The Division 1 East outfit ran in seven tries with flying wing Rhys Griffiths and scrum half Matthew Pound each crossing twice as Cyw went over for seven touchdowns. It was Griffiths who claimed the first try after rounding his marker following a strong run down the flank, and he then set up centre Chris Howe who sprinted 40 metres to cross under the posts.
Flanker Stuart Nation bagged the third try after a superb handling move to make it 24-9 in Cyw’s favour at the break. With the wind now at their backs in the second half, the Plate holders were never going to let up and hooker Luke O’Driscoll added to further scores from Griffiths and Pound as Cyw ran out deserved winners.
They still face tough opposition in the next round as Division 1 West leaders Glynneath also made it through after a tough encounter at Seven Sisters. The boot of centre Jack O’Reilly was the difference as he slotted 11 of his side’s points in a 16-7 victory at Maes Dafydd. The struggling Division 2 West side’s only score came from a touchdown wide out but they still made the visitors work hard for the victory.
High-flying Llantrisant, who are having a good season in Division 2 East, were far too strong for a Wattstown outfit from Division 3 South East. The Cefn Mably side romped through 74-10 to remain on course to beat last season’s efforts when they reached the quarter-finals.
Last year’s runner-up at the Millennium Stadium Plate final were Rhydyfelin, but they will not be back at the iconic venue in May after losing 29-17 at Riverside Park to Rumney.
Loughor, Division 1 West, entertained neighbours Dunvant of Division 2 West and league positions were made to count as Loughor recorded a 22-5 success. It ws the same story for Ystrad Rhondda, of Division 1 East, who went through to the third round after a 36-17 victory over Division 2 East’s Mountain Ash at Gelligaled Parc.
The Squirrels of Rhiwbina gained another Division 1 East scalp after soundly defeating the Foxes of Bedlinog 25-0 at Caedelyn Park. Star of the show in a rain-soaked encounter was Gareth McCarthy who opened the scoring with a try which he also converted.
Five minutes later, forward power led to skipper Nick Howell crossing and although McCarthy missed the conversion he soon added a penalty to make it 15-0 at the interval. He was at it again in the second period when he raced through the visitors defence to touch down under the posts at the Fire Station end, taking his final tally up to 20 points in a superb victory for the Division 1 East leaders.
