Llandovery 28 v 41 Whites
03 Oct 2009 - Church Bank
The All Whites regained top spot in the Premiership with a closely fought 41-28 win at Llandovery in windy conditions. Swansea welcomed veteran lock Paul Arnold back to the club and he marked his return with a late try that clinched victory.
The Whites scored their first try after just three minutes as Scott Baldwin and Sam Kiley created a solid platform for Nicky Thomas to weave his way over the line. He converted. The Drovers were awarded a penalty after Tom Isaacs fell off a tackle and his side proceeded to kill the ball. Former All White Cerith Rees chipped into the corner and from the lineout centre Rhys Williams powered his way through the defence to score. Rees converted.
The visitors’ second try came from a lineout when the ball was worked out wide for Leigh Bevan to slide over. Thomas sliced the conversion wide. An excellent run by Matthew Harbut forced the visitors to kill the ball but Cerith Rees spurned the chance of three points by opting to find the corner. It proved a good decision as scrum half Gareth James spotted a gap in the Whites’ defence and sprinted over to score in the corner. Cerith Rees missed the conversion.
Good work by Marc Popham and Kiley almost resulted in a try but Chris Shelmerdine’s pass back to Popham was poor and the ball went forward. Swansea’s third try came from another lineout as Popham was mauled over the line. Thomas’s conversion hit the post.
Llandovery should have scored out wide after a good build up involving Williams but captain Louie Tonkin dropped a crucial pass, wasting an overlap out wide. A huge scrum by the home side forced the Swansea pack to drive inwards, earning Cerith Rees another three points. Rees should have taken his side into the lead on the stroke of half time after breaks by Nio Aiono and Harbut forced Swansea to kill the ball but he failed to convert the penalty kick.
Half time:- Llandovery 15 Swansea 17
Swansea began the second half with a bang as Bevan sprinted down the wing to feed Huw Alford who powered through the middle to send Shelmerdine in for a try under the posts. Thomas converted. The Drovers hit back immediately when replacement Josh Turnbull intercepted a pass on half way and raced clear to score. Cerith Rees converted.
Ifan Evans was sent to the sin-bin by referee Nigel Owens after he took out Bevan without the ball in a dangerous attacking position. James Dixon wasted the penalty with a cross field kick that went dead. A minute later Thomas extended the lead with a long range penalty after Llandovery were caught offside in midfield.
Moments later Cerith Rees replied with his own penalty kick after Steffan Jones entered a ruck from the wrong side. A superb piece of invention by Thomas almost resulted in another Whites score but he held on too long after the tackle.
A powerful run down the wing by Shelmerdine set up an attacking platform from which Isaacs dummied his way over to score. Thomas converted. Cerith Rees gave his side a fighting chance of winning by narrowing the gap to six points with a penalty goal.
Ifan Evans threatened havoc from deep as the Whites’ defence struggled to hold on but Kevin Allen was driven into touch close to the Swansea line. Popham secured a turnover and a powerful run by Arnold almost sent Nicky Jones over in the corner but he was tackled into touch. With the clock running down Llandovery panicked inside their own twenty-two and Isaacs stole possession to send Arnold over for a match clinching try. Thomas converted.
Next up for Swansea is a tough away game at Pontypridd where both sides will be looking to impress in front of the cameras. Llandovery are at Rodney Parade on Saturday against mid table side Newport.
Full time:- Llandovery 28 Swansea 41
Venue:- Church Bank, Llandovery
Weather:- Cloudy, 13C
Competition:- Principality Premiership
Referee:- Nigel Owens
Llandovery scorers:- Williams (Try), C Rees (2 Cons, 3 Pens), James (Try), Martin (Try)
Swansea scorers:- Thomas (Try, 4 Cons, Pen), Bevan (Try), Popham (Try), Shelmerdine (Try), Isaacs (Try), Arnold (Try)
Man of the Match:- Marc Popham
Swansea team:- 15 N Thomas 14 L Bevan (rep: T Prydie) 13 C Shelmerdine 12 D Watts 11 N Jones 10 J Dixon 9 T Isaacs (rep: P Tucker) 1 R Jones 2 S Baldwin (rep: AW Davies) 3 A Clatworthy (rep: R Davies) 4 H Alford (rep: P Arnold) 5 S Kiley 6 M Popham 7 L Jones 8 S Jones
Paul Hopkins
Match Gallery
|
