Llandovery 16 v 19 Whites
31 Mar 2007 - Church Bank
Swansea’s Welsh Premiership future almost certainly looks safe after a close victory at Church Bank in a match that tested the spirit and resolve of the team after they endured a tough opening quarter. With Llandovery leading 10-0 and camped on the Swansea line, the game already looked out reach for the visitors. Centre Adrian Thomas capped off his best display so far in a Swansea jersey with a well taken first half try.
Llandovery took the lead after five minutes when Rob Walters fed former Welsh international full back Garan Evans, who broke through weak tackling forcing the Swansea defence to kill the ball. As a result, fly half Simon Daniel kicked a penalty. Another five minutes later, Jon Mills broke through the defence and found the brilliant Evans who ghosted past countless tackles to score under the posts. Daniel converted.
To compound Swansea’s woes, excellent play by Phil John and Gareth Bennett set up a promising Drovers attack which only ended when Leigh Bevan was yellow carded for persistent offside. Another superb move by the home side involving Ioan Davies, Mills, and Gareth Williams almost resulted in a try but the Whites’ pack somehow held them up over the line.
Captain Gareth Newman became the second Whites player to be sent to the sin-bin for hands in the ruck. Daniel opted to chip into the corner from the penalty, but again resolute Swansea defence held up Bennett over the line. A superb counter attack from deep inside their own half sparked by Martin Roberts sent Bevan on a run down the wing with Evans being forced to take the chip through over his own line.
The Whites came storming back into the match after 35 minutes as Adrian Thomas took a superb floated pass from Roberts and dummied his way past two defenders to score a well taken try. Damian Karauna converted.
Half-Time:- Llandovery 10 Swansea 7
At half time Swansea made two key changes with Richard Hibbard and Craig Mitchell both coming on to bolster the front row. However lock Michael Collins became the third Swansea player yellow carded after killing a promising Drovers attack. Howard Thomas converted the penalty.
The lead was further extended by Thomas just seven minutes later after the Swansea defence again killed the ball. Hooker Andrew R Jones was yellow carded soon after for preventing quick release as Swansea threatened an attack.
The Whites certainly made the most of the extra man as full back Nicky Thomas raced in at the corner after a superb move from the lineout orchestrated by Richard Payne. The conversion by Karauna fell short.
Nicky Thomas came close to scoring another try after an excellent run down the wing. However, the home side messed up the clearance with prop Lee May pouncing on a loose ball to score a crucial try. Karauna converted from out wide to take the Whites into a three point lead. The closing stages were marred by a red card for John after he appeared to throw an elbow with intent.
The win at Church Bank should prove a significant result as it takes the side up to ninth in the Premiership, nine points off the bottom where Llandovery are now firmly rooted. It is still mathematically possible for Swansea to hit the drop though and the players and coaching staff will be determined to win the remaining three games to consolidate a healthy league position, beginning with a tough derby match at Stradey Park next Saturday.
Full-Time:- Llandovery 16 Swansea 19
Venue:- Church Bank, Llandovery
Weather:- Sunny, 14C
Referee:- Phil Fear
Competition:- Principality Premiership
Llandovery Scorers:- Daniel (Pen, Con), Evans (Try), Thomas (2 Pens)
Swansea Scorers:- A. Thomas (Try), Karauna (2 Cons), N. Thomas (Try), May (Try)
Swansea Team:- 15 N. Thomas 14 L. Bevan 13 R. Payne 12 A. Thomas 11 C. Shelmerdine 10 D. Karauna 9 M. Roberts 1 C. Williams (rep: C. Mitchell) 2 D. Colclough (rep: R. Hibbard) 3 L. May 4 D. Lloyd-Jones 5 M. Collins 6 G. Newman 7 B. Lewis 8 S. Edwards (rep: M. Popham)
By Paul Hopkins
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