Fixture

Following promotion last year Brecon RFC management set a target of staying up in Division 1 during their first experience at this level and then building on that position in succeeding years. During the early phases of the campaign there was some doubt as to whether Brecon would achieve that goal. Brecon were competitive in most matches for long periods but tended to fall away in the latter stages and points were a precious commodity. In these early matches the physicality proved to be a major problem. The scrum was under pressure and the pack was unable to cope with powerful driving mauls set up from attacking line outs. As the season progressed so t some of these problems were dealt with. The scrum grew in strength and the team were not so easily driven back in the maul. These improvements brought results and the hope that survival could be achieved. Now after an important away win at Risca survival is guaranteed with three home games remaining.

The match at Risca was interesting in that it showed both how much Brecon have improved and yet how some problems still remain. On the positive side the scrum has become an important strength rather than a weakness. Brecon again dominated this area to such an extent that for the second time in recent weeks the opposition props suffered left the field and with no front row replacements one of Brecon’s strengths was completely taken away from them as the game proceeded with uncontested scrums. Another area which has changed is the range and depth of kicking out of hand. Jake Newman again showed how valuable he is in this area as he regularly gained huge chunks of territory. He also showed accuracy with the dead ball as he picked up a total of 15 points with three conversions and three penalties. The other important transformation is the effectiveness of the back row. While the back row players individually have worked hard and shone on occasions since the start of the season. The unit is now far more effective. In Davey Herdman on the blindside they have a player who has given every thing throughout the season and Saturday was no different. His tackling and work at the breakdown was truly outstanding. Against physically much bigger opponents he both knocked them back with crunching tackles and drove on powerfully with ball in hand. Linking with him, on the open side this time, Ewan Williams put in his usual classy performance while No 8 Craig Davies and replacement Andrew Hosie worked hard and showed up regularly both in attack and defence.

|On the negative side some problems still remain. Brecon still find it difficult to hold a lead. At one point at Risca, Brecon were 28 points to 10 up and yet at the death Risca had pulled themselves back to within 5 points and Brecon were holding on. There is definitely a feeling on anxiety when Brecon start to let a lead slip. Confidence seems short and that manifests itself in kicking attacking ball away and making mistakes when in possession and hand their opponents the opportunity to run back at them. At times too tackling is poor and taking the kick off is hit and miss. Generally when Ewan Williams is on the field he takes command and secures ball. When he left the field through injury on Saturday the kick off area became an area of weakness. Nobody committed themselves to the ball and possession was gifted to the opposition and twice scores came about directly as a result of this failure.

On balance, however, the result on Saturday was certainly positive. Brecon started brightly and took an early lead when Rob Price at full back pounced on a chip ahead. He took the ball at pace and carved his way through the advancing opponents to score near the posts. Newman converted.

For a while Brecon held the lead then old failings offered up a score to their opponents. A driving maul set Brecon back on their heels and when the ball was finally moved a flat pass in midfield put full back Ben Pesci through a yawning gap to score a converted try.

A great Jake Newman kick off allowed Brecon to contest for the ball and when Risca infringed Newman kicked the penalty and within no time at all kicked his second.

While the scrum functioned very well, the line out proved to be a disaster. Brecon could hardly win any possession at this phase and continually offered up possession to their opponents. Yet in spite of lack of possession at this important phase, Brecon took control of the game as a result of hard work at the breakdown and some creative running from the backs.

In the second quarter Brecon extended their lead when Ewan Williams made a great catch and fed scrum half Adam Hoskins. He made a lovely break before delivering the final pass to Gari Davies who went over for the try.

Davies soon added a second try when he picked up a loose ball on half way and stormed away to score. Newman again converted and Brecon were 27 points to 7 up.

Risca were first to score in the second half when Owain Biddiscombe kicked a penalty only for Newman to reply in kind. Brecon then gifted a try from the kick off. Risca Second row Jordon Hughes was allowed to catch the kick off uncontested and eventually lively scrum half Rhys Meredith scored in the corner. He also scored his second try when Brecon surrendered a good attacking position and from an uncontested scrum on Brecon’s 5 metre line Meredith went over again.

Brecon needed to check the Risca momentum and they did thanks to some great work by Davey Herdman. He stole the ball at a breakdown made ground and fed out to Hoskins on the wide right. His cross kicked was beautifully caught by Gari Davies who then stepped around the stretched defence to score his third try. Newman again converted.

With a fifteen point lead and ten minutes to go Brecon were surely safe. Or were they? Again Brecon conceded a score from the kick off. Then when from a driving line out they scored again to bring them to within 5 points alarm bells started to ring. Fortunately Brecon re-grouped and held out for a bonus point win which ended any relegation fears.