Cardiff 28 v 26 Whites
25 Oct 2008 - St Helens
Swansea fell to a heartbreaking defeat to Cardiff in the dying seconds as referee Hugh Watkins awarded the visitors a penalty try when the Whites pack were adjudged to stand up after being warned. It was a controversial end to a pulsating game with both sides playing their part to thrill the crowd despite poor weather conditions.
The St. Helen’s side scored the first try within the opening two minutes after a mistake by number eight Mark Lewis was capitalised on by Rhys Jones, who stormed in to touch down. Nicky Thomas converted. It took Cardiff just three minutes to hit back though after a good backs move involving Darren Allinson and Lee Jarvis set up Welsh international Tom James to glide his way through the Whites’ defence to score. Jarvis failed with the conversion.
Thomas extended his side’s lead with a penalty goal after James held on after the tackle. Offside in the ruck gave Jarvis a penalty attempt which he duly converted.
Holding on the ground by Jonny Lewis gave Cardiff a penalty and Jarvis opted to kick for touch. From the lineout, Jarvis fired a looping pass out wide to send in Ryan Howells for a try. Jarvis converted.
A well weighted chip through by Damian Karauna almost found the chasing Thomas but James tracked back to hack the ball safely into touch. The visitors’ committed an offside offence after the lineout and Thomas made them pay with a successful penalty.
Powerful driving by Lewis and prop Ian George forced Harbir Singh to hold the ball on the ground earning him a yellow card in the process. Jarvis converted the penalty goal. A dangerous tackle by Luke Ford gave the Whites a penalty which Thomas duly converted.
Thomas aimed at goal from well inside his own half after Cardiff committed an offside offence, but he pulled his effort wide. Prop Tim Evans was then given his marching orders for ten minutes after diving into a ruck off his feet. A superb move involving Chris Shelmerdine and David Watts almost sent in Marc Popham. The Whites managed to regroup and Nathan Jones sniped his way over for a try. Thomas converted.
Half-Time:- Swansea 23 Cardiff 18
The Blue and Blacks narrowed the deficit six minutes into the second half as Jarvis slotted over a penalty after the Whites were guilty of holding on after the tackle. A charge through by Evans almost resulted in a try for the home side but George managed to scramble possession clear.
Turning in at the scrum gave Swansea a kickable penalty but Thomas opted to kick for touch and the move broke down. Thomas came close to scoring with a chip and chase and Popham drove play into the heart of the Cardiff defence, forcing Kristian Gay to kill the ball, an offence that resulted in him spending ten minutes in the sin-bin. Thomas extended the Whites’ lead to five points with a successful penalty.
A good run by replacement Gareth Davies set up Lewis but he was held up over the line. Cardiff continued to exert pressure on the Swansea line and Howells came close to scoring but he lost the ball forward.
Singh was given a second yellow card late on for killing the ball inches from the line. Cardiff opted for a scrum from the resulting penalty and fashioned another penalty as the Whites committed a scrummaging infringement. With Swansea a man down in the pack, the visitors again chose a scrum and this time referee Watkins’ patience ran out as he awarded a penalty try after the front row were forced to stand up. Jarvis converted to spark mass celebrations.
Before the match Richard Webster asked his players for a vastly improved performance on the Rodney Parade debacle and to their credit they responded well and were very unlucky to lose out at the end. Scrum half Nathan Jones was awarded the Swansea man of the match for his best performance so far in an All Whites jersey. Next up is a tough home match against Ebbw Vale, a side that comfortably defeated Neath today.
Full-Time:- Swansea 26 Cardiff 28
Venue:- St. Helen’s, Swansea
Weather:- Rain, 14C
Competition:- Principality Welsh Premiership
Referee:- Hugh Watkins
Swansea Scorers:- Rhys Jones (Try), Thomas (2 Cons, 4 Pens), N. Jones (Try)
Cardiff Scorers:- James (Try), Jarvis (3 Pens, 2 Cons), Howells (Try), Penalty Try
Swansea Team:- 15 J. Lewis 14 Rhys Jones 13 C. Shelmerdine 12 D. Watts (rep: R. Payne) 11 N. Thomas (rep: L. Bevan) 10 D. Karauna 9 N. Jones 1 T. Evans 2 A. Wyn-Davies 3 Roy Jones (rep: D. Matthews) 4 G. Ronan (rep: H. Alford) 5 M. Collins 6 S. Kiley 7 H. Singh 8 M. Popham
By Paul Hopkins
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