Cardiff 30 v 36 Whites
02 Sep 2006 - Away
Swansea enjoyed a perfect start to the season with a thrilling 36-30 win at Cardiff. The Whites fielded a strong side that included new signings Martin Jones, Richard Payne, and Marc Popham and looked the most likely winners throughout. With the two sides frequently swapping the lead during the first half, it was arguably the ten minute period when Swansea were reduced to fourteen men that decided the outcome.
Swansea began the brighter of the two sides, taking an early lead after only two minutes courtesy of a Stuart Thomas penalty after the Cardiff defence were caught offside. The visitors doubled their lead soon after when controversial offside decision went in their favour despite the ball appearing to have been touched in flight. Stuart Thomas obliged with the three points.
However it was the Blue and Blacks who scored the games’ first try as a break by captain Gareth Gravell was well supported by James Goode, who took advantage of a five on one overlap out wide. Outside half Craig Evans converted. Stuart Thomas nearly snatched the lead back for the Whites but his ambitious drop goal never threatened.
However, Thomas soon made amends with a penalty goal after the Cardiff pack killed the ball. Swansea were lucky not to concede a second try on the twenty-minute mark after a powerful rolling maul was illegally stopped by the Whites’ forwards. Evans did however succeed with the resulting penalty.
With the two sides exchanging penalties, it was over to Stuart Thomas to send the Whites into a 12-10 lead after flanker Gavin Lucas killed a Swansea attack. Two minutes later though Evans took advantage of a needless offside by Noel Thomas, although he only just stayed within the time limit, having to drop kick the penalty after the wind knocked over the ball.
A superb break by Stuart Thomas was well supported by David Watts who fired out a superb scoring pass for Nicky Thomas. Stuart Thomas converted. The fly half had the chance to take Swansea into a 22-13 half time lead after Cardiff killed the ball but he was wide with his effort.
Half-Time:- Cardiff 13 Swansea 19
Swansea almost suffered a disastrous start to the second half as captain Gareth Newman dropped the ball on his own line, but a solid defensive scrum forced a Cardiff mistake. Stuart Thomas added another penalty goal after the Cardiff defence crept offside.
The Blue and Blacks broke out from defence to expose an overlap out wide with winger Shaun James scoring in the corner. The try was awarded despite the defending Watts clearly held back off the ball. Evans converted. The turning point of the match came on 63 minutes as Stuart Thomas was yellow carded for preventing a quick penalty take that would have almost certainly resulted in a Cardiff try. No penalty try was awarded so Evans opted to add three points to take the home side back into the lead.
Despite the Blue and Blacks having a one man advantage, it was Swansea who took the initiative and staged a series of attacks. When replacement Chris Shelmerdine was tackled without the ball, Nicky Thomas spurned a kickable three points and chipped into the corner. The visitors came close to scoring but Payne held on after the tackle in a promising position.
Three minutes later though, the ever hard working Ben Lewis scored a try against the run of play as Payne and Lee May helped orchestrate a breakaway attack. Nicky Thomas converted. The full back then took advantage of an opportunist moment as he hacked forward a loose ball to beat the home defence to score in the corner. He converted to take Swansea into a 36-23 lead.
With just two minutes left on the clock, Cardiff went in search for a quick try to haul themselves back into contention but they came up against a tough Swansea pack who refused to give an inch on their own line. A period of pressure did tell in the end though as Gravell scored in the corner after peeling off a rolling maul. Evans converted to keep the game alive but it was all in vain as the Whites held on to an impressive first day win.
The first game of the season is often used as a benchmark for the upcoming nine months and if the determined nature of the Swansea squad is anything to go by we should be in for an exciting campaign. Next up for the All Whites is a home match against Glamorgan Wanderers who also impressed on the first day with a shock 33-30 win over champions Neath.
Full-Time:- Cardiff 30 Swansea 36
Venue:- Arms Park, Cardiff
Weather:- Cloudy, 22C
Competition:- Principality Premiership
Match Referee:- Huw David
Cardiff Scorers:- Goode (Try), Evans (3 Cons, 3 Pens), James (Try), Gravell (Try)
Swansea Scorers:- S. Thomas (5 Pens, Con), Nicky Thomas (2 Tries, 2 Cons), Lewis (Try)
Swansea Team:- 15 Nicky Thomas 14 Rhys Jones (rep: C. Shelmerdine) 13 R. Payne 12 D. Watts 11 N. Jones 10 S. Thomas 9 D. Pittard 1 L. May (rep: C. Williams) 2 D. Colclough (rep: A. James) 3 M. Jones 4 D. Lloyd-Jones (rep: I. Evans) 5 Noel Thomas 6 M. Popham 7 B. Lewis 8 G. Newman (rep: R. Gallagher)
By Paul Hopkins
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