Rumney v Newbridge 31.10.2009

SWALEC League Division 1 East

RUMNEY v NEWBRIDGE

Riverside Park, Rumney
Saturday 31st October 2009, k.o. 2.30 pm

Newbridge v Rumney 04.10.2008
Past playing record : played 18 games, Rumney 6 wins, Newbridge 11 wins, 1 draw

 

Rumney : 15. Dafydd Evans 14. Lincoln Plummer 13. James Thatcher  12. Joe Deacon  11. Lewis Fox  10. Danny Clark  9. Lewis Andrews  8. Michael Kelly  7. Matthew Way  6. Ryan Sutton  5. Joe Mills 4. Mike Neale  3. Darren Fenton 2. Michael Feneck (Capt) 1. John Leadbeatter
Replacements: 16.Ryan Fenton 17.Chris Milton 18. David Evans  19. Paul Bull  20. Daniel Morris

Newbridge : 15. M. Burke  14. M. Thorley  13. G. Langdon  12. D. Phillips   11. L. Woodard  10. D. Ellis   9. G. Betts  8. R. Coombes (Capt)   7. G. Baker   6. G. Knapp  5. S. Marasco t  4. R. Wilson  3. J. Cross   2. D. Williams  1. W. Griffiths 
Replacements: 16. J. Powell   17. C. Davies   18. L. Evans   19. R. Addis   20. L. Roblin

Referee : Simon Wycherley, Penmaen, Blackwood

Rumney 31  Newbridge 37

Scorers for Rumney : Darren Fenton try, Lewis Fox try, Chris Milton try, Danny Clark try and 4 conversions and penalty

Scorers for Newbridge : Mark Thorley try, Lennie Woodard 2 tries, Scott Marasco try, Gavin Knapp try, Daniel Ellis 3 conversions and 2 penalties

This nine try thriller of a game started with Rumney on very strong form, flanker Ryan Sutton winning quality possession in the opening lineouts, second rows Joe Mills and Mike Neale and No8 Michael Kelly leading controlled, rolling mauls and in the sixth minute, following careful phases of forward play, prop Darren Fenton, supported by flanker Matthew Way, drove over for the opening try. Outside half Danny Clark added the conversion and was soon back in action supplying fine long range touchfinders to keep the home side in attacking positions. Scrum half Lewis Andrews marshalled his troops well and fullback Daffydd Evans and winger Lincoln Plummer made spectacular bursts from deep. Newbridge were slow to settle but a reliable supply of lineout ball from second row Scott Marasco allowed them to start putting together forward movements, in the twentieth minute however, a fumble led to Clark snapping up the loose ball and racing forty metres for a try under the sticks, his conversion putting the home side into a 14 - 0 lead. The visitors response was to start moving the ball wider and their combination moves between backs and forwards began to click, outside half Daniel Ellis looking more confident, No8 Ross Coombes and second rows Rhidian Wilson and Marasco smuggling the ball between themselves and progressing through the midfield. Newbridge winger Mark Thorley breached the home defence and came close to scoring, but in the twenty ninth minute, following on from more good possession by Marasco and a powerful drive from Coombes, scrum half Gareth Betts sent the ball wide for winger Lennie Woodard to crash through the stretched defensive line and open his side's account. The Newbridge scrum was now proving to be the strongest that Rumney had encountered so far this season, and they were able to organise and control effective drives, and when Ellis opened up, only vital tackles by Rumney prop John Leadbeatter and Evans kept the big visiting threequarters out. An injury to Evans saw Andrews move to fullback and Chris Milton take the field at scrum half, and an injury to Mills resulted in Paul Bull coming on in the home second row. In the thirty third minute Betts again sent snap ball out to his backs and Woodard once more powered over to score. Ellis' difficult conversion narrowed Rumney's lead to 14 - 12, but excellent tight work by home Captain Mike Feneck, Bull and prop Fenton took play back to the Newbridge line, where Kelly was held up just short. From the resulting scrum a mixup in the Newbridge back row allowed Milton to grab the ball and as sharp as a tack, hurl himself over the line for a truly opportunist try. Clark added the conversion but the visitors' response was immediate, a sweeping handling movement leaving the Rumney defensive line looking ragged, and flanker Gavin Knapp breaking through weak tackles to score the try which brought the halftime score to 21 - 17.

 

Rumney started the second period in attacking mood, Neale setting off on a charging run, wingers Lewis Fox and Plummer finding and exploiting gaps and centres Joe Deacon and James Thatcher making the most of the possession that came their way, but the home side gave away penalties and turnovers allowing Newbridge to exert territorial pressure for a long period and in the fifty third minute Ellis slotted a penalty to bring the score to 21 - 20. A good burst from deep by Andrews and another Fox counterattack were only stopped by desperate defence but Newbridge continued to work efficiently at forward and spread the ball wide, and in the fifty ninth minute Ellis added a further, long range penalty to put his side into the lead for the first time in the game.  Four minutes later Sutton supplied clean ball and Kelly and Neale were central in an expertly controlled maul which led to Deacon firing out a good pass to Fox who cut in from the wing and was driven over the tryline with the support of Way, Thatcher and Feneck. Clark's kick put Rumney back into the lead at 28 - 23 but Newbridge returned to the attack and were only stopped by more outstanding tackles from Leadbeatter and flanker Ryan Fenton, who had come on for Way. Mighty prop David Evans took up his place in the front row when the home side were reduced to fourteen men following another crunching Leadbeatter tackle, and the visitors lodged in a corner close to the Rumney line. In the seventy fourth minute Betts fed Marasco and the big second row powered over for a try, Ellis' touchline conversion restoring the Newbridge lead at 28 - 30 and within minutes an almost identical move resulted in wing Thorley evading the stretched home defence and crossing in the corner. Ellis produced another excellent conversion and despite a huge final effort, Rumney were unable to score a fifth try, settling for a last minute Clark penalty which guaranteed two bonus points but a disappointing result, Newbridge running out winners at 31 - 37.

Matt Silva, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "As a coach I'm really disappointed for the players as they gave a hundred percent and failed to win a game which they could have won. It is hard when you play against a big club like Newbridge to come so close and then get a loss. I think a lot of teams in this division would be glad to take two points off Newbridge for four tries and a losing bonus, but it is a sign of the intent of this club that they are now feeling that they should win these games and are not accepting losing, and that is a good thing. We will take a lot from this game back onto the coaching paddock in order to illustrate what we need to do to get wins against sides in the top half of the league. Today's Man of the Match was second row Mike Neale."

Mike Neale, second row Rumney 1st XV : "I thought that the forwards did really well and dominated in the first half. The scrum was solid and the lineout was reasonable, it was a forwards game. We were unlucky in the ten minutes at the end, Chris Milton played well behind the pack but it was hard work being down to fourteen men. Newbridge were strong but I think our forwards were the better pack."

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

Try scorers : Darren Fenton (6 mins), Danny Clark (20 mins), Lennie Woodard (29 and 33 mins), Chris Milton (38 mins), Gavin Knapp (40 mins), Lewis Fox (63 mins), Scott Marasco (74 mins), Mark Thorley (78 mins)