Fixture

On a dry, still Saturday afternoon Cowbridge welcomed Treharris RFC,seeking revenge for the only league defeat way back in September.Cowbridge kicked off and the visitors were soon on the offensive.A penalty 30 metres out found touch and the resulting drive lead to a second penalty,again kicked from touch.This time the ball was spun out and an inside pass in the centre resulted in a try under the posts,easily converted.A powerful Dan Holder drive from the kick off took Cowbridge past the halfway and a penalty.Unfortunately the kick did not find touch and this was to be the story of the afternoon,a game littered with mistakes.However,with the Cowbridge scrum dominant they edged their way up to the 22.A powerful drive by prop Jon Bater and Dan Holder resulted in a penalty with Cowbridge opting for a scrum.Despite a slight fumble,the ball was spun out and second row Dai Popham gathered the  15 metres out and crashed through the Treharris defence for an excellent try after 20 minutes,converted by full back Josh Thomas.As the penalty count for both sides mounted it was Treharris who were next on the scoreboard with a converted try on the half hour.With minutes to go to half time flying wing Rhydian Williams was unlucky to have a try disallowed following a clever chip through by full back Thomas.

Half Time Cowbridge 7 Treharris 14

The second half continued very much like the first wit Cowbridge having plenty of attacking opportunities thwarted by mistakes.Still,it all came together after 20 minutes when Cowbridge pushed Treharris off their own scrum,scrum half Hywel Williams broke from the base to transfer to the ever present Dan Holder to score a fine try.12-14.It took just another 4 minutes for Treharris to extend their lead with a penalty.The visitors now began to dominate with some precise running by backs and forwards and another penalty in front of the posts took them to 20 points with just 6 minutes remaining.The lead was almost extended with some fine inter-passing into the 22 but Cowbridge cleared and stormed out of defence.In the dying seconds Cowbridge had an opportunity to claim a losing bonus point with a penalty on the half way which dropped tantalisingly short.

Final Score Cowbridge 12 Treharris 20.

This was a strangely disjointed performance from Cowbridge against a well drilled and confident Treharris.Despite plenty of possession,too many basic mistakes led to possession being lost at crucial moments.The boys will be looking to remedy this away at Penarth this Saturday followed by Penygraig home on the 19th and Fairwater away on the 26th.

RV/RK