixon  7.Scott Davies (Capt)  6.Gareth Waters  5.Dan Jones  4.Luke Brennan  3.Craig Thomas   2.Gavin Powell  1.James Cowdry
Replacements : 16.Craig Evans  17.L.Young  18.Josh Lewis  19.D.O'Brien  20.Chris Edmunds

Referee : Elwyn Marfell-Jones, Uplands, Swansea

Rumney 28   Mountain Ash 17

Scorers for Rumney : penalty try, Michael Feneck try, Michael Neal try, Ryan Fenton try, Danny Clark conversion and 2 penalties

Scorers for Mountain Ash  : Gareth Waters try, Craig Evans try, Chris Edmunds try, Josh Lewis conversion

Rumney made a vigorous start against a strong Mountain Ash side and kept possession for virtually the whole of the opening ten minutes, second row Mike Neal and prop John Leadbeatter thrusting forward at pace, lock Paul Bull and flankers Simon Barry and Ryan Fenton making darting runs, with Barry also posing a threat in the lineout, and No8 Chris Jones immediately into gear, bursting from the back of the scrum. In the eleventh minute The Old Firm were caught offside deep in their own twenty two, and although the visitors' pack would prove to be the stiffest opposition encountered this season, Rumney confidently opted for an attacking scrum. The remarkable scrummaging technique of Captain Michael Feneck, prop Darren Fenton and Leadbeatter ensured a powerful forward drive and when Mr Marfell-Jones decided that Mountain Ash had deliberately slipped their binding in order to prevent a score, he had no hesitation in heading for the posts to award a penalty try. Home outside half Danny Clark added the conversion and five minutes later slotted a further three points when The Old Firm offered Mr Marvell-Jones some unappreciated advice which resulted in a penalty and a further ten metres deduction, but the visitors' well drilled forwards were also becoming more composed and began setting up good phases for nippy scrum half Meirion Thomas to start running the ball and bring his backs into play. Neal and Chris Jones relished counterattacking from high balls and Rumney scrum half Chris Milton was in the thick of everything, demanding close attention from the opposition whenever he had the ball and firing it out to Clark to release their threequarters, while winger Gareth Stoppani, Barry, Bull and Leadbeatter continued with aggressive probes and breaks. The Mountain Ash pack patiently built up phases and moved into home territory where they kept play tight, until No8 Matthew Dixon fed Thomas and brought in fullback Gavin Roberts, who cut through the home defensive line from thirty five metres out and put flanker Gareth Waters in for the try. Realising the danger of The Old Firm's attacking methods, Rumney responded by pushing up more rapidy, Clark and Ryan Fenton closing down moves quickly, fullback Dan Millward coming up on the burst, and Milton harassing non stop to gain turnovers. In the twenty third minute Chris Jones again rampaged away from the base of the scrum, sailing thirty metres downfield and drawing in tacklers as he passed to Ryan Fenton who crashed over the line for a fine try. Chris Jones and Ryan Fenton were back in a action from the restart, making spectacular bursts in midfield, while The Old Firm responded with more, well structured, tight forward drives, dynamic work in the loose by flanker Captain Scott Davies and an effective thrust by second row Luke Brennan, which almost brought a try. Weather conditions began to deteriorate, the increased rain causing some handling errors but not dampening either side's intentions to run the ball, and Rumney wingers Solomon Matthews and Stoppani chased everything to keep up the pressure, Barry claimed turnover ball and lineout variations found Bull gaining possession at back of the line, and although the home domination of the scrummage was maintained, Dixon continued to impress at the rear of the Mountain Ash set piece and centres Dale Keepin and Rhys Parfitt were strong in defence and on the counterattack. As half time approached, Meirion Thomas received a yellow card and Rumney exploited the advantage, Clark systematically working the touchline with Barry securing the lineout and as the controlled forward drive advanced, Neal picked the appropriate moment to ground the ball over the tryline. Home centres Paul Niblett and Luke Fear were a constant threat to the Mountain Ash defences and also forced errors with their uncompromising tackles, but the Old Firm closed the half strongly, fiercely contesting every breakdown, and lineout stalward Dan Jones creating problems in the loose with barnstorming runs, but there were no further scores before the break and the interval scoreboard read Rumney 20 Mountain Ash 5.

The second half started with Rumney throwing the ball about confidently between forwards and backs and Mountain Ash concentrating on their successful forward effort, preferring to keep it tight and controlled and build up phases. Ryan Fenton, Darren Fenton, Leadbeatter and Feneck defended every inch as the Old Firm pressed and Stoppani provided the saving grace by racing back to save a certain try when a Mountain Ash breakout went almost the length of the field. Thomas efficiently controlled play for the visitors and a long period followed when Fear and Stoppani were required to put in more try saving tackles, and Milton defended courageously around the scrum and contact area. Judging that now was the time to make tactical changes, the Rumney coaches brought on Colin O'Donoghue in the front row, Joe Mills in the second row and Lewis Andrews at scrum half, and it was a very unexpected variation in tactics that saw Clark launch a huge speculative up and under which deceived the defence, allowed Nibblet to expertly mop up possession and return the ball to the outside half, who hoisted another mighty kick to find Feneck in acres of space on the opposite wing, the happy hooker gathering well and crashing over to score. The Old Firm also made a raft of changes and returned to the offensive, Keepin and Parfitt dashing down the tramlines and only being stopped by a crunching tackle from Andrews, and they succeeded in penning Rumney near their own twenty two. In the sixty seventh minute clever work by replacement hooker Craig Evans brought an opportunist try for the visitors, Evans himself throwing in a snap lineout ball to Brennan and then taking the quick return to rush twenty five metres to score in the corner and reduce the gap to 25-10. Four minutes later, the home side having worked their way to the Mountain Ash twenty two, visiting winger Liam Cooper-King was yellow carded for a late tackle on Clark, the outside half replying by slotting a good penalty to again stretch the lead to 28-10, but the Old Firm came back strongly, forcing gaps in the Rumney defences and attacking the contact area where Barry was judged to have stopped a promising move by entering a ruck from the side, and was duly dispatched to the bin by a stern faced Mr Marfell-Jones. Mountain Ash went for the lineout where they set up a solid catch and drive before releasing the ball, Rumney second row Mike Young, Niblett and Matthews all producing vital crunching tackles to keep the Old Firm at Bay, but the visitors were not to be denied and from another confident lineout Dan Jones set up the well planned driving maul for replacement flanker Chris Edmunds to burrow over and score. Josh Lewis's excellent touchline conversion set up an exciting final five minutes, but it was to be a scrappy last period with many dropped passes and errors, and considering the conditions, both sides were to be applauded for contributing to an engrossing encounter which produced seven tries and a final result of Rumney 28 Mountain Ash 17.  

