Fixture

Match Report - Sunday 26 January - Caerphilly v Cefn Coed - KO 11.30 @ Vetro Recruitment Stadium 

The weather was extremely cold and blustery, with all seasons in one day - rain, snow, wind and beautiful sunshine greeted both teams ☀️! It was a big and physical Cefn Coed team that visited the Vetro, but from the off, the Caer XV put in some great tackles on their big number 7 and 12 in particular (before they could gain momentum).

Will Haley makes great use of the wind to clear the ball well downfield. Great passing along the line sees Owen Hughes, Huw Ashman and then Wil Lewis on the wing straighten up and set up the ruck in the Cefn Coed 22. Ioan Hill then takes the ball forward strongly, supported by Scott Pritchard who makes a nice chip over the top into space. Cefn Coed though gathers the ball and kicks back. Ellis Hughes is on hand to gather the ball and offload to Will Haley who makes good ground again. The ball is spread out by Lewis Adams and a great take by Huw Ashman at centre, who gets “man and ball”, retains possession and sets the ball back to win a penalty at ruck time.

The great defensive effort continues with wing Tylor Williams making a great tackle to dislodge the ball and win a turnover in midfield. Eventually Cefn Coed win a scrum and this time it’s Eli Weekes making an outstanding tackle off the base of the scrum on the big number 7. The visitors keep on coming through and seem to be in for a certain score but a brilliant tackle by Will Haley on the line dislodges the ball to force a knock on and save a certain try.

The games continue to ebb and flow with Callum Morris and Ioan Hill holding the ball up in the tackle to win the turnover. From the resultant scrum Connor Mayo makes a great break off the back and there follows some wonderful interplay between Connor Mayo, Will Haley and Tylor Williams who offload to each other and make great ground into the opposition 22. Caer come forward again as Cefn Coed spill the ball on their line and Will Haley kicks a penalty for a 3-0 lead. 

An outstanding catch from Will Haley at the restart then releases Sam Davies who makes for a 50-yard gallop and this really seems to galvanise the home XV. However, the speedy Cefn Coed full back starts a run of his own from his own line, and seems to be in the clear, but for the ever-reliable Ellis Hughes who does enough to slow the speedster down, before a last-ditch ankle tap from Will Haley does just enough to prevent a try on the stroke of half time. 

The second half starts with a knock on in the Caer 22 which gives territory and a penalty opportunity to the visitors, which they decide to kick, but the ball skews under the bar and leaves the score at 3-0.

The game continues and eventually Caerphilly restart the game with a drop out 22 - an unorthodox restart sees the ball ricochet into Ioan Hill who makes a strong run forward. Scott Pritchard then makes a determined run out of defence and takes the ball up to half way. Caer then win a turnover at the scrum and Connor Mayo draws the man and gives the ball to Ellis Hughes who straightens up and sets the ball back for Callum Morris to take the ball up before Scott Pritchard picks up and bursts over for the first try of the match. 8-0.

Belief was now running through the team and the visitors’ restart goes dead providing a scrum back on half way to the home team. Connor Mayo picks up from base and he feeds the ball to Will Haley who chips the ball forward. Tylor Williams falls on the ball and unselfishly beats 2 tackles and then offloads to Connor Mayo in space on wing to score the team try of the game - 13-0 .

Momentum is now with the home team and a great straight run from Owen Hughes sets up a good field position. This is followed by a nice run from Ellis Hughes gathering an up and under from Will Haley, but alas he is tackled just short and Cefn Coed clear their lines. Eli Weekes and Luke Turner put in some great tackles and Wil Lewis wins a turnover with a great tackle to dislodge the ball on his opposite number.

The final play sees the ruck cleared quickly by Lewis Adams after a great run by Ellis Hughes and Connor Mayo scores under the posts for the final score and a 18-0 victory. A really hard-fought victory against a big, physical team.

Well done to all the boys today, many of whom played out of position.........but to a man they tackled hard, and it was great to see the respect from both teams, playing the game in the right way. In the end, the perseverance of the home team and outstanding tackling from across the team laid the foundation for a hard fought win, against tough opposition #togetherasone

Written By – Warren Lewis