Brecon RFC

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Brecon
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WRU National League Division 3 South East Saturday 30th January 2010

Llandaff North 15 - Brecon 12

After a great win last week, Brecon were looking for another good performance prior to the break for the first rounds of the Six Nations Tournament. Their opponents, Llandaff North, squeezed a one point victory at Brecon earlier in the season. That was a match that the home side should have won and as a result Brecon travelled to Cardiff looking for revenge. What transpired was almost a mirror image of the home match.

Once again this was a match that Brecon could and should have won. The first half was tense and close. Neither side had many opportunities and the only score was a Llandaff North penalty. The second half was quite a different affair.

Brecon started brightly and quickly took the lead when wing Eurin Morgan scored an excellent try. As the half progressed so Brecon became more dominant and deservedly extended their lead when Owen Morgan broke through for another excellent try. With Huw Baldwin converting Brecon took a twelve points to three lead and put themselves in a position from which they should have been able to control the match. However, for the fourth time this season they surrendered a winning lead.

After their history of profligacy they should have known that it was crucial to hold their concentration particularly at the re-start. When the catch from the kickoff was dropped the spectre of the past came back to haunt them. Llandaff North re-gathered the ball and the move ultimately earned them a try to reduce the arrears to four points.

That should have been just a setback for the Brecon team but suddenly panic set in. A turn over followed by a kick and chase led to a converted try and a three point lead for the home side. Even then Brecon had a number of opportunities to win the game.

The most significant occurred when they created a three man overlap with minutes to go. Huw Baldwin saw the try line clear in front of him and ignored his support, unaware that he was being tracked down from behind. Just short of the line he was caught. The ball was spilled and the opportunity lost. While it was Huw who was caught on this occasion it would be churlish to blame him for the failure to win the match. He has been a stand out player all season for Brecon and it was a team failing that their many opportunities were not clinically put away in the manner that they had been, just one week ago.