Division 3 west A.
Cardigan 20 Haverfordwest 8
A victory over the Blues has always been difficult to achieve over the past 40 years and this latest success was no different with Cardigan having to pull off their best performance of the season to defeat the Pembrokeshire side.
The visitors were missing a few regulars but they put the Cardi’s under intense pressure especially in the opening half with a very strong wind advantage and Emyr Harries and his men were forced to tackle their hearts out as the Blues came at them.
It was this ability to tough it out against the elements that effectively won the game for the hosts as their 10-3 advantage at the break was crucial with playing conditions very difficult.
Home skipper and centre Emyr Harries put Cardigan ahead early on with a penalty but the Blues came storming back and outside half and skipper Matt Phillips kicked his team deep in opposition territory and they pushed hard for a score. However some very timely turnovers from the likes of second row Sion Phillips and number eight Llyr Griffiths saved the day on several occasions and half backs Llyr Jones and Tom Dunn were able to clear their lines.
Stand off Phillips levelled matters with a penalty on the half hour mark before winger Sion Hughes claimed a superb individual try after his collected his kick and chase following good work by outstanding full back John Lumb. Lumb converted to put his team ahead by 10-3 to cap a very resilient first half performance by the home team.
Cardigan went further ahead ten minutes after the break when substitute winger Owain Rees pounced on a loose ball for the easiest of tries but the hard work was carried out by Lumb and centre Marcus Castle. Lumb started proceedings off with a pin point kick into the clubhouse corner and he and Castle pressurised the visiting defender into making a mistake and the ball ran loose for a very important score.
Haverfordwest rallied and enjoyed a fruitful period which culminated in a try for prop Terry Lovell after excellent work by the Blues forwards. Cardigan though sensing a come back from their Pembrokeshire rivals killed the game off with a late try from hooker Luke Palmer Davies following huge pressure in the scrum from the home eight and this capped another promising game for the teenage hooker.
An important moral boosting win for the Cardi’s as they continue to build a new team around their new kids on the block and some of these produced impressive performances. Second row Sion Phillips was a bundle of energy and put in some very important tackles, hooker Palmer-Davies and young stand off Dunn were composed under pressure and they were well back up by Lumb, Castle, number eight Griffiths and flanker Dan Evans in what was a solid all round showing.
