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British & Irish Cup round up

British & Irish Cup round up

Llandovery captain Lloyd Phillips is keeping his side’s feet firmly on the ground ahead of their final British & Irish Cup fixture on Saturday.

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The Drovers stayed top of Pool 8 and kept their hopes of progressing to the quarter finals in their own hands after a 34-12 victory over Scottish visitors Melrose last weekend.

Lyndon Lewis’ side are now five points clear of Nottingham in second place and will travel to play their nearest rivals next Saturday with real hope of making the last eight. Phillips though, is refusing to get carried away.

“It was a superb result as we got the five points we needed,” he said.

“We’re now five points clear of Nottingham but we can’t go up there and play with half measures.

“We need to play our attacking game and play for the win as we did on Saturday. We went out with the game plan to run the ball from anywhere, the more open the game the better for us.

“The conditions were fantastic and we got the job done, but we need one more point.”

The Llandovery backs had been the key factor in the 29-14 win over Melrose at the Greenyards before Christmas and they were again a threat with ball in hand.

But it took a first half yellow card for Melrose flanker Hamish Watson to swing the game in the home side’s favour. In his absence, Llandovery soon took advantage with tries from prop Dean Howells and skipper Lloyd Phillips. Fly half James Garland converted both scores, adding to two earlier penalties.

Livewire scrum half Rhodri Williams and wing Aaron Warren both added converted tries either side of the interval to secure the bonus point.

With the game won, the home side then went off the boil when both flanker Shaun Miles and centre Matthew Jacobs were yellow carded giving the Scots the chance to hit back. And although they crossed for two tries, the Drovers cruised to victory.

Pontypridd were also in with a chance of qualification but that now looks unlikely after a 21-9 loss away to Leinster.

All the points came in an entertaining first half with fly half Dai Flanagan kicking three penalties for Dale McIntosh’s side. Sadly for them though, their opponents crossed for two tries of their own to give them a healthy advantage. And although Ponty battled hard, Leinster now look like the favourites to progress from Pool 5.

Elsewhere, Bridgend, Neath and Carmarthen Quins were all winners in their respective Welsh derbies. The Ravens edged out Cardiff at the Arms Park for a morale boosting away win, Jamie Murphy once again the scourge of the Blue and Blacks kicking 16 points.

At Bridge Field, Premiership leaders Bedwas were surprisingly beaten 9-17 by Neath. Both sides fielded experimental line ups but the Welsh All Blacks outscored their opponents three tries to nil to secure the win.

Jack Maynard crossed for a try and kicked two conversions and a penalty as Carmarthen secured a cup double over Swansea with a 8-17 win at St Helens.

In the other all Welsh fixture, the Gwent derby clash between Cross Keys and Newport ended all square at Rodney Parade. Keys outscored the home side by four tries to three though with neither side able to qualify for the quarter finals, both sets of fans had to settle for a 27-27 draw.

At the Talbot Athletic Ground, Aberavon put in a courageous display against Munster but were edged out 14-18 while Llanelli were winners away at Gala.

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