Cardiff & the Vale U18s 14 - 15 Gwent District Youth
Wynne Lloyd Welsh Districts Cup - Penarth RFC, (12.11.08)
In a match that had to be seen to be believed, Gwent District Youth managed to overturn one of the most one-sided halves of rugby seen, to overcome a very powerful and organised Cardiff and the Vale at Penarth RFC. Its testimony to the Gwent's work rate and Defence that they were only 8-0 down at half time, as their opponents should have gone into the break home and dry, after securing 90% possession, 90% Territory and dominated both their own, and Gwent’s set-piece. Its madness to think how a set-piece, which has held up and worked well against bigger opposition such as the Dragons and Heart of Wales can deteriorate to such an extent as it did.
With the game being played deep inside Gwents' 22, their man on man defence was exceptional, and its a credit to each individuals character, the manner that they stood up to the first half onslaught and still remained with a hope. The back row of Sullivan, Hard and Lloyd worked tirelessly on the back foot, centres Blackmore and Morgan dominated their midfield channels, and the front five also worked tirelessly on the ropes, with Hepworth standing out in the first half. This hope was slim however, a Blues try and conversion their only reward for a dominant half, but after the opening 35mins, it was difficult to see how the game would swing, with no set-piece functioning to provide possession.
The change in attitude at half time was tremendous, and with Rhys Vickery (coming on for the injured Hepworth) providing a bit of 'go-forward' from the first kick off, suddenly provided a bit of belief that they could compete with the physicality of their opponents. After taking the ball on his own 22, Gwent managed to retain possession for 4 phases, which then provided the opportunity for Sam Bevan, who was instrumental in the second half, an opportunity to slide round a stretched defence. Having beaten his man, he passed on to Chepstow Speedster Josh Fermage to run in for the first Gwent try. Bevan missed the conversion.
Suddenly, a sense of belief took over and the players removed the shackles that had held them back first half. From the returning Kick off, Martyn Beddows, who made his Gwent debut as a second half replacement for the injured Tom Harris, gathered and made inroads, the ball was shipped instantly to Fermage, who beat his man and the covering defence, to go over untouched from 60 yards. Again, the conversion was missed.
The Blues then looked shell-shocked. Although they did manage to turnover some lineout and scrum ball, it wasn't with the ease of the first half, and when they managed the contact in the loose, they were now on the back foot. Having begun the half 8-0 up and dominant, they had yet to touch the ball in the second half and find themselves 10-8 behind. This obviously shook their spirits, and even they must have thought how a side could let such dominance slip. They did however manage to close the deficit and regain the lead briefly, with a well struck penalty from 35 yards. But from the resulting kick off, Gwent now had field position, and good pressure at the breakdown resulted in a charge down try for substitute open-side Rhys Cantelo, who was outstanding after coming on for the also impressive Nick Hard. Yet again, the conversion was missed, and the score stayed at 15-11, rather than the possible 21-11 had the kicks been successful.
Blues now had to chase the game, and had the possession to take the spoils, but the defence from our backline, with Morgan and Blackmore dominating. O'Brien was superb at full back, taking in every 'high bomb' that cam his way, Cripps looked dangerous when he did have the ball, and provided a different threat with his direct physical running, to that of the speed and guile of Fermage. Joe Smith also shone second half, with the free reign to run everything, upped the tempo tremendously. The blues did reply with another long range penalty to make the score 14-15, but Gwents discipline in the final 10 minutes, knowing that a penalty would arise if there was doubt, was superb. The match was epitomised in the final 5 minutes, when the Blues blindside, who had dominated the loose in the first half, took the ball on a barnstorming run, and was Smashed by two tacklers, one of them being Gwent man of the match Matthew Sullivan, enabling Bevan to clear the lines and put the pressure back on the blues.
Gwent have certainly used their 'get out of jail free' card with this result as far as the welsh district cup was concerned, but it would be hard to begrudge them the result, purely down to the spirit and character of the first and second half defence, and the efficiency and clinicalism of the side to take the chances when they were presented. What’s comical is that had the kicks been taken, Gwent would have taken the result comfortably, and this without winning a set-piece! The guys are fully capable in the scrum and lineout department, as has been demonstrated this season already, the challenge now lies within themselves to ensure that there's no repeat performance of this first half showing, and that scrum and lineout are fully functional by the semi final on November 25th.
Gwent Youth vs. Cardiff and the Vale U18s
M. O'Brien, J. Fermage, J. Blackmore-capt, O. Morgan, J. Fermage (2 tries), S. Bevan, J. Smith; S. Tovey, J. Richardson, T. Harris (M. Beddows- HT), L. Simms, E. Hepworth (R. Vickery - HT), G. Lloyd, M. Sullivan, N. Hard (R. Cantelo - HT - 1 try)
Replacements Not Used: M. Baker, L. Davies, B. Burgham
For more info on Gwent District Rugby, please visit www.gwentdistrictrugby.co.uk
