Ebbw Vale 23 v 18 Whites
20 Jan 2007 - Home
Ebbw Vale showed why they are top of the Premiership after snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in a thrilling match at St. Helen's where the lead constantly changed hands. The return of Richard Hibbard from injury bolstered the Whites pack but they were unable to stop the Steelmen's rolling maul which helped set up all three Vale tries. Included in their side were the impressive Dragons Academy players Dai Langdon, and hooker Ben Roberts, who scored a brace of tries. For Swansea, Nen Lewis showed why Lyn Jones chose him for Ospreys duty this month as he put in a sterling display, scoring two well taken tries.
With Stuart Thomas having transferred to Bedwas, Anthony Clement opted to experiment at fly half by choosing David Watts to fill the troubled position. It wasn't the best of starts for Swansea though as winger Leigh Bevan held onto possession for too long to give Dai Langdon a difficult penalty chance. The fly half converted it well though. The Whites came storming back though and were unlucky not to score the opening try after Ricky Williams and Watts broke out of defence before Richard Payne made further yardage upfield. The ball was eventually knocked forward though as the move broke down.
An off the ball challenge by a Swansea back, illegally protecting Williams, gave Langdon another penalty which he superbly converted from the corner. Andrew Bevan was superbly tackled into touch by Lewis just short of the line but after a knock on by Gareth Newman, Langdon had a drop goal chance but luckily for the Whites he failed.
With the visitors dominating the opening half hour, Lewis turned the game on it's head after picking up loose possession from a Watts up-and-under to race in and score from halfway. Williams converted. On the stroke of half time, a powerful drive by the Ebbw Vale pack forced Swansea to concede a penalty from which Langdon chipped into the corner. From the lineout, the visitors set up a routine catch and drive with prop Kristian Gay scoring a try. Langdon converted.
Half-Time:- Swansea 7 Ebbw Vale 13
It only took Swansea a minute to register their first points of the second half as failure to roll away from the tackle by Dan Lydiate gifted Williams a simple three points. Lewis then scored his second try after doing the initial scrapping on the floor before good work by Chris Shelmerdine set him up on a powerful drive to the line. Williams' conversion faded wide.
Offside in the maul by the visitors gave Swansea another penalty and Williams made no mistake from a straightforward position.
Vale kicked to the corner with a penalty as they exerted late pressure and hooker Roberts pealed away from a powerful maul to score in the corner. Langdon missed the conversion. With the scores tied and either side looking equally as likely to claim the victory, it was an error by Shelmerdine that gifted to the Steelmen and allowed Langdon to kick for possession to set up a rolling maul attack. The initial drive was held up on the line but the inevitable try soon followed as Gay crashed over for his second try. Swansea nearly snatched the game at the death as Bevan came desperately close to scoring in the corner but he was tackled into touch and Vale held out for the win.
This match was certainly a fantastic advert for Premiership rugby with both sides giving it their all in a titanic struggle. Ebbw Vale brought with them a large and vocal crowd that helped create a great atmosphere for the occasion. Watts played well at ten and certainly got the backs moving well and Lewis was simply immense and deserved his brace of tries, on this form he will be involved in the Ospreys set-up a great deal more! Next up for the Whites is a Konica Minolta Cup tie against Loughor and if they can reproduce some of today's form it should prove no problem.
Full-Time:- Swansea 18 Ebbw Vale 23
Venue:- St. Helen's, Swansea
Weather:- Sunny, 7C
Competition:- Principality Premiership
Swansea Scorers:- Lewis (2 Tries), Williams (Con, 2 Pens)
Ebbw Vale Scorers:- Langdon (2 Pens, Con), Gay (2 Tries), Roberts (Try)
Swansea Team:- 15 R. Williams 14 L. Bevan 13 R. Payne 12 A. Thomas 11 C. Shelmerdine 10 D. Watts 9 D. Pittard 1 M. Jones 2 R. Hibbard (rep: A. James) 3 L. May 4 D. Lloyd-Jones 5 M. Collins 6 M. Popham 7 B. Lewis 8 G. Newman
By Paul Hopkins
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