WRU National League Division 3 West Saturday 20th October 2007
Cwmgors 3pts Aberystwyth 10
Following the unexpectedly heavy defeat of a week ago Aberystwyth had to venture to pastures new on Saturday in search of a return to winning ways. They achieved that aim, securing three League points, but their performance fell short of the highs of last year.
Cwmgors RFC play at Parc-y-Werin, located a significant distance away from the village itself, a very attractive venue for a match on a sunny autumn afternoon, but neither side’s play really matched the weather. The home side fielded a clear mixture of youth and experience, and it was evident from very early on that their pack was likely to tire; unavailability forced Aber to make some half-dozen changes, making use once again of talent coming through its age structured programme. The experience of the Cwmgors eight was evident in the opening stages as three early Aber scrums were rotated by more than 90 degrees, thereby losing possession. The visitors clearly had the edge behind however, and looked far more likely to penetrate the defences. This balancing resulted in a slow start until Aber took the lead in the 22nd minute; Gwilym Evan, playing on the wing, had not exhibited his usual kicking form, and eventually put his side ahead on his third attempt, Cwmgors penalised 30 metres out in front of the posts at a time when they were reduced to 14 men, a yellow card following referee Hugh Griffiths spotting the throwing of a handbag punch.
The cat and mouse show continued until Cwmgors entered the Aber 22 on the half hour and encamped themselves there for the next ten minutes. The visitors were put under intense pressure, but their defence held firm, much more like the usual Aberystwyth tenacity that had deserted them last week. It must be said however that the home side lacked the quality of finishing that would rightly have earned them a try, but Aber were in no mood to yield. The body blow for the home supporters came when Aber eventually cleared their own line, made progress in centre field and when the ball got to centre Paul Stubbs 30 metres out, he displayed no lack of finishing power as he raced for the line, blowing away the defence to score under the posts. Evans’ conversion brought up double figures and the end of the half.
Aber started the second half strongly and there were expectations that they would dominate. An early Cwmgors clearance took play into the Aber half, but they knocked on, giving possession back to Aber. Indisciplined backchat however caused the referee to reverse his decision, and when captain and lock Richard Greig strode up to slot a 25 metre penalty, his side were suddenly back to within a score. This reclaimed the confidence of the home forwards and they proceeded to exert strong pressure on Aber again, to the extent that they declined a kickable penalty just 15 metres out to go for an attacking lineout. It was probably a poor decision that eventually evaporated their chances, but the Aber defence held firm as the home side persisted amid obvious signs of flagging. When home prop Lillie was injured in the 27th minute however, it transpired that Cwmgors had no cover and the match continued with passive scrummaging. This was the signal for the visitors to compose themselves and be patient, but they proceeded to try too hard and errors crept into their game as they made heavy weather of consolidating their position, Evans continuing his below par form with place kicks. They continued to valiantly defend all that Cwmgors threw at them however, sometimes making life difficult for themselves, kicking away possession and giving away unnecessary penalties.
All in all however they were good value for the win, the ease with which the younger players in the side slotted in being especially pleasing. Paul Stubbs of course is an experienced youngster, but Jason Rees alongside him in the centre impressed in his first outing, and Lee Gower, a prominent back rower in last year’s Youth XV, had a superb outing at lock with a fine all round performance.
In another break from League rugby this Saturday, Aber entertain Division 5 East Wales side Deri in the Konica Minolta Cup and will be anxious to show they really are two divisions better than their opponents.
Alan Jones
WRU National League Division 3 West Saturday 1st March 2008
Recent form made this an interesting fixture, both sides having shown good form of late. Aberystwyth’s February victories had consolidated their position in the upper echelons of the League and Cwmgors, despite their lowly position, had overcome Lampeter and run Llanybydder very close in the past two weeks. A very sizeable band of travelling supporters confirmed their seriousness, but one the game got under way it was sadly no contest.
Transport difficulties and road delays had conspired to cause sporadic arrival of the players, and the start was delayed by en minutes accordingly. At the first whistle blast however the home side immediately attacked, and centre Paul Stubbs crossed for the opening try in the left corner after just 20 seconds. It was to be the first of a six-try haul for the conspicuous three-quarter as Aberystwyth proceeded to keep the scoreboard ticking over at regular intervals. Full back Gwilym Evans slotted a straightforward penalty in the 5th minute and three minutes later was on hand to receive following a break by flanker Eifion Gwynne in his own half, taken on by the half backs before finally feeding Evans to score under the posts. He converted his own try, and was then extraordinarily called upon to do the same a further seven times in at 2-3 minute intervals as Cwmgors were blitzed out of the game. A half break from centre Jason Rees fed Stubbs who broke two tackles on the way to the line for his second try and two further tries quickly followed from young prop Rob Edwards (his first for the Club) and lock Dafydd Evans. Right wing Steve Brown got the next, and a dummy scissors move from half backs Gwion James and Gary Wiliams gave Stubbs half a chance for his third, a chance he took with consummate ease. An Eifion Gwynne try and Stubbs’s fourth completed the run of eight consecutive converted tries in 26 minutes as the opposition could offer no defence, watching the points total rocket up to 64. The half closed with yet another try, this time by student prop Dan Thomas meant that the scoreboard at the interval read an astounding Aberystwyth 69 Cwmgors 0. It was obvious that Cwmgors were seriously below par in their strength, but it still takes some doing to score 10 tries in a half!
To their great credit the young Cwmgors side did ot give up, and fought back valiantly as the pace slowed down in the second period. They held back the home side and even ventured deep into Aber territory at the start, and it was 13 minutes into the half before Brown claimed his second try once Aber broke away. After a few more minutes of attacking, the visitors were finally rewarded when a mix-up in the Aber ranks saw the ball drifting over their own try-line and nippy wing Steven Edwards won the race for the touch down and his side’s only points.
The final quarter brought three more Aberystwyth tries, the ever-present Stubbs claiming two of them, the middle one of the trio to his fellow centre Rees.
Aberystwyth’s aim for the afternoon had been to secure a convincing win along with the required four tries for a bonus point. In the event they had scored another ten; Gwilym Evans’s ten conversions and a penalty (as well as one of the tries) gave him a personal tally of 28, as the team clocked up 93, a League record at Plascrug, falling just 4 short of the all-time high. Such high scores are thankfully few and far between; whilst there was plenty of sympathy for Cwmgors’s plight in having to field an inexperienced team, Aber took the advantage to score at will.
Whilst it would be unfair to single individuals in such circumstances, Paul Stubbs stood out and “that number 12 is something special” was uttered more than once among the Cwmgors contingent, the home support of course knowing it already.
Full points further consolidates Aber’s position as they now face another two week break for the Six Nations campaign. Then on Easter Saturday they face a vital trip to Laugharne; a happy stomping ground in recent years for Aber, Laugharne are riding high at the moment having moved into pole position last Saturday following Ammanford’s defeat. It will be a real battle of the two seaside teams who find themselves at the very top of Divison 3 west, both vying for a promotion place.
Alan Jones