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "The pleasing thing for us was that we played to our structures, stuck to the gameplan and were very disciplined throughout the game. Our defence was solid and on occasions Mountain Ash were going through numerous phases without making any yards. I don't say this lightly as Mountain Ash are a big, physical team who are doing well in the League this season, however this does not take take away anything from the clinical performance by Rumney today. As on many occasions this season, our pack has proven too strong for the opposition but we have failed to capitalise on their good work, today however we managed to make good use of the go-forward that the pack created, and went on to score some good tries. As was the case last week, there were excellent performances throughout the team, with Chris Jones and Ryan Fenton leading from the front. Danny Clark was once again consistent with his kicking out of hand, kicking at goal and good distribution skills. Today's Man of the Match was Ryan Fenton for his sheer workrate and hunger to win. We now face Ebbw Vale next week, where we will be looking to compete with what I feel is the best side in the League. This Rumney team is capable of upsetting the odds and beating them on their own patch, although it will take an almighty effort. On behalf of the team, myself and everyone at the club, I would like to wish Rumney prop Dan Holliday all the best on his call up for international duty with Malta."

Paul Niblett, centre Rumney 1st XV : "It is very pleasing to get two wins on the bounce, following on from last week. The conditions were very wet and muddy, but the pack were exceptional again and like last Saturday, dominated up front, Chris Jones was outstanding. I felt we were always in control of the game and we will be looking for that kind of performance in our tough fixture against Ebbw Vale next week. It will be very tough up there, but we needed a win and we did that today. It was Ryan Fenton's first game back for a while and he scored a try and put in an outstanding performance. We don't seem to be getting a lot of ball in the backs, we haven't played to our potential, but we have made breaks and kept the pressure on well, and when we do get it right, a lot of tries will come our way, our wingers and fullback can cause problems for anyone."

 
Above, left : Matt Silva, right : Paul Niblett

WRU 2nd XV League

RUMNEY ATHLETIC v BRIDGEND ATHLETIC 2nd XV

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 29th October 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Rumney Athletic (Squad) : from : backs :  C.Maton   J.Offside   A.Bodin   A.Jones   L.Baptiste   L.Facey   C.Cook   P.Dimick   B.Evans   J.Morgan         forwards : K.O'Connor   S.Spavin   R.Matthews   R.Johnson   N.Paul   J.Allen   S.O'Connor   A.Leach   R.Sutton (Capt)   N.Ritchie   R.Maton   L.Rapa

Bridgend Athletic 2nd XV : J.Nation   A.Tyler   G.Davies   B.Howe   M.Powell   T.Parry   O.Evans   M.Thomas   C.McCleod   H.Griffiths   M.Evans   D.Greenslade   W.Fookes   N.Holman (Capt)   L.Davies      replacements : A.Brown   G.Ruffell   C.Chalmers   R.Evenden   J.Mustoe   R.John   M.Davies

Referee : Kevin Foley, Ospreys Region

Rumney Athletic 5   Bridgend Athletic 2nd XV 40

Scorer for Rumney Athletic : Jordan Allen try

Man of the Match  : Rob Johnson

A Bridge Too Far for the Athletic

The Athletic found it 'a bridge too far' against a well drilled Bridgend Athletic team. Late call ups for Fent and Youngy left the Athletic short of experience but it was still a much improved performance. Injuries to Facey and others meant a debut for Chris 'The Monk' Maton who played well in difficult circumstances. Bridgend put on early pressure following a charge down, and a couple of 'Exocet' line throws from Spav did not help ! Bridgend went ahead with two penalties but it was the Athletic who had a period of pressure following a great Joe Offside break. The ball was lost however, and this proved to be the story of the game - solid scrums and lineouts put the Athletic into the red zone time and again, only for them to lose the ball. The second half was the same as the first with good lineout work from Captain Marvel Stevo Sutton, who covered every yard of the pitch, and backing up by Mad Rob Johnson, who was the Man of the Match. A tiring Athletic leaked a couple of tries late on, but such was the spirit that it was the Athletic who scored last with 'Lone Star Texas' Allen grounding in the final move. 'The Athletic - Second to No One'.

WRU Welsh Youth Cup - Round 1

RUTHIN YOUTH v RUMNEY YOUTH

Ruthin RFC
Saturday 29th October 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Ruthin Youth 38  Rumney Youth 7

SWALEC League Division 1 East

GLAMORGAN WANDERERS v RUMNEY

The Memorial Ground, Ely, Cardiff
Saturday 22nd October 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Glamorgan Wanderers v Rumney 20.02.10
Past playing record : played 12, Glamorgan Wanderers 9 wins, Rumney 3 wins

Rumney : 15.Dan Millward  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Paul Niblett  12.Luke Fear  11.Solomon Matthews  10.Danny Clark  9.Chris Milton   8.Michael Kelly  7.Simon Barry  6.Chris Jones  5.Michael Young  4.Paul Bull  3.Darren Fenton   2.Michael Feneck (Capt)  1.John Leadbeatter
Replacements : 16.Colin O'Donoghue  17.Carl Fish  18.Matthew Way  19.Michael Neal  20.Lewis Andrews

