Brecon RFC

63 The Watton
Brecon
Powys
LD3 7EL

Tel: 01874 624848
Fax: 01874 611719
contact@breconrfc.co.uk

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WRU National League Division 3 South East Saturday 15th May 2010

Brecon 36 - Llanishen 24

On Saturday the curtain finally came down on an extended league season. For Brecon the climax mirrored the start of the season with two consecutive. The team played fluent attractive rugby and scored some scintillating tries. Sandwiched between these high spots the season has been rather disappointing but finishing on a high will leave the club in a good mood as they enter the off season.

Certainly against Llanishen there was a lot to be pleased about. The home side scored four excellent tries and showed great spirit in recovering from a major set back early in the game. Having started brightly Brecon took the lead through a Dan Edwards penalty and through their forwards won most of the early exchanges. Attacking on half way Brecon tried to get the ball wide. Centre Gareth Bowen went on a decoy run while Dan Edwards put in a wide pass with full back Eifion Jones up in the line. Obviously Llanishen prop D Pugh had read the script and totally ignored Gareth and went for the interception. Once he gathered the ball he found himself in acres of space and easily ran in the try which was converted by outside half T. Thomas.

The setback shook Brecon’s confidence and for a time they lost their rhythm. Llanishen capitalised and increased their lead with a monster penalty. Brecon had to regroup quickly as the game was beginning to slip away from them. A moment of inspiration turned the tide. Centre Huw Baldwin cut through mid-field on half way. Confronted by the full back and covering wing he keep his head and a delightfully timed side step left both defenders floundering. The try was perhaps one of the best individual efforts of the season and when Dan Edwards added the conversion Brecon were right back in the game.

Up against far bigger opponents Brecon showed great courage and determination. This season’s newcomers showed up very well. Seb Evans in the second row had probably his best game of the season while Ed Lewis combined very well with his two back row colleagues, Wyn Davies and Tom Daley who both had outstanding games. At full back youth player Eifion Jones showed what a great prospect he is. He was safe and accurate in all his defensive duties while when he had the opportunity to counter attack he showed great flair and certainly worried the visitors whenever he had ball in hand.

As the half drew to a close Brecon survived one anxious moment. Attacking deep in their opponents 22 they lost the ball and Llanishen full back, L. Bishop, broke clean through some weak defence. He linked with supporting scrum half N. Aghaee and with the try line undefended looked certain to score. Just short of the line he was cut down by a superb Eurin Morgan cover tackle which effectively cut out the danger.

With a breeze at their backs and just three points adrift, Brecon started the second half brilliantly. If Huw Baldwin’s try was pure individual brilliance Brecon’s second was a fantastic team effort. Alex Dalton started the move on the left as not for the first time he broke through the first line of defence. The ball was won swiftly and transferred equally pace across the field. Tom Daley’s superb pass when under pressure gave wing Eurin Morgan just a chance on the outside. It was all he needed as he flew past his opposite number to record his ninth try of the season.

Having gained the lead, Brecon quickly fell back in arrears as Thomas struck another penalty with unerring accuracy. But now the momentum was with the home side and Huw Baldwin struck a beautiful drop goal. This was followed by a superb try. Scrum Half Paul Williams instinctively switched play blind and put Seb Evans in a half gap. Seb burst through the defence and had enough pace to make the line from 40 metres out.

Llanishen, however were not finished. Taking a quick tap penalty on their own 10 metre line they showed great hands and support to enable hooker H. Abrahams to score in the corner. For the first time Thomas missed a kick at goal. When given another opportunity from a penalty a few minutes later he made no mistake with a and restored his sides lead. With a quarter of the match remaining it was anyone’s game but Brecon suddenly upped the tempo and took complete control. After a series of forward drives in which hooker Martyn Jones was prominent they earned a penalty which Dan Edwards converted. He followed that with a lovely drop goal and then Brecon added their fourth try. Paul Williams broke from a scrum and expertly chipped the full back allowing No 8 Tom Daley to show great pace in winning the race for the ball. Edwards’ conversion gave Brecon a comfortable winning margin.

The excellent result allowed the Brecon players to sign off for the season in a very positive mood and they set off to enjoy an evening made all the sweeter by the nature of the victory.