Three second half tries from Gareth Bateman, Kyle Taylor and Ceri Young hauled the Welsh All Blacks back into contention and had Dai Langdon hammered home the final conversion the game would have been tied.
Cardiff led 23-7 at the break thanks to tries from Wales sevens star Richard Smith and Ben Roach. Jack Maynard converted both of them and also added two –penalties and a drop goal.
Hot on the heels of his match winning hat-trick last weekend, Dan Fish ran in a third try for the visitors, but that was all they could muster in the second half. Neath grew in confidence and it was all the Blue and Blacks could do to hang onto their lead.
Newport hit Swansea for six at Rodney Parade as they beat the All Whites 52-28 in a game of nine tries. Half a dozen of them came to the home side, who were only one score ahead at 25-20 at the break.
But while the visitors could only add an Aled Jenkins try to their total in the second half, Newport ran riot as they added a further 27 points. Prop Dai Paterson, Dale Rogers, Matt O’Brien, Tyler Morgan, Elliot Frewn and Ashton Hewitt grabbed the home tries and Geraint O’Driscoll weighed in with 22 points with the boot.
IRB Junior World Player of the Year Sam Davies kicked 13 points for Swansea and tries came from Nicky Thomas, Sam Pailor and Jenkins.
The boot of Scarlets outside half Aled Thomas proved crucial in Carmarthen Quins’ 24-17 home win over Cross Keys as he stroked over four penalties and a conversion for a match tally of 14 points. Jason Harris and Will Boyd grabbed the home tries in a game that saw the Quins build on a 14-11 half-time lead the take the points that guided them to the top of the table.
Former table toppers Pontypridd lost they seat at the top after drawing 27-27 at Llandovery in an epic tussle. The home side mounted a mighty second half challenge after trailing 12-7 at the break and tries from James Garland and Lee Rees took them clear at 27-22.
But Ponty, who had scored tries through Garyn Smith, Jake Thomas and Dafydd Lockyear earlier in the game, conjured up one final attack to try to maintain their unbeaten record. Craig Locke crossed for the vital try to bring the scores level, but Simon Humberstone couldn’t hit the mark with what would have been a match winning conversion.
James Dixon found his goalkicking range, however, in Bridgend’s 34-16 home win over the ailing Wizards of Aberavon. He kicked 19 points to add to a brace of tries from Tom Grabham and a penalty try.
Cardiff just hold off Neath fightback
Neath made Cardiff miss a few heartbeats in the closing stages of their Principality Premiership game at The Gnoll as they slashed their 16 point half-time deficit to a mere two points at the death.