Glamorgan Wanderers : 15.Owen Marshall  14.Joe Xiberras  13.Harry Appleton  12.Charlie Johnson  11.Dan Lovell  10.Gareth Cull  9.Tim Cronin   8.Gareth Knight  7.Andrew Bradbury  6.Will Rees  5.Chris Scarf  4.Josh Sheehan  3.Mel Lewis   2.Mike Catris  1.Chris Hole
Replacements : 16.Chris Greenfield  17.Joe Russell  18.Dan Richards  19.Rhys Griffiths  20.Sean Coughlin

Referee : Jason Bessant, Bridgend

Glamorgan Wanderers 23   Rumney 27

Scorers for Rumney :  Danny Clark try and 2 penalties and 3 conversions, Gareth Stoppani try, Solomon Matthews try

Scorers for Glamorgan Wanderers  : Dan Lovell try, Owen Marshall try, Joe Xiberras try, Sean Coughlin conversion and penalty, Gareth Cull conversion

This eagerly anticipated local derby proved to be as tense and exciting as had been expected and despite a large number of errors and penalties, still produced six quality tries and plenty of open play. Rumney came close to scoring in the first minutes, power play from second rows Michael Young and Paul Bull, and the first of many battering runs from flanker Chris Jones, put them in a strong attacking position, but a try for Bull was disallowed because of a forward pass. Wing forward Simon Barry gained good lineout ball and from the start No8 Michael Kelly drove hard at the opposition, outside half Danny Clark contributing neat chip kicks and, in the eighth minute, opening the scoring with a forty five metre penalty when the Wanderers killed the ball. The visitors' offensive continued with a brilliant midfield break by talented scrum half Chris Milton and the intense contests in the contact area went mostly with the team in possession, but in the tenth minute the Wanderers won a turnover and scrum half Tim Cronin counterattacked at speed, feeding No8 Gareth Knight, who set up the ball well for the threequarters, and putting right wing Dan Lovell over unopposed for the first try of the game. Rumney pressed again, Kelly taking two or three tacklers with him every time he had the ball, but the home side defended well, outside half Gareth Cull gaining territory through accurate line kicking. The Wanderers' lineout was well organised and secure, flanker Andrew Bradley and the impressive Knight making no mistakes in acquiring and using clean possession, but the scrummages were completely dominated by Rumney from the opening stages and were where Bull, Jones and Barry harassed the home pack, disrupting planned forward moves. The destructive scrummaging power of props Darren Fenton and John Leadbeatter and hooker Michael Feneck, was matched by their play in the loose where they contested every breakdown and carried well to gain important yards, but Rumney were beginning to give away a surprising number of penalties, some for indiscipline and others for unforced errors. Clark's linekicking was again exceptional and kept the Wanderers on the backfoot, the visitors' defensive line functioning well and preventing Bradbury and second row Josh Sheehan from getting into scoring positions, and were fortunate that as the indiscipline mounted, Cull was unable to kick the resulting penalties. In the thirty second minute, with Bull and Leadbeatter rampant in the loose, winger Gareth Stoppani pounced at a breakdown, snapped up the ball and raced into the home twenty two where Milton worked the ball to Jones whose neat pass back in to Clark sent the outside half through for a try, his own conversion putting Rumney into the lead at 5-10. The visiting backs showed that they could match home three quarters, centre Paul Niblett coming up with crunching tackles and taking the ball forward, while co-centre Luke Fear and Stoppani combined well in a fine handling movement which took play well into the Wanderers' half where the home defenders conceded a penalty. Relishing the scrummages, Rumney chose the set piece and drove over the tryline only for Cronin to be first to dive on the ball and save the certain try. Young made a great steal in a lineout but it was at the lineout that the Wanderers were most confident, and in the thirty eighth minute hooker Mike Catris threw the ball long in their own half, Cronin and Cull released the backs and winger Joe Xiberras cut through midfield in a well planned move where he linked with centre Harry Appleton and fullback Owen Marshall, who covered the final twenty five metres for a fine try. The remaining minutes of the half found the Wanderers making more, good running attacks and Rumney defending sternly, Jones, Stoppani, wing Solomon Matthews and Leadbeatter putting in vital tackles, Clark steady in defence and fullback Dan Millward solid under the high ball and ready to counterattack at speed, but there was no more scoring and the half time scoreboard read 10-10.

Rumney started the second half at speed, Fenton snapping up loose lineout ball and Stoppani cutting infield from the wing, and a rattled Wanderers immediately conceded another penalty which Clark slotted expertly. Cull continued to orchestrate the dangerous home threequarters but it was the visitors who were profitting most at the contact area, Young gaining more excellent turnover ball, Barry countering in the loose, Milton kicking well and Clark running confidently out of defence, creating a spectacular handling movement with Niblett and Fear which was unfortunately called back for a forward pass. Knight kept up his workrate as the Wanderers' outstanding forward and Cull spread the ball wide, knowing that it was in the wide open spaces that his side threatened most, and in the fifty second minute the outside half levelled the scores at 13-13 when the visitors were penalised for offside. The Rumney forward drive at the set scrum gave Milton plenty of opportunities to show off his skills, and in the sixty first minute a huge push forward released Kelly from the base of the scrum to gain ground and win a penalty. The inevitable choice was a new scrummage, followed by a tight drive from Feneck, Fenton and Leadbeatter, before Stoppani once more raced in from the wing, collected a perfectly delayed pass from Clark, and burst through tacklers to score at the posts. Clark converted for a 13-20 lead and sent play back into the Wanderers' territory following Young's clean take from the restart, but Rumney's persistent infringements led to even more penalties and hard fought gains were once more lost, Captain Feneck and Fenton soon being sentenced to time in the sin bin. The visitors rang the changes, Lewis Andrews coming on at scrum half, Mike Neale in the second row, Colin O'Donoghue at prop, Carl Fish hooking and Matthew Way in the back row, and despite more heroic lineout work from Young and Way, and determined defense from Niblett and Millward, Rumney conceded their fifteenth penalty and Wanderers' replacement outside half Sean Coughlin narrowed the gap to 16-20. Two minutes later, in the seventy fifth minute, Coughlin put in a speculative kick from a scrum on the home twenty two, the awkward bounce favouring his speedy backs and setting up a good handling movement which resulted in Xiberras touching down under the sticks. The conversion put the Wanderers into the lead at 23-20 and with only five minutes left on the clock and Rumney down to thirteen men, the result seemed to be a foregone conclusion, but the visitors remained highly competitive, especially at the breakdowns, and Neale, on his return from injury, was already putting in an oustanding performance, thundering through the midfield. A successful lineout gave Rumney quick possession and Stoppani again cut in from the wing, shattering the opposition defensive line and allowing Fear and Millward to set up a position ten metres from the Wanderers' line. Andrews fed Clark who sent out a perfectly timed pass to Neal on the burst, whose excellent ball retention set up Matthews for a difficult, match winning try in the corner. Clark's superb touchline conversion reclaimed the lead at 23-27 and as the game moved into injury time, the Wanderers attacked again through their threequarters, but a storming burst from Jones took the visitors back downfield and their hosts were unable to rescue the situation in the dying seconds, Rumney sealing a remarkable comeback and victory with a four point winning margin.

