Fixture

Bedlinog RFC | 1st Team 47 - 10 Brecon RFC | 1st Team
Marcus Clyne
Try 1
Gareth Davies
Try 2
Jake Mitchell Newman
1 Try
Gari Davies
1 Conversion
1 Penalty

Match Report
12 September 2015 / Team News

Bedlinog 47 - Brecon 10

After the euphoria of recording an outstanding victory in their first outing in Division 1 Brecon were rapidly brought down to earth as seasoned Division 1 campaigners, Bedlinog, taught the new boys something of a lesson. It was somewhat ironic that Brecon particularly suffered at the hands of Robson Blake who rampaged around the field and produced a Man of the Match performance against his home town club. The strapping Number 8 had too much power for the comparatively lightweight Brecon side and it was his power and that of his fellow eight forwards which ultimately sealed Brecon’s fate.

Brecon started the match brightly enough, although one early Blake charge signalled the fact that if Brecon were to succeed they needed to close him down early if they were to prevent him crossing the gain line and turning the Brecon defence. As the early exchanges proceeded so it was Brecon which looked the more dangerous side. Eifion Jones made a break and a lovely offload almost led to a score. With Brecon on the front foot they earned two kickable penalties but whereas the previous week they were almost flawless in this department their accuracy now let them down. An early lead would have settled the side and given Bedlinog something to think about but it was not to be.

The game remained close for the opening quarter although Bedlinog gradually gained territorial advantage. In spite of being pegged back Brecon competed well and the back row of Davy Herdman, Craig Davies and Ewan Williams stole a number of important turnovers and yet they were never able to exert any sustained pressure of their own on their opponents. One of Brecon’s problems was that their kicking out of defence was nowhere near the standard of the previous week. Where the week before they were able to find length and space with their kicks, now they could not get the distance and they found players who were eager to counter attack. The difference between the two performances could be attributed to the time they had on the ball. Previously they had time to weigh up options and execute, now their time on the ball was cut down and the ball was rarely struck sweetly, allowing Bedlinog to control territory.

Finally Bedlinog broke the stalemate but when the try came it was not as would have been expected through hard driving play. Brecon’s brave defence had managed to cope one way or another and so Bedlinog tried another approach. This time their outside half hoisted a speculative attacking kick. Brecon’s defence was caught flat and out of position and the Bedlinog wing won the race to the ball and opened the scoring.

Brecon quickly responded. A number of forward drives took Brecon deep into the opponents’ half and when they infringed Gari Davies kicked a penalty to reduce the arrears to just two points.

 

The former pattern then continued into the second quarter. Brecon worked hard in defence. Wing Joey Morgan typified the effort of the team when he made a great tackle to snuff out a dangerous situation. When Brecon did get possession and moved the ball wide they looked dangerous but such possession was at a premium and there were too many errors for Brecon to seriously threaten.

Finally Bedlinog’s pressure told. From a lineout in the Brecon 22 they caught and drove with sufficient impetus to carry the ball over the line for a try.

Again Brecon responded well. The centre combination of Cameron Gardner and Eifion Jones looked dangerous and created possible openings but the final passes tended to go astray and Brecon were unable to close the gap prior to half time.

The second half started with Brecon seemingly unable to learn the lessons of the first. Poor kicks allowed Bedlinog to remain on the offensive and when a ball was taken into the 22 and then kicked straight out it gave Bedlinog an attacking line out. They made the most of it. A well-controlled drive could not be halted by the Brecon pack and Bedlinog scored out wide.

Now twelve points adrift Brecon fought hard. A solid scrum on halfway gave them the possession they needed. Crisp handling particularly from the centre combination of Gardner and Jones created space for full back Jake Newman as he perfectly timed his incursion into the line. He cut through a gap in the scrambling defence and ran in to score under the posts allowing Davies to convert. With the points gap between the teams now reduced to five points there was hope amongst the Brecon faithful. Yet at this point one lapse in concentration changed the character of the game. The centre of a ruck was left unguarded and Bedlinog poured through the gaping hole. Although Brecon prevented a try they gave away a penalty which was kicked. In spite of the fact that Bedlinog only led by eight points the game suddenly slipped completely out of Brecon’s grasp. A penalty kick to the corner set up the home side’s third try off a driving line out and earned them a bonus point. From that point on the game flowed only in one direction as Brecon fell apart and conceded a further three tries with Blake blitzing through the defence time and again to set up positions from which his team mates capitalised.

The final whistle came as a relief, leaving Brecon to lick their wounds and prepare for another challenge against Rhydyfelin at Parc de Pugh next Saturday

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