Rumney : 15.L.Khan 14.M.Miller 13.P.Niblett (Capt) 12.A.Jones 11.J.Offside 10.P.Nash  9.C.Miller  1.P.Douglas  2.N.Ritchie  3.C.Gale  4.J.Braine 5.M.Kelly 6.R.Sutton 7.R.Fenton 8.T.Gee  Replacements : M.Feneck K.O'Connor L.Miller B.Phillips

Tredegar : 15.D.Morris 14.R.Orzel 13.O.Jones 12.A.Green 11.C.Thew 10.J.Williams  9.R.Jones 1.B.Mountney  2.R.Williams  3.C.Phillips   4.J.Dawson 5.C.Edwards 6.L.Edwards  7.J.Campbell 8.L.Taylor (Capt)  Replacements : from the squad

Referee : Wayne Davies, Llannon, Llanelli

Scorers for Rumney : J.Offside try, B.Phillips try, P.Nash 2 conversions

Scorers for Tredegar : L.Edwards 2 tries, J.Campbell try, J.Williams 3 conversions and 2 penalties

Tredegar started impressively forcing Rumney onto their backfoot and dominating the early possession, but the home side soon responded and forced a number off relieving penalties. The visitors continued to push into Rumney territory with good lineout work and prop Brett Mountney particularly lively in the forward drives. Tredegar also showed a willingness to spin the ball and in the fifteenth minute, following a wide threequarter movement, flanker Lee Edwards crossed for the first try. Outside half Jonathan Williams' excellent touch line conversion gave his side a 0 - 7 lead and despite Rumney working their way into the opposition half, they conceded turnovers and penalties which allowed Williams to kick Tredegar back into attacking positions from which he controlled play well. The constant pressure resulted in Rumney making errors and in the twenty fifth minute wing forward Joe Campbell scored an interception try for Tredegar which was followed ten minutes later by another touchdown by Edwards who gained possession from a loose ball at the back of a Rumney lineout. Williams converted both tries to put his side into what appeared to be a commanding lead but as half time approached, home forwards Paul Douglas, Michael Kelly and Jamie Braine controlled play well and took Rumney close to the Tredegar try line, forcing a twenty two drop out. Flanker Ryan Sutton gathered cleanly and set up a sweeping threequarter movement and quick second phase ball from Terry Gee sent play back across field where accurate long passes by scrum half Chris Miller and full back Luke Khan put wing Joey Offside away to score a brilliant try. Outside half Paul Nash converted to give an interval score of 7 -21.

Rumney made a better, lively start to the second half with Kelly, Douglas and Gee driving forward and the backs looking sharp. This period of dominance forced Tredegar into giving away penalties and the home side advanced to a position near the try line where they were awarded a series of scrums. In the fiftieth minute Kelly picked up and drove from the back of a scrum, only to be stopped a metre from the line, and from the second phase flanker Barry Phillips ripped out the ball and crashed over to score. Nash converted but within minutes Rumney conceded a penalty infront of the posts and Williams successful kick took the score to 14 - 24. Tredegar exploited a period when the home side missed several tackles but strong counterattacking by Khan and prop Charley Gale, followed by breaks from Douglas and Niblett, kept Rumney in the hunt, until the seventieth minute when Williams kicked another penalty, and despite strong breaks by hooker Michael Feneck and Gee they were unable to improve on the 14 - 27 scoreline.

Steve Ford, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "Before the game I talked about the importance of starting off well because we knew that Tredegar would be a different side from the one we beat in October, but at first we gained no territory and our kicking out of hand was poor, which allowed them to run back at us. We missed too many first time tackles and Tredegar got over the gain line far too easily. Their forwards took us on, our scrum was ok but we couldn't keep the ball and go through phases, and we lacked a bit of confidence. We did finish the first half on a high note, scoring a nice try and turning around 7 - 21 down. We knew the second half would be a different game altogether, against the wind, we had to roll our sleeves up and go through the phases. We were a different side and played confidently when we had the ball, Paul Douglas and Michael Kelly did the work of four or five men, they had great games and if it wasn't for the like of them it would have been a lot worse. We have got to help ourselves and try all different things, with such a small squad and so many injuries we are scratching our heads, but we'll see it through. Michael Kelly had an immense game today and was the Man of the Match."

Paul Niblett, Captain Rumney 1st XV : "It was the same old story really, we only seem to play for forty minutes and this week we let it slip in the first half. It was a good second half performance, the team showed a lot of character against the wind and we got back to within one score, but a lack of discipline and silly penalties took the game away from us. We are still looking for that win to put us on a bit of a roll. Michael Kelly was outstanding at No8 today."

Above left : Paul Niblett, right : Ken Gooding and Terry King