Rumney v Bargoed 19.11.2011

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 Neale  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 Neale 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, Neale 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 Neale, 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 Neale 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, Neale 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

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