Fixture

Brecon Athletic returned to league action on Saturday after the festive hiatus, and recent friendly fixtures. They gathered at Parc de Pugh to welcome the formidable Bargoed Warriors to their club, with a recent victory over the same opponents having been secured on the road.

That result was a hard earned win against a strong and experienced outfit, and the focus of the coaching staff during the week would have been on the need to be ready for what was sure to be a taxing encounter. That the game panned out in this fashion was predictable, with both teams playing a high quality of rugby, although the see-sawing nature of the contest was less predictable.

The Athletic took to the field with a strong set up, and also some depth, as ever, on the bench. Bargoed turned up with some familiar experienced faces, and also a new faces which added to the intrigue as the kick off time approached.

With the recent spell of poor weather having passed, as few days of calmer conditions saw the Parc de Puch playing surface in good condition, with the firm track providing a good base for both teams to show their attacking flair.

The previous encounter had taken place under wetter and heavier conditions and, whilst Brecon triumphed that day, they would have noted the strength of the opposition, particularly in ball carrying, so they would have known that they need to stop many attacks at source by through good tacking technique.

The game kicked off and the visitors immediately attacked, breaking the home defensive line on a number of occasions. This did not augur well for the opening period and when an inevitable early score followed, the numerous supporters down at PdP would have feared the worst for the rest of the game. As they gathered beneath the posts, skipper Josh Millichap gave a strong message about increasing the intensity, and being more detailed in defence, and the home team restarted knowing they would need to improve considerably.

This did galvanise the Brecon players, and they enjoyed a period of dominance on the scoreboard that reflected this huge improvement, The home team were a lot more positive in their ball carrying, and, whilst the dangerous Bargoed runners still posed challenges for the defence, the overall balance of the game swung decisively in the favour of the men in red.

With an increased commitment and tempo in their attacking game, it wasn’t long before Brecon secured a justifiable reward ad full back Dafydd Edwards joined an attacking move before releasing winger Kalivati Waqa who raced around his opposite number for a popular and well deserved score. From this, Brecon grew in confidence, and were particularly dangerous with the ball in hand out wide. From a turn over on the home 22, the ball was fed to Edwards who sent a probing kick some 60 down the touch line which winger Sam Davies chased committedly. The resulting pressure saw a clearing kick sliced and falling in to the hands of Davies who was able to race over under the posts to increase the home lead.

Bargoed remained prominent with ball in hand in this period, with their No 8 and full back both gaining significant yardage every time they carried. Brecon were able to combat these powerful efforts, and were well led by skipper Millichap and second row Wil Prosser in their defensive duties.

They were able to absorb significant pressure and use their own powerful carriers, with Josh Hamilton and Tommy Witcomb showing well in this regard, to launch their own attacks. From another  foray from their own half, the ball went through numerous pairs of hands before influential centre, James Hellard, off loaded perfectly for Dafydd Edwards to race on the ball and carry home to score under the posts again.

James was prominent again for the final score of the first half, as he produced a magnificent ‘no look’ sleight of hand, to send winger Sam Davies through on a great angle to pick up his second try of the day. All four tries were converted by fly half Lewie Crockett who, after receiving a new pair of boots from Santa, showed great composure and kicked securely from hand to achieve good territorial positions for the team to play from.

The half time whistle showed the scoreboard reading 28-5 to the home team, and the coaching group would have been pleased with that. They would also have been aware that, whilst it represented a good lead, it was not necessarily reflective of the possession and territory that was also being enjoyed by the Warriors. As the teams turned round so Brecon played towards the town end, the home support gathered by the score board would have been hopeful of seeing more of the same in terms of Brecon attacking that goal line.

What transpired was almost the exact opposite, insomuch as a mistake from the kick of gave the Warriors a foothold in the Brecon half, from which they exerted a lengthy period of territorial dominance that tested the long distance range of the cameras, and eyes, of the supporters at the town end. Bargoed attacked the Brecon goal line for long periods of time, and they were assisted in this regard by the loose kicking and somewhat sloppy indiscipline of the Athletic team.

In outlining these relative negatives, a massive positive for the home team was the spirit and commitment they showed in their defensive efforts. Whilst the dynamic visiting team were able to occasionally break individual tackles, the collective effort in the ‘red zone’ at both the breakdown and set pieces showed great character from the young Athletic squad. Whilst penalties game and, inevitable given the relentless pressure, a couple of yellow cards, the Brecon Team embarked on a defensive damage limitation approach that was able to minimize the changes that occurred on the scoreboard.

Tries were inevitable however, and when the defence slightly waivered, or they lacked numbers out wide after numerous phases, the impressive Warriors scored a further three tries of their own to take their total on the board to 22. Whilst the pressure built, and the lead narrowed, the home team did not lack in energy and commitment and were often able to break the pressure deadlock through attacks from deep of their own. One such notable case was a souring run by Josh Hamilton that saw him gain 40+ metres before being brought down just before an off load would have led to a score for the home team.

Whilst this effort fell short the Athletic were not to be denied, and they started to gain additional territory and possession. From one attack just inside the Bargoed half, winger Ben Griffin, in his first game back after injury, took a powerful and incisive line of he hands of James Helleard, and was able to use his pace and swerve to beat the remaining defenders for a great score that provided a scoreboard comfort to lead them into the final periods of the match.

The intensity and pace of the game was highly impressive, from both teams, and the final ten minutes was reflective of this this as both teams were positive in attack and resolute in defence. The final whilst came with Brecon ahead 33-22 on the scoreboard, and the home crowd, and visiting group, would have left to the warmth of the clubhouse acknowledging that they had watched a very hard fought, and good quality game, between two competitive and skillful teams.

Team manager Gari Davies will implore his charges to attend training this week as, whilst it represents a good win, there is always something to build on, especially with Beddau Chuckles coming to Parc de Pugh for the game next Saturday. Whilst the limits of the league and the structure of the season have seen Beddau gain an insurmountable lead in the table standings, Brecon will be keen to use the momentum of this win to try and turn over the league leaders on their home turf.

Many thanks to the referee Rhodri Webster, from Abergavenny, for his empathetic control of the game, and his efforts on the day. The pace of the game could be seen in the fact that a good few of the players were tiring at the end, so a good efforts from the ref and all concerned,