Fixture

Beddau RFC | Beddau Chuckles 0 - 16 Brecon RFC | Brecon Athletic

Match Report
12 December 2016 / Team News

Brecon 2ndXV Cup Success

Beddau 2nd XV 0 - Brecon 2nd XV 16

Following a recent spell of relative inactivity in terms of fixtures, Brecon RFC second XV travelled to the lower reaches of the Rhondda Cynon Taff region to take on Beddau RFC at their Mount Pleasant Park home in the Ifor Williams Cup competition. The hosts for the day are a proud rugby club with a strong and successful heritage in the Mid District region, and the coaching team of Lyn Parry, Jason Rooza, Andrew Williams, and Richard Smart knew that they needed to field a strong committed squad if they were to down the home colours and take their place in the next round of the competition.

The journey south was undertaken in increasingly poor weather, with South Wales being hit by low pressure, and the standing water on the pitch as the visiting coach arrived, indicated that the game had the potential to be a hard slog against what were anticipated to be committed opponents, who have enjoyed some recent success at their home venue and have only lost one fixture all season.

This was a view that would have been confirmed as the teams warmed up, with the home squad having a clear and obvious size and weight advantage, both in their forward pack, and behind in their back division. The visiting Brecon squad would have been aware of the need to start very strongly, and to ensure that their larger hosts would have to spend large parts of the game defending.

That thought process was very much in evidence as the visiting team kicked off and put their hosts under immediate pressure. The early exchanges were hugely committed, and whilst Brecon sought to play as mobile a game as the conditions would allow, the Beddau defence was massively committed, with great line speed putting the visiting ball carriers under pressure.

Brecon enjoyed territorial supremacy, and advantage in terms of possession and the pack of forwards were notably prominent as they committed to the fray. The back five of Andrew Hosie, Dylan Van Zyl Davey Herdman, Ioan Edwards, and Josh Millichap were effective around the park with ball in hand, and the flankers were equally adept at spoiling opposition ball. The line out went well with Hosie winning a good degree of possession whilst he was also prominent in open play.

In front of them, the combative Jimmy Williams set a good example, supported by his front row colleagues, the consistently excellent Richie Davies, and the 'fly half playing out of position' Al Taylor. The front row were a central part of one of the key features of the game where, having been bettered at the first few scrums by the home forwards, Brecon turned this phase around such that they became the dominant team, this then leading to the first score of the game where a powerful eight man drive saw Millichap plunging over for a score that was converted by full back Jake Crockett.

Brecon continued to enjoy an advantage in all areas, although the home defence remained strong, and there were some exacting collisions occurring over the park. This was built on the earlier mentioned line speed and this put great pressure on young half backs Rhodri Workman and James Hellard, the latter in particular being the subject of some close attention from the fired up home team. It is to their enormous credit that both remained influential in driving Brecon forward for the full eighty minutes.

The influence of the weather, and the slick playing surface, had an impact on how the game progressed although positive attacking intent was shown. Brecon appeared to be the more accomplished team with the ball in hand, and worked hard to stretch the hard working Beddau defence. Centers Matthew Watkins and Jonathon Daniels looked for every opportunity to work the ball wide, and also chased kicks with real purpose. Wingers Dale Jones and Gary Cole were also keen to make their mark, with the latter being very prominent in the yardage made from returning loose kicks. Behind all of this, fullback Crockett posed an attacking threat, both with the ball in hand, and the yardage made from his kicking game.

The competitive nature of the first half, allied to the home team's committee to stop Brecon playing, led to some key moments arising in terms of referee interpretation, with the encroaching home defence in particular starting to push the limits. Frustrations started to grow and a yellow card for the home team hooker saw Brecon enjoy a period of numerical superiority and, in putting the home team under further pressure, they were able to draw indiscretions from the Beddau players, one of these allowing Crockett to land a three pointer to take Brecon into half time with a 10-0 lead.

The half time talk would have focused on Brecon keeping their discipline and producing more of the same for the second period. It was clear from the restart whistle that they were not going to let the earlier hard work be undermined by any lowering of standards. The synopsis of the second period would be that Brecon remained the stronger team, and were not distracted by the hugely physical approach of the home team.

This was manifest in their commitment to the collision and tackle, although this did sometimes venture into areas of illegality. The referee did become frustrated with some collisions where the defender did not wrap his arms around the opponent and, ultimately, this led to a red card being shown to the home team No 8 after a particularly ferocious challenge on the impeccable Davies. The consequence of this was that the home team became increasingly stretched, with their bigger players starting to flag under the relentless visiting attack. The home team did create some attacking opportunities in the second half, although the Brecon defence remained magnificently resolute, with the team committing to keeping a clean sheet. Brecon had brought players for the bench and Owain Williams and Aaron Horne added to the overall team effort with the quality of their contributions.

The remainder of the game saw Brecon continue to dominate, and the pressure they were putting on the tiring home team saw further indiscretions that allowed territory to be gained, and also gave the chance for Crockett to stroke over two further penalties to take the score to 16-0.

This remained the score until the final whistle and the visiting coaches were able to reflect on a committed and disciplined performance from their charges that gained a notable victory. There is a realization that such performances provide a strong platform from which to build upon, and, with players returning to the fray, the team has the capacity to go on and enjoy a hugely effective and successful second half to the season.

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