Bridgend 3 v 39 Whites
28 Feb 2009 - St Helens
Swansea continued their impressive start to 2009 with a comprehensive win over fellow Ospreys feeder club Bridgend. Both sides have been in the bottom quarter of the Premiership all season but it is the Whites who look the most likely side to climb towards mid table. The Ravens could easily find themselves dragged into a relegation fight if they don’t improve upon today’s display. Winger Leigh Bevan scored two well taken tries for Swansea and hooker Owen Phillips was given the man of the match award on his first start for the club.
The home side showed their intent in the first five minutes as James Dixon rescued an attack in danger of petering out by throwing a swift inside pass to Bevan, who sidestepped past a defender to score under the posts. Nicky Thomas converted. Two minutes later, Richard Kelly broke through a tackle to set Marc Popham and Sam Kiley away. Offside in midfield by the visitors gave Swansea a penalty which Thomas converted.
Kiley, Popham and Roy Jones made good yardage by driving forward but accidental offside earned Bridgend a reprieve. Another superb drive by Roy Jones set up a dangerous platform for the Whites from which the ball was fed out to Bevan on the wing. Stunning footwork by the winger saw him leave opposite number Dan Connolly for dead as he powered over for a try. Thomas’ conversion attempt was short and wide.
Bridgend started to come back into the match with breaks by Gareth Howells and Karl Hocking almost resulting in a try before they were turned over, allowing Dixon to clear. The Whites’ pack secured vital turnover ball with Chris Shelmerdine and Thomas breaking out of defence. Popham was on hand to provide a scoring pass for Thomas. The full back converted his own try.
The Swansea defence killed the ball on their own line and Bridgend opted for a scrum. Former All White Iwan Mainwaring was unlucky not to score after being held up over the line before Connolly held onto possession in the tackle.
It took 38 minutes for Bridgend to register their first points through a Gareth David penalty goal after Huw Alford held the ball on the ground. In first half stoppage time, Thomas had a chance to respond after Gareth David held on after the tackle but his effort sailed wide of the post.
Half-Time:- Swansea 22 Bridgend 3
Ill-discipline crept into the Swansea ranks just moments after the restart as centre Richard Payne was sent to the sin-bin for hands in the ruck. Popham strayed offside and Gareth David opted to kick to the corner. However the home side stole possession with Dixon breaking away before the supporting Kiley was tackled into touch.
Bridgend prop Owen Williams became the second player to be yellow carded, this time for killing a dangerous Swansea attack. Thomas made him pay with a successful penalty goal. A strong run through the middle by replacement David Blyth, followed by a Shelmerdine break, saw Tim Evans driven towards the line. The forwards recycled possession and a flat pass was sent out to Kiley, who crashed over to score. Thomas converted.
It took just three minutes for the Whites to score their fifth try after Payne broke through weak Ravens tackling with Kiley again on hand to support. Shelmerdine and Alford made good yardage before substitute David Watts dummied his way over to score. Thomas converted. Centre David Bishop earned a late yellow card for killing the ball and Swansea could have grabbed another try after Blyth and Dixon ran the ball out of defence before Shelmerdine’s chip ahead was dealt with by Mark David.
The Whites’ squad will be pleased with their performance after dominating the game from start to finish. In truth the Ravens never looked like scoring and it was a testament to a well organised home defence. Next week should prove much tougher as Swansea host fourth placed Newport, a side that inflicted the Whites’ heaviest defeat of the season back in October.
Full-Time:- Swansea 39 Bridgend 3
Venue:- St Helen’s, Swansea
Weather:- Cloudy, 9C
Competition:- Principality Premiership
Referee:- Ken Bowen
Swansea Scorers:- Bevan (2 Tries), Thomas (4 Cons, 2 Pens, Try), Kiley (Try), Watts (Try)
Bridgend Scorers:- G. David (Pen)
Swansea Team:- 15 N. Thomas 14 C. Shelmerdine 13 R. Payne 12 J. Stuart 11 L. Bevan 10 J. Dixon (rep: D. Karauna) 9 P.Tucker 1 T. Evans 2 O. Phillips 3 R. Jones 4 H. Alford 5 R. Kelly 6 S. Kiley 7 M. Popham 8 S. Jones
By Paul Hopkins
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