Aberavon Green Stars kicked off the new league season, and were soon on the scoreboard with a long range penalty. The score remained at 3-0 to the visitors for most of the first half, with neither side looking like crossing the try line. Aberavon Green Stars finally manged to cross for a converted try a few minutes before the interval. Cwmgors hit back almost immediately, with an Owen Davies penalty on the stroke of half-time.
Cwmgors seemed to have switched off at the start of the second half, allowing Aberavon Green Stars to cross for 2 converted tries within 10 minutes of the restart, giving the visitors a 21 point lead. Ten minutes later they again crossed for another converted try to make the score 3-31. Cwmgors finally woke up and began to exert some pressure on the visitors. Following a couple of penalties against Aberavon Green Stars for scrum offences on their own 5 meter line, flanker Cerith Dennard took a quick tap penalty and was brought down by an offside player short of the line. With 10 minutes left they were awarded a penalty try. Despite their efforts, Cwmgors couldn’t add to their score, and it ended 10-31. The result was disappointing, but the effort shown was encouraging.
Man of the Match Sponsored by Anthony Popple: Dewi Smith
Cwmgors kicked-off the game, and had the first chance to open the score when they were awarded a penalty following a high tackle. Unfortunately, the kick went wide. A few minutes later Abercrave’s penalty kick was successful to give them a 3-0 lead. Cwmgors had a period of play in Abercrave’s 22. The pressure final paid off when the ball was spun out to the backs from a 5m scrum and Owen Davies crossed for an unconverted try. The lead was short lived. A good drive by the Abercrave forwards saw them score an unconverted try to make it 8-5. Cwmgors were soon back on the attack again. A good catch and drive from a lineout put them on the front foot. The ball was passed out and Lloyd Watson was put through a gap to score a try, which he also converted. Abercrave were successful with a penalty to make the score 11-12 at half time.
Abercrave were the first to score in the second half, when they scored a converted try following some weak tackling from Cwmgors. A Mathew Birt penalty reduced the deficit to 3 points. In the final 10 minutes Abercrave scored 2 further converted tries to make the final score a flattering 32-15.
Man of the Match: Lee Howells
Nantymoel kicked-off playing into the breeze. They were soon on the scoreboard with an early penalty. Shortly afterwards Cwmgors could have drawn level, but the penalty wash pushed wide. Within a minute, Cwmgors were awarded another penalty near the half-way line. This time Jordan Smith managed to put it over the bar to make it 3-3. Cwmgors could have taken a lead shortly afterwards after being awarded another penalty wider out on the half-way line. This time the kick fell short. Nantymoel regrouped and scored a converted try through their backs. A penalty saw them extend their lead. Two further converted tries in the run-up to half time gave them a 3-27 lead at the interval.
Shortly from the restart Nantymoel extended their lead with another converted try. Eventually Cwmgors got their act together. Lee Howells crossed for an unconverted try following a series of close drives amongst the forwards. Liam Griffiths made it 13-34 when he finished off a series of pick and drives following a lineout in Nantymoel’s 22. Against the run of play in the second-half, Nantymoel gathered a chip ahead in Cwmgors’ 22 to score the last try of the match just before the final whistle to make the final score 13-39.
Tonmawr kicked-off with the wind advantage. However, it was Cwmgors that dominated play and territory in the early stages. Cwmgors were pressing but lost the bal. Tonmawr kicked through and won the race to the touchdown and converted to give them a 7-point lead. They extended their lead with another converted try. After 20 minutes of the game Tonmawr had scored their 3rd try to give them a 0-19 lead. This didn’t reflect the way the game was going. Eventually, Cwmgors’ efforts paid off when Johnny Hills was driven over following a tap penalty near Tonmawr’s line. Mathew Birts conversion made it 7-19. Further pressure from the Cwmgors’ forwards put Tonmawr on the back foot. Jamie Bradley finished a move involving forwards and backs. Mathew Birt‘s conversion made it 14-19 at the break.
Cwmgors made it 19 all early in the 2nd half following Mathew Birts’ snipping run around the ruck for a try. Cwmgors were applying most of the pressure now but were unable to break through. Eventually Tonmawr’s discipline gave way and Cwmgors were awarded a penalty. Jordan Smith kicked the points, and a second penalty a few minutes later extended the lead to 25-19. With 10 minutes to go Jordan Smith extended Cwmgors’ lead to 28-19 with another penalty. Tonmawr reacted strongly. A powerful drive resulted in a penalty try, which made the score 28-26. With only a few minutes left Tonmawr were pilling everything into the game, but Cwmgors were holding out. In the final minute Tonmawr were awarded a penalty close to the Cwmgors 10m line. The kick went wide to give Cwmgors the win.
