Fixture

Aberystwyth 15 – Penclawdd 5

In their first encounter in Division 1 West, the highest level they’ve achieved, Aberystwyth came away with a very deserved win against Penclawdd who were also playing at this level for the first time having been promoted alongside Aberystwyth last season. On a blustery afternoon which made both goal kicking and line-out throwing difficult Aberystwyth showed their intent in the first minute when a loose ball was whipped out to Sion Cowdy, who was making his debut on the left wing and with a lovely arcing run he made deep inroads into Penclawdd 22. They coped well with this attack and began asserting pressure of their own in the shape of their robust Number 13 Simon Stonham who had some storming runs down the middle. Eventually Aberystwyth got to grips with this threat and effectively tackled him out of the game the centres being helped notably by Paul  Stubbs. Nevertheless Penclawdd worked their way into the Aberystwyth 22 and were awarded a penalty 5m out. A quick tap from the scrum-half who fed second row Mat Donohue who  crashed over in the corner to score the opening try but the conversion was missed. Aberystwyth then went on to dominate the rest of the half apart from the last two minutes. Aberystwyth with a series of pick and drives worked their way up-field and were awarded a penalty which was advanced ten yards by referee Richard Thomas, up stepped Mathew Hughes, making his debut at fly-half who coolly slotted the kick to make the score 3 – 5. He unfortunately missed his next attempt after 22mins but made amends after 28mins with a towering penalty into touch deep in the Penclawdd 22. A very effective line-out catch and drive led to Paul Stubbs scoring Aberystwyth’s first try to lead 8 – 5.This remained the score until half time with Aberystwyth dominating territory up till the last two minutes of the half when Penclawdd exerted some pressure on the line which resulted in a rather harsh yellow card for James Plumridge.

Aberystwyth carried on in the second half where they left off dominating territory to such an extent that they confined Penclawdd to their own half for the majority of the time. The Aberystwyth pack carried effectively against a stubborn defence although the height of some of their tackles were suspect to say the least.This possession gave the Aberystwyth backs the chance to shine with fly-half Mathew Hughes showing excellent vision with a chip and chase over the defense almost leading to a score. He also initiated some wrap-around moves which created a lot of room for in particular right winger Dean Coleman who exploited these opportunities with some storming runs down the wing and from one of these runs Aberystwyth were awarded a scrum in Penclawdd’s 22. The Aberystwyth scrum which improved as the game wore on trundled the opposition backwards over their line for captain and Number 8 Lee Evans to touch down. The try was well converted by Mathew Hughes to make the final score 15 – 5. Man of the match Robbie Parry fully deserved his award for his whole-hearted display of ball carrying and especially his tackling which nullified many of Penclawdd’s attacks at source.

Ar y cyfan perfformiad boddhaol iawn gan  Aberystwyth gyda’r blaenwyr yn ymdrechu yn galed drwy gydol y gem a’r olwyr  yn dangos elfennau creadigol. Byddai llawer un wedi derbyn y canlynniad hyn petai wedi ei gynnig cyn dechrau’r gem.