Rumney : 15.G.Niblett 14.J.Offside 13.P.Niblett (Capt) 12.I.Blackburn 11.M.Miller 10.M.O'Neill  9.P.Nash 1.P.Douglas 2.C.O'Donoghue 3.R.Hanmer 4.J.Braine 5.M.Kelly 6.R.Sutton 7.R.Fenton 8.C.Barker  Replacements :  B.Phillips N.Ritchie A.N.Other A.N.Other

Scorers for Rumney : J.Offside try, P.Nash conversion and penalty

Scorers for Pill Harriers : A.Hillier try, K.Morgan try, S.Basent penalty

A firm pitch and perfect conditions suited Rumney's style of play and they spent the opening period mostly in the Pill Harriers half with lock Michael Kelly, centre Paul Niblett and hooker Colin O'Donoghue all on the attack from the outset. Flanker Ryan Sutton was immediately in good form in the lineout and with O'Donoghue and wing forward Ryan Fenton in support the visitors' pressed hard into opposition territory. Errors allowed Pill to counterattack and on their first incursion into the Rumney twenty two they won a lineout from which second row Andrew Hillier drove over to score the opening try. With two very lively packs testing each other out, Rumney did well against their heavier opponents, making the most of the particularly solid front row platform provided by O'Donoghue and mobile props Rhodri Hanmer and Paul Douglas, and the forceful breaks from the base of the scrum by No8 Carl Barker. Despite being five points down, Rumney were still dominating play and doing most of the attacking, winger Matthew Miller, scrum half Paul Nash and full back Gareth Niblett all getting through a tight defence, and centres Ian Blackburn and Paul Niblett ripping possession and drawing in tacklers. After thirty three minutes Nash landed a good, thirty five metre penalty but on the stroke of half time Rumney were penalised for killing the ball and Pill outside half Scott Basent extended his side's lead to 8 - 3 at the interval.

Following a tight first half the second period proved to be equally hard fought, the Harriers spreading the ball wider and using their backs to attack from deep and Rumney outside half Paddy O'Neill sending out good passes to bring Miller and Blackburn more into play on the burst. Flanker Barry Phillips replaced the injured Ryan Sutton and fitted effectively into a pack which was constantly gaining ground with close interplay and contolled forward drives. In the sixtieth minute O'Neill, Blackburn, Barker and Miller all linked in an excellent passing movement, Douglas drove forward powerfully and Nash, Blackburn and O'Neill linked again to set sprinter Joey Offside clear and in under the posts. Nash converted to put the visitors into an 8 - 10 lead but ten minutes later they conceded possession in an attacking position and Pill once again showed their counterattacking abilities, running from their goal line to set up a touchline movement which finished with full back Karl Morgan crossing for a fine corner try. The Rumney forwards continued to impress with second rows Jamie Braine and Kelly combining well to keep the drive going forward and Hanmer, Douglas, Barker, Fenton and Phillips all breaking and running well. The backs also found gaps but turnovers allowed Pill to regain possession and run out of defensive positions, the final score remaining at 13 - 10.

Stuart Coles, Forwards Coach Rumney 1st XV : "Despite the defeat, this was a very pleasing performance and a game which we could and should have won - if confidence had been higher we would have won it. We had halfbacks playing out of position and struggled from a lack of control but you could not fault the effort from one to fifteen. We are hopefully turning the corner and are working hard in training to increase our fitness levels and organisation and with a lot of home games to come we are confident of climbing the table. It is hard to pick out individual performances but Colin O'Donoghue was excellent in the loose and Ian Blackburn carried well all day and was the Man of the Match."

Paul Niblett, Captain Rumney 1st XV : "I was very happy with the way that all the boys stuck at it. It's a new year and there is a new attitude - with more training the side would have come away with a win. The front five worked well around the park and Gareth Niblett at full back adapted well to step up a level."