Caerphilly 3 v 62 Whites
28 Mar 2009 - St Helens
Swansea reached the semi-finals of the Swalec Cup for the first time in eight years by inflicting a heavy defeat on Division One East side Caerphilly. Despite a nervy opening quarter, the result was never in doubt after the first Swansea try as gaps began to appear in the visitors’ defence, allowing the Whites to run in nine tries.
It was the visitors that looked the brighter side early on and good link play between Neil Dallymore and Lee Mullane almost created a try but the latter was tackled without the ball. Fly half Cody Rees was successful with the straightforward penalty kick. It could have been even worse for the Whites but scrum half Alun Ford took the wrong option after a good initial break through the middle.
Steffan Jones was sent to the sin-bin after 12 minutes for preventing the Cheesemen from taking a quick penalty. A moment of magic by Leigh Bevan, where he caught a high ball under pressure, spun around and broke clear, almost set up a try for David Watts but he was tackled and the visitors’ flanker Mark Berridge was yellow carded. James Dixon levelled the scores with a penalty goal.
Good work by the Swansea backs should have resulted in a try for Bevan but Nicky Thomas failed to pass out wide and was caught holding on the floor. Rees was short with his penalty attempt though. Rhys Jones hunted down a kick and forced opposite winger Steffan Sankala into touch inside his own 22. From the lineout, a crisp pass by Dixon sent Nicky Thomas in for a try under the posts. Dixon converted.
Caerphilly were guilty of killing the ball, allowing Dixon to chip into the corner. The Whites’ pack formed a rolling maul from the lineout and Andrew Joy powered over in the corner. Nicky Thomas’ conversion attempt drifted well wide. At times the game could have been mistaken for the Olympic gymnastics with Rhys Jones scoring ten out of ten for his acrobatic skills.
Swansea’s third try came through prop Tim Evans who dived over the line from close range after good work by the pack. Dixon converted. With the Whites’ forwards dominating proceedings, they won a ball against the head and the visitors were powerless to stop captain Sam Kiley from scoring another try. Dixon converted.
Half-Time:- Swansea 29 Caerphilly 3
Both sides were content to sit back at the beginning of the second half with a flurry of substitutions. However it was the Whites that came the closest to scoring, with Richard Payne almost sliding over the corner, but the visitors managed to clear. Referee Gwyn Morris had stern words with Nicky Thomas and Rees after they had a minor disagreement.
Quick thinking by Rhodri Wells almost set up a try for David Blyth but he knocked the ball forward. Then a superb break through the middle by Dixon, where he glided past countless tackles, should have resulted in a try but his pass to Adrian Thomas was deemed forward.
Replacement flanker Marc Popham finally broke the second half duck after his pack won possession against the head of a scrum. He took a quick penalty, caught the Caerphilly defence asleep, and dived over to score. Bevan used his pace out wide and went on a fantastic run before Chris Shelmerdine took the ball up to the line and popped a scoring pass up to Blyth. Dixon converted.
Nicky Thomas added a seventh try when he eased his way past the defence to score in the corner. Dixon converted. A length of the field move involving Wells, Rhys Jones and Huw Alford sent Kelly over for a superb team try. Dixon converted. Bevan had the final word with a try in the corner as the visitors’ fading defence had run out of steam and were unable to cope with his pace. Dixon converted.
The win takes Swansea one step closer to gaining their first piece of silverware in the semi-pro era. They will have to step up their game for the semi-final, which will be a regional derby as the Whites take on rivals Neath, who scraped through a thriller at Cross Keys. It’s back to league action next week as Swansea face third placed side Cardiff at the Arms Park.
Full-Time:- Swansea 62 Caerphilly 3
Venue:- St Helen’s, Swansea
Weather:- Sunny, 9C
Competition:- Swalec Cup Quarter-Final
Referee:- Gwyn Morris
Swansea Scorers:- Rees (Pen)
Caerphilly Scorers:- Dixon (Pen, 7 Cons), N. Thomas (2 Tries), Joy (Try), Evans (Try), Kiley (Try), Popham (Try), Blyth (Try), Kelly (Try), Bevan (Try)
Swansea Team:- 15 N. Thomas 14 Rhys Jones 13 R. Payne (rep: C. Shelmerdine) 12 D. Watts (rep: A. Thomas) 11 L. Bevan 10 J. Dixon 9 R. Wells (rep: P. Tucker) 1 T. Evans (rep: A. Wyn-Davies) 2 A. Joy 3 A. Clatworthy 4 H. Alford 5 R. Kelly 6 S. Kiley (rep: M. Popham) 7 P. De Snyder (rep: D. Blyth) 8 M. Popham
By Paul Hopkins
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