Treorchy v Rumney 17.09.2011

SWALEC League Division 1 East

TREORCHY v RUMNEY

The Oval, Treorchy
Saturday 17th September 2011, k.o. 2.30 pm

 
Treorchy v Rumney 16.10.2010
Past playing record : played 18, Treorchy 8 wins, Rumney 9 wins, 1 draw

Rumney : 15.Dan Millward  14.Gareth Stoppani  13.Luke Fear  12.Curtis Cunningham  11.Solomon Matthews  10.Danny Clark (Capt)  9.Chris Milton  8.Michael Kelly  7.Simon Barry  6.Anthony Wilson  5.Michael Young  4.Joe Mills  3.Dan Holliday  2.Colin O'Donoghue  1.John Leadbeatter
Replacements : 16.Lewis Andrews  17.Matthew Way  18.Chris Cobbald  19.James Monck  20.Carl Fish

Treorchy : 15.Andrew Mallin  14.Ryan Evans  13.Lloyd Williams  12.Celyn Ashton  11.Tom Rees  10.Jordan Lloyd  9.Steffan Jones  8.Charles Stevenson  7.Dan Thorne  6.Damon Filmer  5.Rhys Gillard  4.Jamie Summers  3.Chris John  2.Shaun Green  1.Simon Collins
Replacements : 16.Gafyn Lazarus  17.Dan Waldin  18.Andrew Watkins  19.Trystan Lazarus  20.Gareth Fear

Referee : Stuart Kibble, Llanishen, Cardiff

 

Treorchy 22   Rumney 20

Scorers for Rumney : John Leadbeatter try, Danny Clark 4 penalties and drop goal

Scorers for Treorchy  : Jordan Lloyd try, Celyn Ashton conversion and 5 penalties

It was an unsteady start for both sides in an error strewn opening period but Rumney soon showed their strength in the scrummages where hooker Colin O'Donoghue, supported by loose head John Leadbeatter and tight head Dan Holliday formed a formidable front row that was dominant at all times. Treorchy used a well organised lineout to secure set piece ball and second rows Jamie Summers and Rhys Gillard combined well as their forward thrust in tight drives and mauls. The visitors' back row was quickly in action, No8 Michael Kelly bursting through tackles from the base of the scrum and flankers Anthony Wilson and Simon Barry harassing and foraging for the ball, while second row Joe Mills proved so difficult to stop that in the tenth minute the home defenders conceded a penalty and Rumney outside half and Captain Danny Clark opened the scoring with an accurate place kick. At this point, the bad weather which had been forecast, duly arrived with torrential rain and wind suddenly blowing down the Rhondda Valley, leading to handling difficulties and understandable errors, but Rumney second row Michael Young was excellent under the swirling high ball and O'Donoghue gathered accurately and ran strongly, then in the twelfth minute, at the height of the storm, a charged down clearance kick gave Treorchy outside half Jordan Lloyd the opportunity to follow up and race in for the opening try of the game. Centre Celyn Ashton added the conversion and the Zebras were ahead at 7-3 but four minutes later conceded another penalty when the visiting forwards methodically worked their way upfield, scum half Chris Milton sniping and darting and Mills battering his way through tacklers, and Clark carefully judged the elements to slot the difficult kick. Centres Luke Fear and Curtis Cunningham pressed in midfield and the lineouts remained equally contested, while Rumney maintained their edge in the scrums, Treorchy needing the talents of powerful No8 Charles Stevenson to deal with the effects of the huge shove from the visiting forwards, but nevertheless Rumney did give away penalties and costly ill discipline added to the problem, allowing Ashton to slot a penalty in the twenty second minute for a 10-6 lead. Rumney still showed plenty of enthusiasm and confidence, fullback Dan Millward coming from deep on a fine counterattack and Clark's line kicking then putting the forwards into a good attacking position, where Wilson secured the lineout ball, Mills and O'Donoghue carried it on and then Milton flicked it out to Leadbeatter who, with Mills' support, drove over for the try which reclaimed the lead at 10-11. Continuing their best passage of play so far, Rumney were soon back in Zebra territory, Holliday and winger Solomon Matthews gaining useful yards, and in the thirty first minute, after another Kelly forward drive, Clark snapped a drop goal, and the outside half was again soon using his boot to make excellent clearances when, despite the pounding rain, Treorchy produced wide, threequarter movements and came very close to scoring. Further important defensive work came from Young, who stole lineout ball and right wing Gareth Stoppani who attacked well but also covered back to end a Treorchy kick and rush downfield. The Zebras already had a man in the bin when Barry was penalised and carded himself, but indiscipline from the home side led to the reversal of the penalty and Clark took the points for a half time lead of 10-17.

