Konica Minolta Cup Round 2        17^th November  2007

Bryncethin Sports RFC 25pts  Aberystwyth 11

Aberystwyth’s exit from this season’s Konica Minolta Cup was the shock of the second round as they crashed out at Bryncethin Sports. In arguably the most embarrassing defeat in the Club’s history, last year’s Division 3 West runners-up succumbed to a Welsh Districts side who are having a mediocre inaugural season in the newly formed Division 6 (Central). They have some pedigree as a Cup side however having previously won the National Worthington Cup for Districts level Clubs, and thoroughly deserved their success on Saturday as they determinedly saw off a poor Aberystwyth performance.

The Plascrug side clearly have some talented players, but they failed yet again to operate cohesively, lacking in commitment, and on-field communication with little evidence of interactive strategy as the game wore on and their plight worsened. Taking the field the home side were clearly ahead in the age contest and their streetwise performance soon kept Aberystwyth at bay. In an unusually inauspicious start, Aber lost three of their first four lineouts and also yielded the ball in their own scrum, experiencing great difficulty in securing useful possession.

It was clearly a big match for the small village of Bryncethin, just off the M4 near Bridgend, and their supporters turned out in numbers that their visitors would long to see turning up at Plascrug on a Saturday. There was also a strangely quiet air of confidence as their boys were unequivocally the better of the two sides early on, curiously opting for territorial advantage in favour of penalty attempts as Aber transgressed. They got just rewards in the ninth minute of the match; Aberystwyth were penalised for a jumping infringement on their own throw-in and were caught off-guard as the home side took a quick penalty. Smart passing opened a gap for fly half Gareth Pearce to cross for a try some 15 metres in from touch, and he converted his own try for a 7 point lead.

Aber tried to counter incohesively until their first really positive move took play to the Bryncethin 22 half way through the first half. It came to no avail as they lost their own lineout ball 5 metres out, but perseverance forced the home backs to encroach, and wing Gwilym Evans opened the Aber account with a simple penalty from 24 metres. The gain was short lived however as Bryncethin surged forward again, and would have scored but for their own errors this time; Aber conceded another penalty however and Pearce reinstated his side’s 7 point lead.

Just a minute later Pearce fluffed another straightforward penalty, giving Aber a perfect opportunity to counter a badly positioned home lineup, but they failed to hold on to possession once again, squandering possession.

Aberystwyth bright spots were few and far between in this game, but one came in the 35^th minute when the home side were brought to task for tackling Evans while still in the air trying to gather on his own 10 metre line. Quick thinking flanker Dewi Williams was off like a bullet, feeding number eight Llywelyn Evans who surged upfield before feeding Evans. With 25 metres still to go, Gwilym had a lot left to do, but he executed the task with aplomb to cross in the corner and cut the deficit to 10-8. Yet another forward infringement almost from the restart resulted in Pearce adding 3 more points, but somehow in the closing minutes of the half Aber finally realised that they could make inroads against their opponents by raising the tempo, and Evans’s second 24 metre penalty came from the frustrations of the home pack in the face of this.

With a half time scoreline of 13-11 and realisation that an injection of pace would reap dividends there was still hope for the Ceredigion side, and the opening minutes of the second period showed some promise. The flaw in the argument however was that Aber lacked possession, even being pushed off their own scrum ball on occasions. A five minute period inside the home 22 saw the homesters defend valiantly, and dealt a body blow to their opponents in the 48^th minute when they broke out and quickly entered the Aber 22 where the light and dark blues almost inevitably conceded a penalty, Pearce making no mistake in raising his side’s lead to 16-11. With confidence waning, the restart kick went straight out, creating more pressure, but they recovered from that and launched some torrid attacks only to be denied by good defence and unnecessary errors. Aber did come close during this period and a score seemed possible when they took a quick penalty near the Bryncethin line. Held up on the line, they were penalised for illegal handling and the pressure was off as Bryncethin cleared. When play entered the Aber 22 for only the second time in the half on the hour, yet another penalty brought not only another 3 points for the home side but also the reduction of Aber to 14 men as flanker Dewi Williams was yellow carded. This was especially unfortunate as Aber’s two North Walian flankers Williams and Aled Evans had stood out as two determined players wanting the spoils, few and far between in their ranks. Although they survived the 10 minutes with no further points conceded, Aber were finding it more difficult to threaten and the home side’s confidence visibly heightened. In the closing 10 minutes Aber rewarded their hosts twice more by conceding penalties, the first in their own 22 and the second as the now fully confident Pearce slotted a 45 metre effort. The penalty count was heavily against Aber by the end, causing one local wag to nominate an Aber forward for the man of the match award for his contrib. ution to the Bryncethin cause. It might be said that the man with the whistle seemed to accede to home fans’ outpourings, but there was no doubt that Aberystwyth deservedly lost this match through indiscipline, basic errors  and a lack of on-field communication and leadership.

These are issues that must be addressed in the changing room and on the training field, and Aber’s Director of Rugby certainly has his work cut out in the next few days. With a respite for next weekend’s international, they now have a fortnight to prepare for the daunting visit of Llanybydder to Plascrug in the League. It is now imperative to salvage their League position – their Cup run is well and truly over.

Alan Jones