Fixture

Two Good Wins for Cowbridge

Cowbridge were looking to extend their unbeaten league run as they took another trip up the Rhondda Valley, this time for an early kick off against Ferndale RFC prior to the Wales v Georgia game that afternoon. Several forced changes meant this was going to be a good challenge against these tough opponents who, despite being 10 places lower in the league, have run many sides close this season.

Despite the poor conditions both sides tried to run the ball and test each other but it was Cowbridge that struck first with a well taken penalty after 6mins.
The high tempo continued and on 23mins a long clearance kick was knocked on by Ferndale on the halfway line and it was Cowbridge who were quicker to react, kicking the loose ball ahead. It was again misfielded by the home team and another kick through saw a certain try stopped illegally and Cowbridge were awarded a Penalty try for a 10-0 lead.
The next score was Ferndale’s when they were awarded a penalty following a collapsed scrum on the half hour. The remainder of the half saw Cowbridge pressing deep in the Ferndale half but some resolute home defence kept them out.

The second half saw veteran Kieron David enter the fray for the hard working Aaron Bowman as the Cowbridge pack increasingly started to dominate the scrum and control possession for long periods. They were expertly marshalled by young scrum half Hywel Williams, but as the conditions worsened and the number of handling errors increased, some promising passages of play came to nothing.

There were however a couple of good breaks by the backs, with Tom James and Tom Harrison leading the charge, gaining important territorial advantage.
The Cowbridge pack then kept up the pressure with a determined ‘pick and drive’ game but were repeatedly thwarted by a tireless home defence, who were boosted by a couple of questionable penalties enabling them to clear their lines.
 

Following a penalty each, and with Cowbridge missing a couple of kicks at goal, the score was still just 13-6 going into the last 10 mins.
Cowbridge continued to attack and Tom James came close to scoring after chasing a good kick through. From the resulting 5m scrum the Cowbridge pack drove over the line for a try to seal the game, but for some reason it was not awarded. The following scrum was again driven over the line by Cowbridge but, for reasons unknown to this correspondent, the home side were awarded a penalty and again cleared their lines. Cowbridge were soon again camped on the Ferndale try line and were eventually awarded their own penalty to finally secure the game at 16-6 and deservedly extend their unbeaten league run.

As expected, this was a tough encounter in poor conditions and credit goes to both teams for providing the supporters with at least one entertaining game to watch that day!
 

At the same time the Youth got back to winning ways with a fine 27-15 victory at home against Aberdare.Cowbridge's points came from tries by centre Max Cunnington,flanker Ellis Reed and full back Evan Williams.Evan also converted all three tries and added two penalties.
Well done to both sides.

The Annual Beaujolais Night was held at the Cubhouse last Thursday and was a great success.Many thanks to Wyn Davies for sorting out the wine,President Lynn Thomas and First Lady Liz for the fine buffet and Chris Rees for the entertaining quiz.
This Friday,all being well,the 1sts  will travel to Treherbert for a rearranged fixture under lights KO 19.00.Check with the club Thursday evening for confirmation.
Finally,there are still a few seats available on the Club bus to Cardiff this Saturday,departing at 15.00 and returning an hour after the final whistle.Please contact with the club Thursday evening to book a seat.
GT/RV/RK