WRU Championship
Skewen 11 Newcastle Emlyn 14
Newcastle Emlyn secured a win that guarantees them championship rugby next season but their injury nightmare continued with the loss of outstanding second row Dan Havard with a broken collar bone.
Emlyn who can know play out the final two games of the season with an eye on next season, started this game positively and took an early lead when full back Shaun Leonard kicked a long range penalty goal from just inside Skewen’s half and all the early pressure came from the visitors with some powerful carries by all the forwards taking play into the home twenty two.
With the ball like a bar of soap try scoring opportunities were rare but from one sequence a powerful carry by second row Dan Havard ended with Havard having to be led from the field with an injury. The loss of Havard who has been in outstanding form this season was a huge blow to the red and whites so early in the game. Without a second row replacement the Emlyn coaches sent on skipper Alex Williams, moving Brynmor Jones up to second row and hooker Tom Curry back to the back row.
While Emlyn were still in the process of adjusting to the new line up in their forwards, Skewen took advantage and entered the Emlyn half for the first time. The visitors were penalised on their twenty two and hosts outside half Anthony Buselli stepped up to kick a relatively easy penalty to level the scores. From the restart the home team looked to clear their lines with a long kick up field. The kick was caught by Brynmor Jones who linked nicely with winger Dan Davies and Jones was eventually brought down inside the Skewen twenty two. Three rucks later the hosts were penalised for killing the ball and Dan Davies converted the penalty to restore Emlyn’s lead.
On the half hour mark Emlyn extended their lead with what could be one of the tries of the season. The hosts attacked deep into the Emlyn twenty two and from a tackle some ten metres from the Emlyn line powerful flanker Joel James managed to turn the ball over for the red and whites. Scrum half Dafydd Evans, who had his best game of the season, passed to Barry Thomas, the veteran realised that perhaps kicking the ball was not the best option available to him so he passed to inside centre Richard Hope. The centre took play up to his own twenty two metre line before transferring the ball to his co-centre Llyr Jones. Showing a great turn of pace Jones rounded his opposite number and as he approached the Skewen twenty two drew the full back perfectly and passed to winger Llyr Freeman who managed to outstrip the cover defence to score an unconverted try in the corner.
Emlyn’s joy at this try was tempered by the fact that Brynmor Jones had to leave the field with a hamstring injury to be preplaced by flanker Gethin Davies. This left Emlyn with only one recognised lineout forward in Ryan Morgans and meant flanker Joel James had to pack down in the second row against a big heavy Skewen pack. To their credit the Emlyn front row of Emrys Davies, Alex Williams and Gethin Davies managed to just about hold their own in the scrum, although they did on occasions have to rely on the skills of Owain Powell at number eight to present Dafydd Evans with good ball under pressure. As half time approached Emlyn’s problems increased when James was yellow carded.
Dan Davies converted to extend Emlyn’s lead but urged on by their enthusiastic supporters Skewen set up camp in the Emlyn twenty two and they eventually went over for a try when second row Aled Morgford barged his way over after a series of energy sapping pick up and drives from the home pack.
The visitors though were well worth their victory.