 

The sun had his hat on after the interval and both sides took the opportunity to move the ball wide, Fear, Stoppani and Cunningham chasing up fast and Matthews carefully covering back. James Monck came on at tight head for the visitors, but Cunningham was suffering from an earlier blow to the ankle and Lewis Andrews took the field at fullback, Millward moving to the centre position. Another outstanding effort by Mills and superb tackles by Leadbeatter and Monck gave Treorchy little room to manoeuvre but in the fifty seventh minute a penalty for in at the side allowed Ashton to peg the difference back to 13-17, and worse was to come as Rumney became increasingly indisciplined in the contact area. Matthew Way came on in the visitors' back row, and with Milton forcing more urgency, they looked to be enjoying another period of domination, even when the torrential rain returned, Leadbeatter, O'Donoghue, Mills and Stoppani handling well and threatening to break away, but in the sixty fifth minute Ashton struck again with three points coming from a late tackle near the halfway line. Energetic hooker Carl Fish took over at hooker for Rumney, O'Donoghue moving to No8, and although still firmly in control at the set scrummage and forward drives, the visitors were caught offside and Ashton put his team ahead at 19-17 with a thirty five metre kick. The lead once more switched in Rumney's favour in the seventy second minute when Millward and Fear sliced through midfield, the ball went wide and the Zebras were themselves found to be offside, Clark accurately converting the penalty with an excellent long range kick and taking back the advantage at 19-20. Needing to close down the game for the few remaining minutes, the visitors were guilty of defensive lapses when Treorchy's impressive fullback Andrew Mallin made a searing break which almost resulted in a try, and when on the attack, conceding more penalties at vital times. Knowing the danger that Ashton posed and with Treorchy throwing everything in to try and rescue the game in the final minutes, Rumney again gave away yet another penalty and this one proved crucial, when the Zebra's inside centre kicked the match winning points from the half way line. Having surrendered and regained the lead a number of times during the game, the penalty count in the closing fifteen minutes became Rumney's undoing, and they had no time to recover before Mr Kibble's final whistle signalled a hard fought victory for Treorchy.

Matt Silva, Coach, Rumney 1st XV : "For the third time in two seasons we have come up against a stubborn Treorchy team who just do not go away. This time last year we beat them by one point after their outside half missed a conversion, leaving us with a narrow victory. On the return fixture they reversed the score and beat us by a point. We went into the game knowing that it would take seventy minutes to beat them and at seventy nine minutes we had achieved this. After numerous penalties, we finally presented them with a fifty metre kick to break the boys' hearts. We know why we are losing and where to put it right. We will work extra hard in training this week to rectify our mistakes, which mainly comprise of making the wrong decisions, and not sticking to our game plan and failing to finish off our scoring opportunities. Whilst we are disappointed, we recognise it was only our third game and we now need to beat Tredegar at home on Saturday. This is a big game for us and we need to stop the rot. The Man of the Match was John Leadbeatter."

Mike Morgan, Backs Coach, Rumney 1st XV : "Not implementing the game plan cost us in vital areas of the game. However, there were encouraging signs when we did implement the game plan and we need to focus on this for the Tredegar game. Dan Millward cut some great lines and Danny Clark kept us well in the game with his boot, and a bit more focus and concentration from the whole team would have resulted in a Rumney win."

Above left : Matt Silva, centre : Mike Morgan, right : Boehm's Zebra 1903

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