WRU Division 3 East

MACHEN 10 GWERNYFED 29   

Both Gwernyfed men’s teams travelled to the hinterland of Caerphilly and home of Machen RFC on Saturday. The distance proved no impediment to Gwernyfed who recorded victories on both pitches, the First XV delivering a five try victory, a bonus point and a continuing lead at the top of the league all rewards for a workmanlike victory.

The green, white and blacks announced their intentions within minutes. After Machen kicked off and pushed against the visitors’ defence, finding no way through the home team eventually hacked through to little effect, allowing Joe Winfield to clear with a long drop out. The ball was spilled on the half-way line resulting in the first scrum of the day which set the scene for Gwernyfed’s dominance in the set piece.

The pack gave scrum half Tom Griffiths the first of a series of armchair rides. Releasing to the blind side, the West Walian released Gethin Davies whose line break, the first of many, allowed him to make thirty metres before passing to right wing Callum Ferguson who finished with aplomb.

The next try also owed its genus to the scrum. Pack leader Will Eckley opted for the tight option when Machen strayed offside twenty metres out. Successive scrums yielded successive penalties but when, after four attempts, the ref allowed play to continue, the Gwernyfed backs delivered the dividend earned by their forwards, influential skipper and fly half Joe Winfield timing his pass to Gethin Davies perfectly – the Hay man needed no second invitation, going in under the posts to make Winfield’s conversion a formality.

In a rare visit to Gwernyfed territory Machen reduced the arrears with a try, but the score offered little respite. Always on the front foot, Gwernyfed battered at a defiant Machen defence which held out by fair means and foul, the latter yielding a penalty fifteen metres out on the half hour. Will Eckley feinted to take a tap and drive at the line but, in a move designed on the training paddock, scrum half Griffiths stepped in, passing to Geraint Powell. The ball was moved through the slick hands of Winfield, Rhodri Williams and Will Lloyd who put Jack ‘Sol’ Williams into the corner for a thrilling try.

The Talgarth men secured their bonus point before half time. Once again the scrum, just inside the Gwernyfed half, was at the root of it. Half backs Griffiths and Winfield saw their centres Rhodri Williams Gethin Davies outwit the defence, Davies making the obligatory thirty metres, once again giving Ferguson a pass for the fourth try, a mirror of the first.

The second period rather settled into a pattern with Gwernyfed in perpetual attack mode, frustrated by some stout defence from a defiant Machen side. Perhaps the apparent dominance enjoyed by the visitors generated a little too much ambition, tries going begging on a couple of occasions and the referee denying a couple more scores.

By the time Geraint Powell gathered a loose ball to stride through the tiring defence for the fifth try, beautifully converted by Tyler Morris, the numerous Gwernyfed supporters were looking forward to escaping Storm Abi with a visit to the bar. However, the score did prompt a flurry of activity with Machen scoring their second and Will Lloyd being denied a sixth try by the referee who decided that the ball had been held up and then drew activity to a close.

With the Athletic XV delivering a resounding 39-22 win over Machen’s own Athletic side on the adjoining pitch, this was an entirely satisfactory afternoon’s effort by the Talgarth men. Votes for Men of the respective Matches, went to Prys Eckley and Jamie Coles, both of whom played (as always) tirelessly in the green, white and black cause. Stern tests lie ahead, immediately at The Brian Jones Memorial Field in Talgarth where old friend and foes RTB Ebbw Vale are next weekend’s visitors.

Never one to be outdone, Ryan Davies delivered the next try in even more spectacular fashion, taking the ball from Gethin Davies on his own twenty-two metre line and proceeding to outpace the entire defence, touching down in the corner to the delight of the home supporters.

The Davies combination struck again after sixty-five minutes when Rhodri Williams fielded a long drop out deep into his own half and passed to Gethin Davies. The inevitable breach of the defensive line saw Davies making thirty metres and, when challenged, popping the ball up to Ryan Davies who taunted the defence with a swerving thirty metre run of his own before touching down.

The Davies combination struck again after sixty-five minutes when Rhodri Williams fielded a long drop out deep into his own half and passed to Gethin Davies. The inevitable breach of the defensive line saw Davies making thirty metres and, when challenged, popping the ball up to Ryan Davies who taunted the defence with a swerving thirty metre run of his own before touching down.

Llantrisant did reply with a penalty but that score was more than neutralised when a sloppy drop out by the tiring visitors was fielded on the left and moved across to right wing Will Lloyd who looked favourite to score until stopped close in, the Clyro man having the presence of mind to offload to Rhodri Williams who needed no second invitation to score Gwernyfed’s fourth.

To their credit Llantrisant moved quickly in the hope of retrieving their position and scored a spectacular try from the half way line. However, that work was undone when, from the restart, Gethin Davies tackled the ball receiver, dislodged the ball and followed though to hack on before touching down to allow skipper Winfield the easiest of kicks to bring the entertainment to an end.

Next weekend sees both Winfield’s side and Jamie Coles’s Athletic team travel to Machen to meet their respective league rivals. If this performance is anything to go by, the Caerphilly men will anticipate a tough game, though coaches Thomas, Phillips, Tomi and Matthew Lewis will be making certain that the Gwernyfed men take absolutely nothing for granted.