GLAMORGAN WANDERERS 30 NEWCASTLE EMLYN 35.
Newcastle Emlyn produced an opening half hour of sublime rugby to all but blow away a talented Glamorgan Wanderers side at the Memorial Ground.
The pace at which the red and whites played the game had the home side on the ropes and almost out for the count at 3-22 as they tried desperately to hang on as the visitors launched attack after attack. The Wanderers though managed to rally and they came back fighting after the break but the reds held out for a well deserved win.
The visitors showed their positive intent from the outset and looked to spread the ball wide to pacy wingers Llyr Jones and former Cardigan player John Lumb who was making his debut and they also took it up down the middle of the field through some barnstorming runs from backrowers Joel James and outstanding number eight Brynmor Jones.
Despite going behind to a very early penalty kicked by Wanderers outside half Luke Fish, the visitors quickly replied with an absolute cracker of a try. Some powerful driving runs by the forwards sucked in defenders, the ball was moved out to left wing Lumb who stormed down his wing. When halted, the ball was quickly recycled, prop Neil Elworthy took the ball on in midfield, when he was brought down the ball was shifted out to centre Tomi Jones who threw out a long pass to winger Llyr Jones who needed no second invitation to cross in the corner for a try excellently converted from the touchline by Nico Setaro.
That set the standard for the rest of the half as Emlyn played the game with great pace and tempo. Their lineout worked efficiently and second row Ryan Morgans and number eight Brynmor Jones won a great deal of quality ball with some accurate throwing in from hooker Tom Curry. Outside half Setaro and centre Jones were able to call the shots and, with flanker James always on hand to carry the ball up the middle, the home side did not know where the next attack was coming from. They did however defend heroically through the likes centre of Lloyd Chalke, flanker Michael Owen and James Murphy and made the visitors work hard for their tries.
The second Emlyn score came after some fifteen minutes and was again due to some fine driving play by the pack and scrum half Mike Jones was alert enough to spot that the blind side was not protected and he shot over for an unconverted try.
The Wanderers then came back into the game and using their huge forwards they managed to put together some concerted pick up and drives and were awarded a penalty on the Emlyn ten metre line which Fish converted.
The hosts found little success when it to moving the ball along their three quarter line with the speedy Emlyn defence which was well marshalled by Tomi Jones, putting a great deal of pressure on the ball and it came as no surprise when the third visiting try came as a result of this pressing when a pass in the Wanderers midfield went astray and winger Llyr Jones kicked the ball ahead and just won the race to touch the ball down in the corner.
With the front row of props Dai Jones and Neil Elworthy along with hooker Tom Curry, managing to hold their own against the heavyweight Wanderers pack and second rows Morgans and Dan Havard working hard captain and flanker Owain Powell was able to come into his own acting as the link between the pack and speedy scrum half Jones.
Emlyn’s bonus point try came on the half hour mark and was again attributable to some excellent team work. From a line out in their own half the ball was worked through a series of rucks and eventually ended up in the hands of right winger Jones. With the line at his mercy the winger unselfishly passed inside to the supporting John Lumb and the left winger crossed wide out for his first ever try for the red and whites.
With halftime approaching Fish landed another penalty for the home side but then on the stroke of half time from a five metre scrum the ball was moved to the bulky Fish at outside half and he was impossible to stop at such close range and he crossed by the posts to cut the half time deficit to just six points.
The next try was no less than the home side deserved. A series of drives close to the Emlyn line eventually saw replacement flanker Curtis Hocks force his way over for a try converted by Fish to give the home side a one point lead.
The Wanderers extended their lead when they moved the ball from one side of the field to the other and stand off Fish sold an outrageous dummy to cross under the posts for a try he converted. With Powell off the field injured, acting captain Shaun Leonard gave the side a real tongue lashing behind the posts and to their credit the side responded to his call.
Coach Marc Lloyd also used his bench effectively and the two hard working props Jones and Elworthy were replaced by Emrys and Gethin Davies, Gareth Thomson replaced Powell, and Rhys Davies came on instead of Dan Havard.
Emlyn started to come more into the game and were awarded a penalty on the Wanderers ten metre line which Shaun Leonard converted into the breeze to bring the visitors a potential losing bonus point. The red and whites were being rattled by the increased intensity shown by the homes side’s forwards who continually drove up field with pick and drive from rucks. Led by Joel James and Emrys Davies, time and again the Emlyn pack drove the home side backwards in the tackle but turnovers were few and far between.
With fifteen minutes to go influential number eight Brynmor Jones had to leave the field with a serious looking shoulder injury and the hosts were forced to reshuffle with Dafydd Evans coming on at scrum half, Mike Jones moved to the wing, Llyr Jones to centre, and Tomi Jones to flanker. Then almost against the run of play Emlyn scored again when Nico Setaro took a quick tap, grubber kicked the ball over the line and when he was just going to dive on the ball in the corner for a try found himself tackled without the ball. The excellent referee Sean Bricknell had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try to the West Wales team and Setaro added the extra points.
The visitors continued in trying to run any ball they had straight back at the Wanderers who had themselves made some important substitutions, taking off their two biggest forwards and replacing them with lighter more mobile players. Another Emlyn attack saw them awarded a penalty on the ten metre line which Leonard kicked to open the gap to five points. With time running out the Wanderers really came hard at Emlyn and it took two excellent tackles by full back James Owens and winger John Lumb to stop almost certain tries being scored to seal a superb win.
Next week Emlyn are home to Narberth and the Otters will be looking for revenge having lost to the red and whites twice last season.
