Rumney : 15.M.O'Neill 14.M.Miller 13.J.Offside 12.I.Blackburn 11.R.Hallett 10.C.Miller 9.R.Lawson 1.P.Douglas 2.N.Ritchie 3.N.Trevett 4.M.Kelly 5.M.Harrington 6.R.Sutton 7.R.Fenton 8.S.Coles (Capt) Replacements : B.Morris C.O'Donoghue R.Williams P.Howell
Referee : Chris Williams
Scorers for Rumney : M.Harrington try, R.Fenton try, R.Lawson 2 conversions and 1 penalty
Scorers for Nantymoel : N.Davies try, M.Jones try and 3 conversions and 1 penalty, penalty try
Heavy showers of rain followed by bright sunny periods and a ball like a bar of soap made playing conditions difficult at the head of the Ogmore Valley but with both sides playing attractive rugby, a surprisingly open game was enjoyed by the spectators at Nantymoel. The home side was the first to score when a counterattack started by fullback Tony Smith led to centre Nicky Davies sprinting forty metres to touchdown. Outside half Mark Jones converted to put Nantymoel into a 7 - 0 lead after five minutes but having suffered unusually at the lineout in the early stages, in the thirteenth minute Rumney gained clean possession and drove forward through props Paul Douglas and Nathan Trevett and hooker Neal Ritchie, before play was switched to the backs and a second ruck gave lock Mark Harrington the opportunity to dive over for a very good try. Scrum half Rob Lawson converted well to tie the scores and the remainder of the half saw the sides evenly matched with Smith and winger Michael Richards looking dangerous for Nantymoel, wingers Rhys Hallett and Ben Morris and fullback Paddy O'Neill defending well for the visitors, and Rumney lock Michael Kelly and No8 Stuart Coles becoming increasingly influential in broken play.
The second half opened with more attacks from both teams, outside half Chris Miller and centre Joey Offside making strong breaks into opposition territory for Rumney and when Nantymoel were penalised, Lawson slotted the kick to put his side ahead 7 - 10. In the sixtieth minute the scores were level again when indiscipline in the Rumney ranks allowed Jones to kick a simple penalty and five minutes later clever play at the base of a five metre scrum by scrum half Jeremy Williams set up Jones with the space to burst through for a neat try. The outside half added the conversion himself but Rumney were soon back on the offensive with hooker Colin O'Donoghue and flanker Ryan Fenton impressing on the charge, but with play deep in the Nantymoel half, home wing Richards broke down the tramlines, put in a long kick ahead and when he was impeded at the touchdown, Mr Williams awarded a penalty try. Trailing 24 - 10 after the conversion, Rumney were awarded a penalty on halfway, and O'Donoghue's quick thinking tap sent flanker Ryan Sutton away on a good run and his accurate inside pass to Fenton allowed the powerful wing forward to race in for the try. Lawson added the points and with the score at 24 - 17 and five minutes remaining, Rumney tried to add another try through all out attack but the Nantymoel defence held and at the final whistle the home side claimed the victory.
Gafyn Cooper, Coach Rumney
1st XV : "Very disappointing. We were badly disrupted
by injuries which meant that we fielded three scrum halves and
three wings, and then we lost centre Ian Blackburn with a badly
cut head early in the game. We controlled the ball well but Nantymoel
took their chances and just edged the win. It is also disappointing
that we still can not get it right on the road and we shall be
working hard in the week for our home game against Bargoed next
Saturday. Ryan Fenton was voted Man of the Match toda
y."
Neal Ritchie, hooker Rumney 1st XV : "It was a poor game for us, we made too many mistakes and suffered from having had too many injuries. Our attitude was all wrong, we lacked discipline and there was too much choppsing. However, Mark Harrington had a good game and so did Matthew Miller and Ryan Fenton."
Neal Ritchie