Man of the Match Sponsored by Mr Jason Jones of FLG Services Ltd: Liam Griffiths
The a wet and slippery conditions from the start didn’t allow for a fast and flowing game. The game was kicked off by Cwmgors, and half an hour was played before a scoring chance materialised. It was a penalty to Nantymoel, which they kicked.
The second half was played in a similar vein with the forwards from both sides carrying the ball, and the backs kicking. It looked as if there would be no further score, but a period of pressure by Nantymoel in Cwmgors’ 22, saw them being awarded a 5m scrum. They managed to move the scrum forwarded, and the referee decided that Cwmgors had infringed, and gave Nantymoel a penalty try. With a few minutes to go Cwmgors were awarded a penalty to come back to within 7 points. Unfortunately, the kick went wide. It looked as if Cwmgors had lost their opportunity for a losing bonus point, especially as Nantymoel had kicked the restart long, and the game was being played in the Cwmgors half. However, in the final action, Nantymoel player was tackled and his off-load was intercepted by Cwmgors’ Sion Thomas who ran 70m along the touchline to score a try, which Mathew Birt converted, to make the final score 7-10.
Man of the Match Sponsored by Darren Thomas: Dewi Smith
Cwmgors kicked-off playing uphill, and had the best of the early encounters. However, 15 minutes into the game Cwmllynfell were first to score with a catch and drive from a 5m lineout. Cwmgors hit back with a try from Ceri Palmer and a conversion from Mathew Birt. Cwmgors’ lead was short lived. A try from Cwmllynfell centre on permit from Alltwen made it 10 -7. Cwmllynfell had the opportunity to extend their lead with a penalty, but it went wide. Cwmllynfell crossed for a try following another lineout drive to make it 15-7. Just before halftime Cwmgors were awarded a penalty, but it came back off the post.
Cwmgors had another attempt at a penalty early in the second half, but it fell short. There was no score during the third quarter. In the final quarter Cwmllynfell scored two further unconverted tries through their forwards. In the final act of the match they were awarded a penalty try due to an offence in the scrum, to make the final score 32-7.
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Taibach kicked-off, and were first on the board with a penalty following a high tackle. Cwmgors drew level almost immediately when Jordan Smith kicked a penalty. A few minutes later he slotted another to give Cwmgors the lead 6-3. Again, the lead was short lived, following a penalty for Taibach. Both sides had penalty chances to take the lead, but the kicks were unsuccessful. With less than 5 minutes of the first half to go, Taibach finally broke through to score a converted try. On the stroke of half time another Jordan Smith penalty made it 9-13 for the visitors.
Taibach extended their lead in the second half with a try and a penalty. Cwmgors hit back with over 10 minutes to go with a try through Owen Davies. Despite their efforts Cwmgors couldn’t cross the line to try and even the scores, and it ended 14-21, with Cwmgors just earning a losing bonus point.
Man of the Match Sponsored by Celyn Jones: Owen Davies
Swansea Uplands took the early lead against a young Cwmgors side with a penalty. Cwmgors replied soon after when Jordan Smith kicked a long-range penalty. The only try of the half came from a lineout move from Swansea Uplands, with the ball switched for a runner to come around the back of the lineout. The added conversion made it 10-3 to the home side. Jordan Smith added another penalty for Cwmgors, but on the stroke of half-time Swansea Uplands kicked a penalty to make it 13-6 at the break.
In the second half, Cwmgors had the first chance to add points, but Jordan Smith’s long-range penalty fell short. His next attempt a few minutes later was successful however and made the score 13-9. With Cwmgors a man down due to a yellow card, Upland found a gap to score a converted try. Cwmgors did have a chance to reduce the defecate soon after the restart, but again the kick missed. Cwmgors were exerting pressure on the Swansea Uplands’ line, but some interesting refereeing decisions allowed them to relieve the pressure. There was no further score in the remaining half-hour played, which was a testament to the young Cwmgors’ effort and attitude.