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "First of all I have to say what a relief it is to be finally playing in local derbies again. These games just have something about them with both sides having to approach the match with a must win attitude. Neither side disappointed in serving up a great game of rugby with the winning try being scored in injury time. For our boys, they gave a hundred percent and I feel they deserved the victory. An important aspect of Division One is the fact that sides in this league do not give up and will play for eighty five minutes, as we have found to our detriment on many occassions, but this week Lady Luck was on our side after a poor clearance kick fell favourably into our hands, and we took our opportunity well to score the winning try. I can't single anybody out as it was a great team effort, with all the players giving equally to the cause. There were two players who went the extra mile, in John Leadbeatter and Luke Fear, with Luke just shading it for Man of the Match. We  look forward to the return fixture when I am sure the Wanderers will want to even up the score. We now face Mountain Ash on Saturday who have made a smooth transition to Division One and we will have to be at our best to win the game."

Paul Bull, second row Rumney 1st XV : "It was the kind of game I like playing in because it was exciting and we gained a last minute win. The boys didn't drop their heads when they went behind and were down to thirteen men, it is the start of things to come for us. The front row were immense, Clarky's kicking was great and the whole team did really well."

Above, left : Matt Silva, right : Paul Bull

PILL HARRIERS 2nd XV v RUMNEY ATHLETIC

Tredegar Park, Newport
Saturday 22nd October 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Pill Harriers 2nd XV 15   Rumney Athletic 10

Scorers for Rumney Athletic : Alex Bowman try, Luke Baptiste try

RUMNEY YOUTH v ST JOSEPHS YOUTH

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 22nd October 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Rumney Youth 11    St Josephs Youth 27

SWALEC League Division 1 East

MERTHYR v RUMNEY

The Wern, Merthyr Tydfil
Saturday 15th October 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Rumney v Merthyr 05.03.11
Past playing record : played 25, Merthyr 12 wins, Rumney 10 wins, 3 draws

Rumney : 15.Dan Millward  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Paul Niblett  12.Luke Fear  11.Joe Offside  10.Danny Clark  9.Lewis Andrews   8.Chris Jones  7.Matthew Way  6.Anthony Wilson  5.Michael Young  4.Joe Mills  3.Darren Fenton   2.Michael Feneck (Capt)  1.John Leadbeatter
Replacements : 16.Dan Holliday  17.Carl Fish  18.Simon Barry  19.Paul Bull  20.Chris Milton

Merthyr : 15.Daniel Butler  14.Greg Plant  13.Matthew Trowbridge  12.Adam Williams  11.Aaron Howard  10.Neil Burnett (Capt)  9.Ryan Harries   8.Andrew Murphy  7.Matthew Rees  6.Robert Sweeney  5.Geraint Edmunds  4.Nick White  3.Rhys James   2.Darren Harris  1.James Howe
Replacements : 16.Jonathan Bevan  17.Jonathan Taylor  18.A.N. Other  19.Malachy Mullins  20.Josh Fly

Referee: Gareth Saunders, Rhydyfelin, Pontypridd

 

Merthyr 27   Rumney 21

Scorers for Rumney : Gareth Stoppani try, Danny Clark try and 3 conversions, penalty try

Scorers for Merthyr  : Daniel Butler try, Aaron Howard try, James Howe try, Neil Burnett 3 conversions and 2 penalties

Rumney made a snappy start to the game with winger Gareth Stoppani gathering neatly and causing problems for tacklers with his first break, and scrum half Lewis Andrews firing out quick passes to small organised groups of his forwards, but the visiitors conceded an early penalty and Merthyr kicked their way downfield. Powerful work by No8 Chris Jones, flanker Anthony Wilson and second row Mike Young soon regained useful positions for Rumney, setting up the backs to spread the ball, but more penalties were conceded and in the eleventh minute Merthyr outside half and Captain Neil Burnett opened the scoring with a successful place kick. The big, young Merthyr pack did well in the set pieces to hold the Rumney eight and in the first lineouts the visitors were less clinical than usual, losing ball and giving away more penalties. In the nineteenth minute the Ironmen secured a defensive lineout and a dynamic burst by impressive hooker Darren Harris gained fifteen metres before scrum half Ryan Harries and Burnett found centre Adam Williams who sliced through the midfield, sending out a long pass to Aaron Howard for the winger to collect at speed and go all the way to score in the corner. Burnett added the awkward conversion for a 10-0 lead, and following good possession from a long restart kick, the outside half then sidestepped and sliced through the centrefield before moving the ball wide to the right again, where the attack was carried on by flanker Matthew Rees, Howard and hooker James Howe, who brushed aside weak tackles and finished off the fine handling movement with a second corner try, only three minutes after the first one. Burnett added the extra points and after the restart he launched a huge touchfinder, Rumney's woes increasing when following the lineout, important centre Paul Niblett received a yellow card. The Ironmen's second rows Nick White and Geraint Edmunds efficiently controlled their lineouts and drives but the home side were now conceding penalties themselves and the visitors gaining ground in midfield and more territory from outside half Danny Clark's outsized kicks to touch. Rumney's outstanding front row scrummaging unit, hooker Michael Feneck and props John Leadbeatter and Darren Fenton, ensured excellent possession from the set piece and the breakdowns, Jones continued to cause havoc from the base of the scrum and flankers Wilson and Matthew Way propelled themselves forward, Way also securing precise ball in the lineouts. In the threequarters, centre Luke Fear and wing Joe Offside looked dangerous in what was becoming a good period for Rumney, full back Dan Millward coming in on the burst, and Andrews, quick to the contact area, seeking out second row Joe Mills who made superb gains with his forceful running. Merthyr were strong in defence but the pressure from the visiting forwards was starting to tell and they were reduced to fourteen men when Mr. Saunders brandished his yellow card for killing the ball, and when the Ironmen then pulled down an advancing scrum, he had no hesitation in going under the sticks to award a penalty try. Rumney attacked again through more driving runs from Young and Mills and a fine break out of defence by Offside, and reached half time with the scoreboard reading a more respectable 17-7.

