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PRIDE AND JOY

NEWCASTLE EMLYN 23  BEDDAU 19

 What a cliff hanger of a match. Emlyn went into the game knowing that nothing short of a victory, or the unlikely scenario of two losing bonus points, would guarantee them Championship rugby next season. To their credit, urged on by their passionate supporters, the red and whites once again rose to the occasion and fought out a dogged, committed victory against a side who threatened to score from any part of the field if given the chance. This Emlyn side, over the last four seasons as they have climbed the Leagues, have played in some tense encounters and the experience gained in these games was evident in this match.

Beddau had given Emlyn a real hammering in their previous encounter and were a side brimming with quality players. In their half backs, Carl Lewis and outside half Sam Withers, they had a partnership that would grace any Premiership side. Lewis proved to be a constant threat and twice he made telling breaks which led to Beddau tries. Their back row,led by number eight and captain Christian Francis, were highly competitive at the breakdown area and disrupted Emlyn ball on a number of occasions.

For once it was the home side that started the game at breakneck speed and put the visitors under a great deal of pressure. A mistake by Beddau saw the ball picked up by Emlyn flanker Brynmor Jones, whose break was continued by scrum half Dafydd Evans. Evans looked to have taken the wrong option when he went blind from a ruck on the Beddau twenty two line, but some clever basketball passing between him and skipper Alex Williams saw the scrum half sprint away from the cover to score the first Emlyn try in the corner.

Urged on by their scrum half Lewis, Beddau quickly retaliated and within five minutes were in the lead. From a scrum on the Emlyn twenty two metre line, the ball bobbled out on the Beddau side as the Emlyn forwards drove the visitors backwards. The quicksilver Lewis picked up the bouncing ball, spotted the minutest of gaps in the Emlyn defence and accelerated through it to score a try converted by Withers.

With the slight breeze behind them Emlyn employed the obvious strategy of kicking deep into Beddau territory and then subjecting them to periods of pressure. In outside half Mitchell Jones and full back Shaun Leonard they had two players with siege gun like boots who were capable of kicking the ball fifty/sixty metres. The next score came from an unlikely source when from a lineout deep in the Beddau twenty two, Emlyn second row Ryan Morgans caught the ball cleanly. As the home side looked to set up a driving maul referee Neil Jones caught the visitors backs encroaching within ten metres before the line out was over and Leonard kicked the resulting penalty.

Emlyn’s kick and chase tactic was proving extremely effective and the visitors were reluctant to kick the ball out of defence and were opting to try and run it back at Emlyn. Emlyn’s players were like terriers in a hunt as they continually chased down and tackled Beddau backs. The next score came as a result of one of these kicks when Leonard, chasing his own kick, caught their full back in possession some five metres out from his own line. Emlyn backs and forwards swooped on the tackle area and counter rucked to drive Beddau off the ball, for second row Ryan Morgans to pick up and be driven over for an unconverted try. Morgans and his fellow second row partner Bleddyn Davies had outstanding games, as they not only dominated the line out but got through a tremendous amount of work in the loose.

With the Emlyn front row of props Gethin and Emrys Davies, along with hooker Alex Williams, starting to gain ascendancy at scrum time it seemed to be only a matter of time before Emlyn would add to their score. However the Beddau spoiling tactics in the loose ensured that quality, quick ball for the Emlyn backs to use was at a premium. Time and again impressive Emlyn number eight Luke Kendall drove at the opposition with some powerful surges, and time after time Beddau either slowed the ball down or managed to kill it, ending promising attacks.

As half time approached referee Jones eventually lost patience with the visitors and sin binned Beddau centre Hywel Chatham for killing the ball five metres from his line. As often happens the visitors defence became even more determined and from the resulting scrum they not only managed to hold Kendall up but turned the ball over for Withers to clear their line and bring a pulsating half to an end.

