Rumney v Blackwood 08.10.2011

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

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