   

Merthyr pressed forward in the early part of the second half and Rumney gave away further penalties, but a very promising attack by the Ironmenn was cleverly anticipated by Jones, who intercepted and sprinted and dummied his way over forty metres, connecting with Stoppani and taking play right to the home tryline. There followed a long period of Rumney pressure close to the posts but from the base of a defensive Merthyr scrum, No8 Andrew Murphy made a snappy blindside break, interpassing with full back Daniel Butler and Harries, the scrum half finally passing back to Butler to run in the try and finish of an excellent handling movement, which had gone the length of the pitch. With only three minutes of the second half gone, and following Burnett's conversion, Rumney again found themselves well behind at 24-7, and although they quickly got back to an attacking position near the Merthyr line, indiscipline crept in and unwanted advice to Mr Saunders was rewarded with a penalty which relieved the threatening situation for the home side. The visitors again showed attacking potential as Millward, Fear and Niblett all found gaps, and in the sixtieth minute a crunching tackle on Murphy by Jones created a Rumney turnover, and Andrews was on it like a flash, whipping the ball out to Stoppani, who still had a lot to do but shrugged off tackles to storm over in the corner. Clark slotted the difficult conversion and sensing that a comeback was now on the cards, Rumney made tactical changes, bringing on Simon Barry at flanker, Paul Bull in the second row, Dan Holliday at prop and Chris Milton at scrum half. The visitors did, however, concede another penalty and in the sixty fourth minute Burnett added three more points to stretch the gap to 27-14. This was followed by a passage of scrappy play with both sides dropping passes and conceding possession, but it was Rumney who gave away an increasing number of penalties, including a further one for indiscipline, although they defended well to keep the Ironmen out, home hooker Harris continuing to put in an outstanding performance. Clark made massive clearance kicks when the homeside were in striking distance of another score, Mills repeatedly battered the opposition defences and Carl Fish took over at hooker in the visitors' pack, and along with Holliday, Leadbeatter and Bull drove hard and deep into the Merthyr twenty two. At a scrum on the Ironmen's five metre line, Rumney created a turnover and Milton was on it like a shot, bringing in Barry, Bull and Leadbeatter to set up phases and then feed Clark who jinked his way passed despairing tacklers to score a fine try under the posts. Only six minutes remained but the visitors were playing some of their best rugby, launching all out attacks to try and win the game, dominating the scrummages and coming very close to getting the score they needed when Leadbeatter was held just short of the line, but Merthyr consolidated their defence and with the final turnover of the game going in their favour, ran out 27-21 winners. 

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "In this game we were so near, yet so far, the scoreline may suggest a close contest but in all fairness we were virtually nonexistent for the first sixty minutes. I am not being critical, just stating the facts. If we had played for the first sixty minutes like we did for the last twenty, we could have won this game comfortably. Even though the win eluded us, the boys are desperate to put things right on the field, next week's game against Glamorgan Wanderers could really kick start our season and I know the players are relishing a local derby. We need to start games well and gain momentum, as opposed to starting slow and chasing games. Even though it was a poor game technically and structurally, there were some good performances, Danny Clark, Joe Mills, John Leadbeatter, Chris Jones, Gareth Stoppani to name a few, these boys do not take the field to lose matches or do badly, but in rugby you do have difficult patches. We must now consolidate and work our way through this period, starting next week with a big performance against The Wanderers. Today's Man of the Match was Joe Mills. It is with great sadness that I have to announce that Graham Daley, Rumney Forwards Coach, has decided to resign his post. I know that personally, and on behalf of Rumney RFC, we would like to give our heartfelt thanks to Graham for the huge amount of work and dedication he has shown in his two and a half years in this role, and wish him all the best for the future."

Anthony Wilson, flanker Rumney 1st XV : "We had a fairly slow start and took our time progressing ino the game. I thought the boys came out in the second half with plenty of belief and courage and we were very unlucky not to come away with a win. Looking ahead we need a strong performance against Glamorgan Wanderers next week. John Leadbeatter had an outstanding game in the loose today and so did Joe Mills and Chris Jones."

Above, left : Matt Silva, right : Anthony Wilson

SWALEC League Division 1 East

RUMNEY v BLACKWOOD

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 8th October 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

 
Rumney v Blackwood 23.04.2011
Past playing record : played 22, Blackwood 15 wins, Rumney 6 wins, 1 draw

Rumney : 15.Luke Fear  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Paul Niblett  12.Lewis Rees  11.Joe Offside  10.Danny Clark  9.Lewis Andrews   8.Michael Kelly  7.Simon Barry  6.Anthony Wilson   5.Paul Bull  4.Joe Mills  3.Dan Holliday   2.Michael Feneck (Capt)  1.John Leadbeatter
Replacements : 16.Darren Fenton  17.Carl Fish  18.Matthew Way  19.Chris Jones  20.Chris Milton

Blackwood : 15.Nathan Gittins  14.Kristan Perry (Capt)  13.Sean Emery  12.Gareth Price  11.Anthony John  10.Jeremy Roberts  9.Adam Jones   8.David Brake  7.Gareth McCarthy   6.David Ford   5.Mark Gwillt  4.Lee Taylor  3.Nathan Curtis   2.Chris Davies  1.Rhys Morgan
Replacements : 16.Keiron Brown  17.Huw Jones  18.Chris Poole  19.Ross Cornwall  20.Rhodri Usher

