WRU Division 3 East

CAERLEON 7 GWERNYFED 29

Gwernyfed travelled to second placed Caerleon for the penultimate game of the green, white and black’s season. It looked to be a challenge, but with WRU officials in attendance to present the league trophy after the game and a sizeable contingent of travelling support, Joe Winfield men took control of a fine game from the outset and made certain that the result matched the occasion.

Helped by a strong following wind, the visitors penned the hosts into their own half for much of the first period, kicking from hand by skipper Winfield and full back Ryan Davies maintaining positional superiority when needed. Efforts from Cellan Skyrme and Will Eckley came close, but Caerleon justified their league placing with some sound defence, the deadlock maintaining for fifteen minutes before Winfield opted for three points when the Gwernyfed pack earned a penalty at the scrum.

Centres Dylan Skyrme and Gethin Davies always made progress and number eight Lloydd Powell caused mayhem with a series of charges up the middle. However, when the 110^th try of the league season came, it was courtesy of the rapier, wing Will Powell taking the outside line with Ryan Davies in support. When the winger was brought down on the 22, Davies had the presence of mind to by-pass the ruck, pick up and run in unattended, allowing Winfield a simple conversion.

The home line was always under threat, forward offence led by Tom Lloyd and Tom Powell. Their work looked to open up opportunity for scrum half Luke Eckley to snipe in under the posts. His effort seen as a try by players from both sides – but not by the referee, given which, as half time beckoned, a ten-point lead looked to be a paltry return for forty minutes of attack. That concern was allayed from a scrum twenty metres out, hooker Kelly Davis producing the ball on a plate for scrum half Eckley who found Gethin Davies coming in like a train to scythe through the defence. Winfield added the two-pointer.

As expected, Caerleon used the wind and incisive three-quarter movement to challenge Gwernyfed’s dominance in the second period. However, a defence schooled by coach Matthew Lewis slowed and gradually disheartened the home side, livewire flanker Will Pugh with Powells Geraint, Lloydd and Tom putting in some thunderous tackles.

After riding out the storm for fifteen minutes, a Gwernyfed attack led by winger Tom Morgan produced a scrum on Caerleon’s 22 metre line. The home side clearly didn’t take the lesson delivered by Gethin Davies in the first period, the Hay man scoring a mirror image try courtesy of Luke Eckley’s pass, his run in under the posts making Winfield’s conversion a formality.

The final quarter was something of an arm wrestle, producing a try for the home side, reward for their resilience in defence and enterprise in attack. Fresh legs for Gwernyfed in the shape of Sam Clegg, Crag Parry and James Brute, gave the pack a new ‘go forward’, and backs Jack and Rhodri Williams made certain that the unbeaten league run extended to 36 games, but the icing on the cake was delivered by way of a storming run out of defence by man of the match Lloydd Powell who made forty metres. Powell’s effort through the eighty minutes deserved a try, but when he was brought down, he released to number nine Luke Eckley who ran in the bonus point five-pointer, Gwernyfed’s113th of the campaign. A great try with which to celebrate a great season.

One notable aspect of the Talgarth side’s success has been the predominance of players who started their rugby journeys in the mini and junior sections at Trefecca Road, Every man on the team sheet for this celebratory fixture had pulled on the green, white and black at an early age, success being founded upon a bond between players brought up with the three cocks of Gwernyfed’s badge on their chest.

Players current and past all joined in the celebration as WRU District Rep Roy Wilkinson handed the league trophy to Joe Winfield to prompt a long night of well-deserved celebration.