Fixture

Match Report - Caerphilly v Cwmbran - Sunday 14 October - KO 11.30

It was a damp and wet autumn morning, and the third day of continual rain across Caerphilly ! The pitch however was in good shape, and two well-matched teams were to provide a very entertaining match.

The first play of the match was to set the tone with a tackle by Wil Lewis creating a knock on and turnover ball. The home XV makes some good ground and eventually win a scrum on the visitors' 22.

Despite a strong Cwmbran scrum, the ball was fed quickly to Wil Haley who threw a wonderful dummy and showed good strength to score the first try of the game - 7-0 

Cwmbran though responded quickly and showed some direct running and crisp passing of their own to score out wide. 

The next score was to come from another tackle by Caerphilly which dislodged the ball to create a turnover - Owen Hughes kicked ahead and the visitors cleared their lines. The ball was fielded well though by Ellis Hughes who straightened up to score a great try beating 3 tackles to take the game two scores clear at 14-5.

At this point, another great tackle by the energetic Louis Bellamy, (his fourth of the game !) saw him unfortunately taken to hospital for a nasty gash to the cheek and we all hope he makes a speedy recovery. Get well soon Louis ! 🏉

The break in play seemed to galvanise the visitors and they quickly gained momentum and scored another great try to bring the score to 14-10 at half time.

The second half started where the first left off with a strong defensive line from Lewis Adams, Huw Ashman, and Danny Richards creating a knock on in midfield. Owen Hughes picked up the loose ball and straightened up to ghost past 5 tackles and score under the posts to take the home XV 2 scores clear again at 21-10.

The visitors though never gave up and despite some great tackles from Cian O'Sullivan out wide they eventually recycled the ball to win a penalty in the home team's 22. Cwmbran eventually scored from the penalty to bring the score back to 21-17.

With 15 mins to go, the fitness of the Caerphilly XV started to shine through and a great run by Abhishek supported by Ioan Hill sucked in the defence - the visitors won a turnover but the alert Scott Pritchard came through the centre of the ruck to kick on and show some outstanding footballing skills to finish off the opportunity and bring the score to 28-17.

The final 10 minutes saw some great tackles by Josh Morkot to save a try by dragging his opposite number into touch. This was followed by some great tackles from Logan Turner, Ioan Hill, Callum Morris and Eli Weekes who won a turnover at another crucial moment.

The final play of the match though was to fall to Caerphilly with Connor Mayo showing a great turn of pace off the back of the scrum in his own 22, to make a mazy and determined run and brought the final score to 35-17. The support play of the team was noticeable and kept the defence guessing while Connor varied his angles of running to the line. 

Well done to both teams for a great game of rugby - at times the wet conditions made handling difficult but the Cheesemen kept their composure and kept moving the ball to record their 7th win of the season. The best wishes and thoughts of all the boys go to Louis "Bellers" Bellamy and we all wish him a speedy recovery. #togetherasone.

Written By – Warren Lewis