Referee : Jonathan Mason, Dunvant, Swansea

Rumney 20  Blackwood 27

Scorers for Rumney : Gareth Stoppani 2 tries, Danny Clark 2 conversions and 2 penalties

Scorers for Blackwood  : Kristan Perry 2 tries, Adam Jones try, Gareth Price try and 2 conversions and penalty

A high speed start by Blackwood found their forwards working well together, keeping the ball tight, and scrum half half Adam Jones organising the short drives, and when wing and Captain Kristan Perry gathered a relieving kick on his twenty two and set off on a weaving fifty metre run, it was Adams who reaped the rewards, as the visitors reorganised well and prop Rhys Morgan fed him the pass for an early try in the corner. Rumney's defence, which had been vulnerable to the first attacks, was soon resisting firmly the renewed efforts of the visitors and flankers Anthony Wilson and Simon Barry took the game to Blackwood, thrusting forward and chasing any possible possession. The home forwards started to generate controlled drives but the visitors struck back with another seventy metre counterattack and in the eighteenth minute, having stolen a Rumney lineout, they were awarded a penalty for offside and centre Gareth Price added the three points. The Blackwood lineout was well organised, second row Mark Gwillt systematically claiming possession, and No8 David Brake clearing up at the back and from the base of the scrum, while Rumney benefitted from excellent work at the contact area and drives in loose play by props Dan Holliday and John Leadbeatter and hooker Michael Feneck. The home side came close to scoring when Barry and Kelly found gaps in the midfield but even behind a retreating scrum, Blackwood were able to recover, Brake again doing the tidying up work. Rumney's backs were also starting to find gaps and in the twenty seventh minute centre Paul Niblett led a counterattack and began a fine handling movement which saw centre Lewis Rees and fullback Luke Fear create enough space for wing Gareth Stoppani to cut through the defence and score, outside half Danny Clark adding the extra points to bring the score to 7-8. The home side's revival continued with the threequarters receiving fast and accurate service from scrum half Lewis Andrews and Clark, winger Joe Offside running hard, and Niblett, Rees and Kelly getting over the gain line, and in the thirty fourth minute, after a series of promising attacks, Clark landed a penalty that put his side into the lead at 10-8. The outside half's excellent kicking out of hand kept his side moving forward, Wilson ruled the lineout and second rows Joe Mills and Paul Bull maintained the pressure in the boilerhouse and battered their way through midfield, but Holliday suffered an injury and Darren Fenton took up the tight head position. Blackwood hooker Chris Davies was yellow carded for pulling down a maul and in the fortieth minute Clark kicked the final points of the half for a 13-8 lead at the interval.

Rumney approached the restart in confident mood, Wilson and Barry again on the offensive, elusive breaks coming from Fear and more power play from Mills, Fenton and Feneck, but some unexpected turnovers and penalties presented Blackwood with relieving opportunities, and indiscipline in the home side allowed the visitors to gain even more territory. In the fifty third minute Gwillt made an important catch in the lineout and second row Lee Taylor and flanker David Ford took control of the subsequent maul, before the ball was flicked out to Perry who had come in from the opposite wing and was driven over the tryline with help from Gwillt, Price's difficult but successful conversion putting Blackwood back into the lead at 13-15. Despite having fallen behind, the home side showed strong attacking skills, Offside, Bull, Fenton and Leadbeatter interweaving skilfully, but unforced errors gave possession back to the visitors, who used accurate kicking and good handling skills to counterattack from depth. Rumney continued to exert pressure in the midfield by Feneck, Kelly and Fenton setting up phases, but penalties were still being conceded and Blackwood took advantage of a quick tap and go, followed by an equally rapid lineout, to catch the home side unawares and put centre Gareth Price through a gap for an opportunist try. Price added the conversion and the visitors once more went on the attack, playing a high paced game and gaining positions in the home twenty two. In the sixty second minute they had a scrum near the Rumney line but the home side's devestating scrummaging technique took ball against the head and Clark linked with Matthew Way who had come on in the back row and now raced downfield, connecting with Rees and Offside, but it was the following up by Fear which made possession available for Stoppani, who sprinted to the line for the outstanding try of the day. Clark's conversion narrowed the gap to 20-22 and with Chris Jones now on in the back row and already gathering and bursting forward, Chris Milton probing from scrum half, Wilson battling through tacklers and Fear and Feneck seeking out gaps, Rumney looked as if they could still salvage the game, but a yellow card reduced their defensive capabilities, and Blackwood again upped the pace and pressure, prop Nathan Curtis working very hard in the contact area, until the ball was released to Perry on the ten metre line and the powerful wing dummied and sidestepped past tacklers, scoring in the corner from forty metres out. Carl Fish took the field at hooker for the home side and contributed well to the forward effort, but the visitors carefully controlled their possession and made sure that there was to be no chance of another comeback, the final scoreboard reading Rumney 20 Blackwood 27.

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "For us, this was a game that was there for the taking. After a very good first half, sticking to the game plan, showing excellent discipline only conceding two penalties, and turning around 13-8 to the good for us, we felt that we were in a strong position to win the game, but as on other occassions this season, we took our foot off the accelerator and presented Blackwood with enough opportunities to gain a victory. If we are going to improve our situation we have to stop getting into arm wrestles with other teams, when we stick to our structures we cause teams problems and create countless opportunities for ourselves. We did this today but didn't finish off the opportunities and I think the boys then lose faith in the system we are playing under and revert to type. This is now becoming an issue for us as it causes our play to become disjointed. We now have to gain a victory away at Merthyr, this is achievable if we play the way we have been coached. Today's Man of the Match was Michael Kelly."

