Rumney : 15.A.Carlson 14.L.Plummer 13.G.Bowen 12.S.McIntyre 11.T.Daley 10.D.Clark  9.C.Miller 1.J.Leadbeatter  2. M.Feneck (Capt) 3.C.Fitzpatrick  4.M.Kelly   5.J.Mills  6.M.Way 7.R.Sutton  8.S.Coles  Replacements : C.O'Donoghue  G.Manning  J.Griffiths  S.Greedy   E.James

Newbridge : 15.R.Smith 14.J.Farthing 13.K.Perry 12.N.Lewis 11.L.James 10.G.Ashman  9.M.Taylor 1.A.Oliver  2.D.Sullivan  3.N.Curtis  4.R.Reynolds   5.W.Sims  6.R.Bowen (Capt) 7.M.Rosser  8.R.Miles  Replacements : R.Jones G.Paterson R.Morgan C.Wilkins L.Brendon

Referee : John Roberts, Llanrwst

Scorers for Rumney : penalty try, D.Clark conversion and 3 penalties

Scorers for Newbridge : D.Sullivan try, G.Ashman conversion and 3 penalties

Newbridge gained plenty of possession in the opening period and despite lively attacking by visiting hooker and captain Michael Feneck, props John Leadbeatter and Craig Fitzpatrick and centre Gareth Bowen, Rumney gave away a number of penalties and conceded knocks on allowing the home side to launch wave after wave of forward drives which were only blocked out by a superb defence. In the seventh minute Newbridge outside half Gavin Ashman kicked a penalty and in the fourteenth minute added a second one for a lead of 6 - 0, but during this time there were signs of Rumney settling with flanker Ryan Sutton strong in the lineout and neat backs movements involving full back Andrew Carlson and winger Tom Daley nearly bringing results. Carlson was also working well with left wing Lincoln Plummer and gradually the visitors worked their way into the Newbridge half, but from a five metre lineout Newbridge scrambled the ball free and counter attacked the length of the pitch before a penalty allowed hooker Dylan Sullivan to power over for the opening try. Ashman's conversion gave his side a commanding 13 - 0 lead and Rumney were living dangerously, relying on more soild defence and the occassional penalty to get themselves out of further trouble. However, as the interval approached, there were further signs that the visitors were beginning to exert some real control at times, Sutton ranging around in the loose, number eight Stuart Coles leading from the back of the scrum and second rows Michael Kelly and Joe Mills gaining good yards. The backs fumbled some balls and Newbridge again returned to the Rumney half but more excellent tackles from flanker Matthew Way and centre Stuart McIntyre snuffed out their attacks and confident moves by the Rumney three quarters started to find big gaps, Daley only being denied a fine try by a toe on the line.

The second half kicked off with Rumney in full flow and Bowen causing all sorts of problems for the opposition and in the forty fourth minute Sutton supplied clean lineout ball, scrum half Miller fired out a rapid accurate pass and Daley, on a loop, raced through to feed Plummer who was only stopped by a high tackle and Mr Roberts headed straight for the posts to award the inevitable penalty try. Outside half Danny Clark added the points for a 13 - 7 scoreline and with Newbridge clearly tiring and making errors he punished them with a series of long touchfinders. Feneck continued to forage and grab possession, the extra speed of the visiting forwards forced penalties and Miller moved the heavier Newbridge forwards around the park with accurate kicking. Clark kicked further penalties in the fifty first and fifty seventh minutes and Rumney kept up the high speed and relentless pressure by bringing on second row Emyr James, back row Simon Greedy and hooker Colin O'Donoghue who all immediately went on the offensive. In the fifty ninth minute Newbridge regained the lead at 16 - 13 when Ashman kicked his third penalty but his side's visits into the opposition half were now fewer and Carlson, McIntyre and Plummer were running through big gaps, the home side hanging on through defiant tackling. Way also carved his way past tacklers and a brilliant long range attack by Daley and Plummer was again stopped by a penalty offence as the defence killed the ball. Clark calmy slotted the kick and John Robert's whistle announced the end of the game, the spoils shared at 16 all.

Steve Ford, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "After last week's game aganst Bargoed we spoke about making mistakes and then for the first half today we went out and made exactly the same mistakes again, in good positions five metres out from the line we failed to score five times. In this division you can not afford to miss out by making mistakes. The first half was a major learning curve and we gave knockons and had erratic discipline, it is something we have been working on all summer, you can not play without discipline. At half time we spoke about getting into the Newbridge twenty two and the players actually listened, got stuck in and had some phase play and possession. In the second half we looked like we wanted to play, we had to learn from the first half mistakes, capitalise when we were five metres from the line and come away with something. We opened up in the second half with with good runs and phases of play and gained in confidence. This is a very young side and in this division we have to learn quickly and not make silly mistakes. We battled hard and got the draw, with our fitness coach Gwyn Griffiths on board the fitness showed in the end, in the last fifteen minutes of the game you could see the improvement and that's what carried us through. At half time I thought we were out of it, I'll settle for the draw but now we must move on. This was a massive game for our confidence and as long as we don't repeat our mistakes week in week out we will do well, otherwise at this level you'll be punished. It is always tough at Newbridge and I am quite happy with a sixteen all draw. Our midfield general Gareth Bowen did well today, he tackled brilliantly, his workrate was phenomenal and he was the Man of the Match."

Stuart McIntyre, centre Rumney 1st XV : "It certainly was that game of two halves, with the Newbridge forwards dominant in the first half and when they ran out of steam in the second half we applied the pressure and kept working hard. If it wasn't for mistakes, we could have won. The pack as a whole was good in the second half, John Leadbeatter had an excellent game and Gareth Bowen bossed the backs well."

Stuart McIntyre