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Cwmgors kicked-off, but were soon 5 points down following an early Vardre try. Oli Lewis made it 5-3 with a penalty, but Vardre cancelled that with a penalty of their own. Vardre increased their lead with a converted try, and from the restart they scored another converted try to make it 22-3. Cwmgors were not giving up however, and Luke Gronet forced himself over for a try following a series of drives from a lineout close to the Vardre line. Oli Lewis converted to make it 22-10 at the interval.
Vardre started the second half well, with strong running, good support and offloads in the tackle. They scored 5 tries, converting 3 to give them a 53-10 lead. Cwmgors again were not giving up, and eventually after a series of pressure Luke Gronet forced himself over for his second try to make it 53-15.
Cwmafan kicked off on a damp and wet day, but it was Cwmgors who had the early chances. Scoring opportunities were few in the first half. Cwmafan had a few but Cwmgors’ defence held firm. Cwmgors’ chances came from penalties. Eventually Oli Lewis was successful to give Cwmgors a 3-0 lead at halftime.
Cwmgors extended their lead early in the second half with another Oli Lewis penalty. Soon after a good tackle from Louis Ford made for a loose ball. Louis hacked the ball on, and eventually won the race for the touchdown. Oli Lewis converted. Later in the half Cwmgors were awarded a penalty which Oli Lewis kicked to make it 16-0. He wasn’t successful with another a few minutes later. Despite the efforts of both sides. The game ended 16-0 to Cwmgors.
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Unfortunately, for various reasons, Cwmgors couldn’t field a front row for this game. They therefore played the whole match with only 14 players, and Aberavon Green Stars made full advantage of this during the game.
The game was kicked off by Aberavon Green Stars, with a strong wind behind them. They were soon on the attack and were first to score with a converted try. Against run of play, a loose ball popped out from a ruck near the halfway line, which Aberavon Green Stars collected, and extended their lead to 14-0, with a converted try. Despite the elements, Cwmgors were not giving up. A period of pressure, with the forwards driving on, eventually saw the hard working Johnny Hills cross for a try which Oli Lewis converted. Unfortunately, a mistake near the halfway line saw a try from Aberavon Green Stars extend their lead to 19-7. Unfortunately for Cwmgors, the ref missed forward pass for Aberavon Green Stars’ next 2 tries, and this allowed Aberavon Green Stars to make it 33-7, at half time.
From the restart in the second half, Aberavon Green Stars extended their lead with a converted try. Cwmgors were exerting pressure in the Aberavon Green Stars 22. With the wind behind against them, Aberavon Green Stars, ran the ball from a scrum, and made the extra man count to score a converted try, to make it 47-7. Again, a few minutes later, from own 22, Aberavon Green Stars exploited their man advantage to score a try to make it 52-7. Most of the game was then played in Aberavon Green Stars’ half, but didn’t result in a deserved score.
Abercrave kicked off playing towards the road. However, it was Cwmgors who had the first chance to take the lead with a long-range penalty attempt, but it went wide, as did another a few minutes later. Cwmgors were first to score when a cross kick by Jordan Smith was regathered by Steff Phillips, jumping up in front of the Abercrave full-back, and he sprinted the 20m for the touchdown. Abercrave clawed themselves back into the game with a penalty, and another a few minutes later saw them make it 5-6. Just before halftime Abercrave’s outside-half dropped a goal to make it 5-9.
In the second half Abercrave were awarded 2 penalties, but only 1 was successful, to make it 5-12. A Jordan Smith penalty could have reduced the arears, unfortunately he hit the upright. However, Cwmgors maintained the pressure in Abercrave’s 22, and good work by the forwards saw Rob Clive being driven for a try. Jordan Smith converted which made it 12-12. Another Jordan Smith gave Cwmgors the lead 15-12. Abercrave regained the lead with their only try of the match. The conversion made it 15-19. Cwmgors made it 18-19 following another Jordan Smith penalty. With a minute left of normal time, Cwmgors were awarded a penalty near halfway. Jordan Smith kicked it to regain the lead for Cwmgors. With score 21-19 a tense few minutes remained. In that time Abercrave were awarded 2 penalties in kickable positions, but both went to theleft of the upright. After the second kick the referee blew up for full-time.