Lewis Andrews, scrum half Rumney 1st XV : "We worked hard in training in the week but it was a slow start today. We then picked our game up, which showed in a lot of line breaks, but we didn't finish our chances. The pack worked well as a unit and created good ruck ball which allowed me to get it away quicker, but we seem to get the lead and then we can't hang on to it, it slips away at the end. We need to be playing for a full eighty minutes and stick to the game plan. Blackwood were dangerous on turnover ball and when we were turned over they capitalised on it very quickly. Paul Niblett made good linebreaks in the centre and Michael Kelly carried well. We need to work hard in training again this week." 

Above, left : Matt Silva, right : Lewis Andrews

WRU 2nd XV League

PENALLTA 2nd XV v RUMNEY ATHLETIC

Penallta RFC
Saturday 8th October 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Penallta 2nd XV 24   Rumney Athletic 12

SWALEC League Division 1 East

NEWBRIDGE v RUMNEY

The Welfare Ground, Newbridge
Saturday 1st October 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

 
Newbridge v Rumney 25.09.2010
Past playing record : played 22, Newbridge 14 wins, Rumney 7 wins, 1 draw

Rumney : 15.Dan Millward  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Paul Niblett  12.Luke Fear  11.Joe Offside  10.Danny Clark (Capt)  9.Chris Milton  8.Michael Kelly  7.Simon Barry  6.Matthew Way  5.Paul Bull  4.Joe Mills  3.James Monck  2.Nathan Bridson  1.John Leadbeatter
Replacements : 16.Anthony Wilson  17.Darren Fenton  18.Lewis Andrews  19.Michael Young  20.Colin O'Donoghue

Newbridge : 15.Duane Dyer  14.David James  13.Mark Thorley  12.Geraint Langdon  11.Trevor James  10.Bevan Howells  9.Richard Addis  8.Ross Coombs (Capt)  7.Justin Jones  6.Dean Gibbs  5.Keith Laughlin  4.Mark Curtis  3.Dan Evans  2.Rhys Price  1.Geoff Lewin
Replacements : 16.Darren Hughes  17.Mike Hutchings  18.Geraint Thomas  19.Aaron Quick  20.Dan Phillips

Referee : Mike Bethel

Newbridge 57   Rumney 13

Scorer for Rumney : Danny Clark try and conversion and 2 penalties

Scorers for Newbridge  : Duane Dyer try, David James 3 tries, Geraint Langdon try, Bevan Howells try and 7 conversions and penalty, Rhys Price try, Dean Gibbs try

Temperatures were well into the eighties at The Welfare Ground and in weather unknown in Wales in October, Rumney's defence wilted as league leaders Newbridge ran in eight tries. The visitors uncharacteristically lost their first lineout and Newbridge immediately opened up play from their ten metre line, full back Duane Dyer entering the back line to create an overlap, right wing Trevor James bursting down the tramlines, feeding fellow winger David James who raced in for the opening try. Outside half Bevan Howells added the conversion for a 7-0 lead but with the Rumney forwards showing up well in the scrummage and the loose, prop John Leadbeatter and second row Joe Mills battering their way forward, Newbridge conceded a penalty and outside half Danny Clark narrowed the gap to 7-3. Rumney continued to experience problems in the lineout but were dominant in the scrums, Newbridge favouring the lineout and any opportunity to use their dangerous backs, and when visiting flanker Matthew Way grabbed turnover ball, hooker Nathan Bridson, Mills and No8 Michael Kelly set off on a powerful offensive, but an unexpected penalty at a scrummage allowed Newbridge to peg the visitors right back in their twenty two, a position they found it hard to get out of. Scrum half Chris Milton's darting run took play to their twenty two but Rumney were slow to secure the ball and Newbridge took advantage of the turnover, scrum half Richard Addis spotting a huge empty space and chipping over for the speedy Dyer to race through and touchdown to score.  Howell's successful conversion gave his side a 14-3 lead after sixteen minutes, and more uncertain play by the visitors allowed Newbridge to quickly regain attacking positions where their increasingly menacing backs were only kept out by desperate defensive measures, and in the twenty first minute they took another three points for a penalty infringement. Rumney second rows Michael Young and Mills kept up their heavy workrate, prop James Monck and flanker Simon Barry forcing the opposition back, but their efforts were often cancelled out by Newbridge being awarded penalties, until a darting run by Clark inspired their first decisive attacking period of the game, the home side defending strongly, using the handling skills of their threequarters and Dyer to break out of dangerous situations. Rumney brought on Paul Bull in the second row, Mills and Kelly gained more yards and Way constantly harassed and tackled, and in the thirty first minute Clark kicked a second penalty. The fast, mobile Rumney forwards were proving to be their side's most effective weapon, particularly when driving in small groups and setting up phases, but Newbridge were always prepared to run the ball back, centres Langdon and Mark Thorley finding more room in midfield and Trevor James only being denied by an excellent tackle from Milton. The home side started to stretch the visitors' defences, second row Keith Laughlin and No8 and Captain Ross Coombs linking well with their threequarters, until the backs spotted mismatches and Howells cut through for a try, which he also converted to increase the lead to 24-6. With only five minutes remaining until half time, Newbridge spun the ball as soon as they regained possession, Langdon sprinting through the midfield and scattering tacklers before linking with his support players, hooker Rhys Price finally picking up the loose ball and crossing for another try and conversion. From the restart Langdon and Thorley immediately recreated the havoc in midfield, bursting through more weak tackles and sending David James away for a corner try, the scoreboard at the interval reading Newbridge 36 Rumney 6, the visitors having shipped nineteen points in the closing six minutes.

