Rumney v Caerphilly 12.02.2010

SWALEC League Division 1 East

RUMNEY v CAERPHILLY

Riverside Park, Rumney
Friday 12th February  2010, k.o. 7.15 pm

Caerphilly v Rumney 20.09.2008
Past playing record : played 10, Caerphilly 8 wins, Rumney 2 wins

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

Caerphilly : 15. P. Lanzi  14. C. Thomas   13. D. Deardon   12. M. Addis    11. K. Phillips   10. M. Minty    9. R. Usher    8. M. Strong     7. E. Matthews    6. G. Davies    5. C. Payne   4. S. Feehan (Capt)   3. J. Salter   2. L. Harwood   1. M. Webber
Replacements: 16. T. Bevan    17. J. Walby     18. L. Rawlins    19. J. Castello    20. B. Lloyd

Referee : Elwyn Marfell-Jones, Uplands, Swansea

Rumney 23   Caerphilly 7

Scorers for Rumney : Luke Fear try, Chris Milton try, Danny Clark 2 conversions and 2 penalties and drop goal

Scorer for Caerphilly : Matthew Minty try and conversion

The early set pieces showed Rumney to be ready for a forceful start, props John Leadbeatter and Craig Fitzpatrick and hooker Michael Feneck immediately presenting the Caerphilly front row with major problems and flanker Anthony Wilson systematically producing quality possession in the lineouts. The visiting forwards soon settled however, and their backs showed a willingness to run the ball and counterattack. Rumney second rows Mike Neale and Paul Bull enjoyed the spaces they found in midfield and along with No8 Michael Kelly, gained a lot of territory, forcing Caerphilly to concede penalties and allowing home outside half Danny Clark to put over two successful, long distance kicks in the first fifteen minutes. Clark also gained advantage with big touchfinders but a good period for Caerphilly followed, the visitors using well planned pods to move upfield and the home side having to defend vigorously. The Caerphilly lineout also worked well and in the loose, second rows Sam Feehan and Chris Payne put in strong drives and fullback Paolo Alanzi attacked down the wing. As the half developed Kelly found more room and linked with Clark, the outside half opening up the game more as a result of the excellent service from scrum half Chris Milton. Rumney flanker Matthew Way was tireless in his pursuit of any opportunities and with Kelly, forced penalties which allowed Clark to kick his side into attacking positions where they could use guaranteed scrum and lineout possession to set up forward drives. In the thirty seventh minute Wilson gathered in the line and led by Leadbeatter and Feneck, the pack drove to a position close to the tryline and from the back of the resulting scrum, Kelly trapped the ball and hopped to the line where Milton rapidly pounced for the touchdown and first try. Clark's conversion put Rumney into a 13 - 0 lead but the home side had to defend again and it required decisive tackles by Clark, winger Lewis Fox and Bull to maintain their advantage at the interval.

Caerphilly were in attacking mood after the break, hooker Luke Harwood taking the forwards upfield and centre Mark Addis sniping in the centre but Rumney's willingness to now run out of defence saw winger Luke Fear burst down the tramlines to set up a good position from which Feneck drove forward, the ball going wide to Fox and then back across field, until a clever, long pass from centre Paul Niblett again found Fear, who picked up neatly and raced in to score under the posts. Kelly and Way continued to impress in loose play and Rumney fullback Dafydd Evans and centre Lee Mullane threatened in midfield and also defended strongly when the visitors counterattacked, and Fitzpatrick and Bull tidied up and carried well. Caerphilly again showed their dangerous attacking ability and Rumney were forced into killing the ball and incurred the wrath of Mr Marfell-Jones who dispatched two home players to the sin bin. James Monck took the field at prop for Rumney and functioned particularly well, completing important tackles and securing possession until he had to retire with an arm injury, and Simon Barry fitted into the back row at No8, offering another dynamic option for the thirteen men. The increased need for defence saw Evans, Fear, Mullane, Niblett and Fox all cut down opponents with positive tackles but the visitors exerted even more pressure with flankers Ethan Matthews and Gareth Davies working hard on the deck and in the seventy third minute outside half Matthew Minty weaved through for a good try and conversion which pegged the score back to 20 -7. Rumney rang the changes with scrum half Lewis Andrews, hooker Dan Morris and flanker Ryan Sutton coming on and adding power and new variations to the encounter. Leadbeatter maintained his outstanding workrate and Mullane and Andrews were at the centre of an effective threequarter movement, while Clark continued to find long gains with his kicks. As the game moved into injury time Rumney once more put on the forward pressure and Clark added a well taken drop goal to give a final score of Rumney 23 Caerphilly 7.

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "This was always going to be a tough encounter after Caerphilly's excellent victory against Bargoed. We went into the match on the back of victories over the top two teams, so we had to remain focused as we knew that Caerphilly would prove to be dangerous opposition and that they are fighting for survival in Division One. It was a scrappy game and we had to stick to our structures and gameplan and not get dragged into a dogfight. Both sides brought a physical edge to the game with Rumney paying the price for contesting too keenly at the breakdown and receiving three yellow cards. We suffered a few disruptions to the team with Darren Fenton becoming a dad and Joe Mills picking up a virus. Rumney stalwart kindly answered an eleventh hour call up and didn't disappoint, in fact he played seventy minutes, which is to be commended. On the whole the pack once again had the edge over their opponents, and to Caerphilly's credit they are one of the stronger packs we have played this season. I think the key to the victory was our defence, once again we only conceded one try and did not give away many kickable penalties. The back line is improving in every game and the backs are now starting to combine with the forwards to play a fifteen man game. Mike Neale carried well and worked hard throughout, Chris Milton was once again at his menacing best with Danny Clark controlling the game excellently. James Monck picked up a ligament injury to his wrist and will be out for two or three weeks, but he scrummaged well and picked up his injury scrapping for a fifty-fifty ball and will be a big loss for the up and coming period. John Leadbeatter grafted endlessly throughout the game and was the Man of the Match."

Mike Morgan, Backs Coach Rumney 1st XV : "Another strong performance with a huge improvement in our backline defence. It was however a full team effort, especially from our dominant forwards. Our backline is improving from an attacking point of view, all our backs are looking forward to the next few games to establish our go forward play and attitude."