Despite playing into the breeze Emlyn started off the second half strongly and immediately applied pressure on the visitors. With the forwards dominating first phase possession they confidently set up camp in the Beddau half. To say the next score was against the run of play would be an understatement, but it emphasised the quality of the visitors. From a line out just outside their own twenty two the ball bounced untidily back on the Beddau side, Lewis picked it up and again was through a gap in the Emlyn defence. Eventually brought down inside the Emlyn twenty two the ball was quickly transferred along their line for pacey winger Cobie Flowers to cross for an unconverted try.

With a slender one point lead Emlyn responded in the best possible fashion when flanker Brynmor Jones made a break and linked with centre Teifion Davies, who had another excellent match, and left wing Llyr Davies. Beddau desperately halted the movement metres from their line. The ball was moved out to the right wing where Llyr Jones and flanker Owain Powell inter-passed and looked certain to score only to be denied again by a desperate Beddau defence. The visitors were penalised again for killing the ball. Emlyn skipper Williams opted to go for touch and a line out move, involving prop Gethin Davies on the front peel, saw the prop feed his skipper who crossed in the corner for the third try.

Emlyn really applied a great deal of pressure on Beddau with Mitchell Jones and Leonard driving them back deep into their twenty two time and again. Even playing into the breeze did not affect either kicker as they used Jones’ long passing to give Leonard time to drive the ball downfield. Beddau were not deterred and tried to counter this by using their three-quarter line, unfortunately for them the Emlyn centres Steffan Evans and Teifion Davies proved to be impossible to breach.  Davies’ intelligent defending was impressive, to say the least,as he looked to give Beddau the outside line to go around him only for the centre to snaffle him up in the tackle and often hold him up so that Emlyn would be awarded the scrum.

Another line out close to the Beddau line saw the home side go through a series of rucks before scrum half Dafydd Evans fed prop Gethin Davies with a reverse pass which saw the prop, having perhaps his best game ever for Emlyn, crash over for the all-important fourth try. In terms of the League the eleven point lead was in fact the equivalent of eighteen points, if Emlyn were to be denied the second losing bonus point.

Losing the match with this lead was not part of the Emlyn script and coach Marc Lloyd, with twenty minutes to go, used his bench to great effect. Gareth Thomson came on to replace the hard working Owain Powell, Joel James replaced Luke Kendall, Dai Jones came into the front row instead of Emrys Davies, Mike Jones replaced Dafydd Evans at scrum half, and Neil Elworthy replaced Gethin Davies. Led by Dai Jones and well supported by Elworthy, the intensity of the Emlyn defence increased as time and again Beddau were tackled behind the gain line as they tried to gain ground. Joel James showed his tremendous ability by turning over the ball in the contact area and Thomson and Mike Jones were always in support of the ball carrier.

With ten minutes to go the game took another twist when from deep inside their own half Beddau attacked down their left wing. A kick ahead by winger Morgan Williams looked to be covered by the Emlyn defence. The ball however bounced up into Williams’ hands and he passed inside to the supporting Withers who crossed for a try which he converted himself.

Emlyn, however, were not to be denied this victory and with the fresh legs of Jones and Elworthy driving the visitors backwards in the scrum, Beddau struggled to get any good ball in the face of some ferocious Emlyn play. The tension was palpable in the crowd and the players, as the seconds ticked by. Into injury time Beddau were penalised at a scrum just inside their own half. Everyone thought the best option was to kick to touch and run the clock down especially as the Emlyn line out was working so well. However skipper Williams and Leonard had other ideas and the full back opted to go for the posts. The kick only just missed and was caught by centre Hywel Chatham, who immediately counter attacked and burst through the first line of Emlyn’s defence. Some desperate cover defence eventually forced Beddau into touch on the half way line. Ryan Morgans took the ball at the line and fed Mike Jones who had confirmed with the referee that time was up and then kicked the ball into touch. On the final whistle the packed stand rose as one to applaud a superb effort by the home side.