The second half found Monck, Leadbeatter and the Rumney pack even more dominant in the scrummages, their pressure gaining penalties which were used to peg the home side back, but the lineouts still caused problems and Newbridge carefully worked their way into the visitors twenty two. In the fifty second minute Newbridge used clean lineout ball to start another good handling movement, flanker Justin Jones working a well planned miss move for Langdon to slice through further poor tackles and score under the posts. Howells' conversion extended the lead to 43-6 but Rumney fought back, winger Gareth Stoppani, centres Luke Fear and Paul Niblett trying hard to counterattack, fullback Dan Millward and winger Joe Offside looking for work, making the most of the limited possession which came their way, and hooker Colin O'Donoghue never giving an inch. In the fifty seventh minute, with Newbridge setting up another expansive movement, Clark cleverly anticipated a pass by  Coombs and intercepted the ball, dashing away for a forty metre try and conversion which cut the gap to 43-13. Rumney brought on Darren Fenton at tight head, Lewis Andrews at scrum half and with Anthony Wilson in the back row, another strong passage of play followed, powerful scrums providing Kelly and Way with chances to attack in the loose, and Stoppani, Andrews and Millward all coming close to scoring. Newbridge however, carefully waited until they regained possession and moved upfield, then Howells brushed off three tackles on half way and sparked the interplay which resulted in David James haring forty metres to complete his hat trick of tries. Now trailing 50-13, and with only ten minutes remaining, Rumney continued to launch attacks but errors caused them to break down and in the seventy fourth minute another fine, looping movement by Newbridge, involving fullback Dyer, was rounded off by flanker Dean Gibbs sidestepping past tacklers on a forty metre gallop to the tryline. Howells' conversion stretched the gap to 57-13, and although Rumney battled hard, Fenton and Wilson making huge efforts, errors still crept in and, unable to reduce the deficit, they had to settle for an unexpectedly heavy defeat.

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "For the first time this season I am at a loss to describe the game. We were totally outplayed, outthought and outnumbered in the contact area. I don't think it would be fair to say that Newbridge weren't worthy of this big victory but I feel our poor performance contributed to the high score they attained. We missed numerous tackles on first phase ball which led directly to tries. This is rare in modern rugby and we have to put our hands up and say we made it easy for Newbridge. On a positive note, once again our scrum was dominant and we managed to hold the territorial and possession percentages in the second half, and yet we failed to score straightforward run ins. In the post match debrief the players were very disappointed and we are working hard in training this week to prepare for a tough match against Blackwood on Saturday. Two stand out players this week are Danny Clark and Simon Barry, with a lot of the other boys falling short of the levels they expect of themselves. The fortunate part of rugby is that you get a chance the following week to put things right and we must now do this against Blackwood on Saturday."

WRU 2nd XV League

RUMNEY ATHLETIC v BARGOED 2nd XV

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 1st October 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Referee : Richard North, Brackla, Bridgend

Rumney Athletic 0   Bargoed 2nd XV 49

RUMNEY YOUTH v MERTHYR YOUTH

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 1st October 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

Rumney Youth 17   Merthyr Youth 37

RUMNEY VETERANS v OLD ILLTYDIAN MUSCATEERS

Riverside Park, Rumney
Friday 30th September 2011, k.o. 7.15 pm

Rumney Veterans 45   Old Illtydian Muscateers 5

  

SWALEC LEAGUE DIVISION 1 EAST    Fixtures 2011-2012

03.09.2011	BARGOED	v	RUMNEY
10.09.2011	RUMNEY	v	GILFACH GOCH
17.09.2011	TREORCHY	v	RUMNEY
24.09.2011	RUMNEY	v	TREDEGAR
01.10.2011	NEWBRIDGE	v	RUMNEY
08.10.2011	RUMNEY	v	BLACKWOOD
15.10.2011	MERTHYR	v	RUMNEY
22.10.2011	GLAMORGAN W.	v	RUMNEY
29.10.2011	RUMNEY	v	MOUNTAIN ASH
05.11.2011	EBBW VALE	v	RUMNEY
12.11.2011	RUMNEY	v	BEDDAU
19.11.2011	RUMNEY	v	BARGOED
26.11.2011	GILFACH GOCH	v	RUMNEY
17.12.2011	RUMNEY	v	TREORCHY
07.01.2012	TREDEGAR	v	RUMNEY
14.01.2012	RUMNEY	v	NEWBRIDGE
21.01.2012	BLACKWOOD	v	RUMNEY
11.02.2012	RUMNEY	v	MERTHYR
24.03.2012	RUMNEY	v	GLAMORGAN W.
31.03.2012	MOUNTAIN ASH	v	RUMNEY
07.04.2012	RUMNEY	v	EBBW VALE
14.04.2012	BEDDAU	v	RUMNEY

WRU 2nd XV LEAGUE    Fixtures 2011-2012

03.09.2011	RUMNEY	v	PONTYPOOL
10.09.2011	GLAMORGAN W.	v	RUMNEY
17.09.2011	RUMNEY	v	BLACKWOOD
24.09.2011	UWIC	v	RUMNEY
01.10.2011	RUMNEY	v	BARGOED
08.10.2011	PENALLTA	v	RUMNEY
29.10.2011	RUMNEY	v	BRIDGEND ATH.
05.11.2011	BEDDAU	v	RUMNEY
12.11.2011	GLYNNEATH	v	RUMNEY
26.11.2011	RUMNEY	v	BEDWAS
10.12.2011	PONTYPOOL	v	RUMNEY
17.12.2011	RUMNEY	v	GLAMORGAN W.
07.01.2012	BLACKWOOD	v	RUMNEY
14.01.2012	RUMNEY	v	UWIC
21.01.2012	BARGOED	v	RUMNEY
11.02.2012	RUMNEY	v	PENALLTA
03.03.2012	BRIDGEND ATH.	v	RUMNEY
24.03.2012	RUMNEY	v	BEDDAU
31.03.2012	RUMNEY	v	GLYNNEATH
14.04.2012	BEDWAS	v	RUMNEY

WORTHINGTON SILVER BALL    Fixtures 2011-2012

10.09.2011	RUMNEY	v	GILFACH GOCH
17.09.2011	TREORCHY	v	RUMNEY
24.09.2011	RUMNEY	v	TREDEGAR
01.10.2011	NEWBRIDGE	v	RUMNEY
15.10.2011	MERTHYR	v	RUMNEY
29.10.2011	RUMNEY	v	MOUNTAIN ASH
19.11.2011	RUMNEY	v	BARGOED
26.11.2011	GILFACH GOCH	v	RUMNEY
07.01.2012	TREDEGAR	v	RUMNEY
14.01.2012	RUMNEY	v	NEWBRIDGE