Man of the Match Sponsored by Dorian Jones: Caron Jones
Tonmawr kicked-off on a cold still day with no wind advantage. Cwmgors had the first opportunity to take the lead, but Jordan Smith’s kick went wide. It was Tonmawr who broke the duck. After rejecting several kickable penalties to go for touch, they eventually decided to go for the posts, to make it 3-0. Cwmgors scored the only try of the game. Tonmawr put in a reliving kick from their own 22. It failed to find touch and was returned by Cwmgors’ full-back Owen Davies. He beat several Tonmawr defenders before being tackled. The ball was quickly recycled and passed out along the line to winger Steff Phillips, who sprinted down the wing before stepping inside the final defenders to score wide out on the left. Jordan Smith converted to make it 3-7 to the visitors. He extended the lead to make it 3-10 at the interval.
The second half was a scrappy affair, as was the first, with several promising breaks failing due to errors. The only score of the half came from a Tonmawr penalty. The nearest we came to a try was when Caron Jones took a quick penalty, and the ball eventually reached wing Steff Phillips. He dived in at the corner, but the try was disallowed by the referee. Tonmawr missed a couple of penalties which could have reduced Cwmgors’ lead, but they both went wide of the post. The game ended 6-10 to the visitors, recording the first back-to-back win of the season.
Cwmgors kicked off the game playing into a strong wind, and had an early opportunity to take the lead, but the Jordan Smith penalty hit the upright. Soon after his second attempt was successful to give Cwmgors the lead. Some strong running by both Natymoel’s forwards and backs saw them put the pressure on Cwmgors, and they eventually crossed for a converted try to make it 7-3. Their only other try of the half, despite their wind advantage, came from a lineout 5 meters out. The forwards were joined by most of their backs to drive over in the corner to give them a 12-3 lead.
Despite playing into the wind in the second half, Nantymoel extended their lead with a penalty. Soon after, a clever chip over Cwmgors’ defensive line saw them win the race for the touch down under the posts. The easy conversion made it 22-3. Most of the half was played in Nantymoel’s half, but their defence held out. They did score 2 further tries, both wide out in the same corner. Neither was converted to make the final score 32-3.
Taibach kicked -off and were soon 5-0 up after winning a ball against the head from a scrum in Cwmgors’ 22. Caron Jones kicked a penalty for Cwmgors to make it 5-3, and there followed a good period of pressure by Cwmgors. However, against the run of play Taibach broke out and scored a converted try to extend their lead to 10-3. Taibach scored another 2 tries before the break, converting the second to make it 22-3 at half-time. Taibach scored a further six tries and five conversions in the second half, including a controversial penalty try.
After a 6 week lay-off, it was nice to have a game. Unfortunately, several no-shows meant that Cwmgors were missing several players in important positions once again. Bryncoch kicked off with the strong wind at their backs and applied the early pressure but couldn’t score. Cwmgors were first to points on the board when a Bryncoch move went wrong and Jordan Smith intercepted close to his own 22m line and sprinted to cross over for an unconverted try in the corner. With the wind at their backs, Bryncoch hit back with two converted tries to make it 14-5. Just before the interval Bryncoch were awarded a penalty which they kicked to touch close to Cwmgors’ 22m line. As reluctantly as we are to criticise a referee a series of diabolical decisions went against Cwmgors which led to Bryncoch’s final try of the half. Bryncoch won the line out who caught the ball reaching so far to his own side it was impossible to believe that it was anywhere near being straight (but he was consistent in doing this throughout). Following this they drove on with players joining well in front of the ball carrier. Eventually a scrum was awarded. Bryncoch’s loose head had been binding with his head outside Cwmgors’ tight-head’s shoulder throughout the game but was never penalised by the referee. In this instance he once again did this, and from the retreating Cwmgors scrum Bryncoch scored their try. (You might guess from the detailed description that a former front row forward is writing this, but it does get my goat up when referees who have no idea of what is happening allow teams to cheat in this way.)
In the second half, Cwmgors failed to win enough of their own ball (see above) to make much use of the wind at their back. Jordan Smith’s long-range penalty 13 minutes into the half, which went wide, was their only attempt. Towards the end of the game, with Cwmgors suffering due to lack of possession, and attempting to run ball which they should have kicked, Bryncoch scored a further 3 tries, converting 2 to make the final score 40-5.
On the day Bryncoch were probably the better side. However, the refereeing at the set piece made their task a lot easier. It is about time that referees also start to up their game in understanding what goes on in these situations, and appreciate the relevance of games with regards to league positions, and not side with once side to the detriment of the other.
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Updated: Saturday, February 29, 2020