It simply had everything – pace, power, passion, skill and a willingness to play. Scarlets No 8 Morgan Allen and Ospreys lock Adam Beard must have felt they were involved in a high level Guinness PRO2 clash such was the intensity created by two unbeaten teams.
It left both coaches with a smile on their faces, even though Richard Kelly had to leave with only two points after suffering his first defeat. As for Aberavon’s Jason Hyatt, two interception tries apart, he was delighted to be looking down at the rest of the teams from the top of the table.
“It was a fantastic game of rugby and it is just a shame we can’t play in these kind of conditions every week. I think anyone watching that as a neutral will have enjoyed it because both teams went at it hammer and tongs for 80 minutes,” said Hyatt
“The Quins like to play an open brand of rugby and kept plying from start to finish. We conceded two tries through interceptions and we need to learn how to get the balance right in our game.
“You don’t want to batten down the hatches and stop players having the freedom to make offloads – nothing ventured, nothing gained. We have got a great squad here with a great work ethic and things are getting better and better each week.”
They certainly are and after three rounds the Wizards are well on their way to making the top eight to qualify for the second half battle for the Premiership title. They host Bargoed this weekend and then face a tough October with trips to fellow unbeaten side RGC1404, Cardiff and Cross Keys mixed in with home games against Llanelli and arch-rivals Neath.
As for the Quins, who reached the Swalec Cup final last season yet only won six out of 22 league games to finish one off the bottom, they have transformed their front five with the return from Glasgow Warriors of tight head prop Javan Sebastian and the introduction of livewire hooker Torin Myhill.
They also know their way to the try line and picked up five tries to ensure they left with two bonus points after a great shift away from home. No wonder, then, that skipper Hadyn Pugh was quietly content with his side’s efforts.
“It was a fantastic game and we’ve come to a very difficult place and got two points. Between 65-75 minutes we switched off and let them through, but we have come a long way compared to last season’s performances,” said Pugh.
“Our kicking game put us on top in the first half and our set piece put pressure on them. We went ahead, but we need to learn how to hang on to a lead.”
Something had to give in the sunshine between two of the five unbeaten teams heading into round three and the fans were not only treated to 11 tries, but also 71 points before the Wizards came out on top with a 38-33 win.
The Quins put in a mighty display that saw them lead by two tries to one at the break, and then move 19-7 clear 10 minutes into the second half with a third try. Two of those scores went to former Rugby world Cup Sevens winner Lee Williams, the first a 40 metre interception.
The home side fought hard to get back into it and edged their noses in front 26-19 thanks to a hat-trick of tries from their pack – flanker Joe Tomalin-Reeves, prop Alex Jeffries and No 8 Luke Joseph – but with six minutes to go Rhys Williams powered his way over at the posts for a try which Josh Batcup converted to level the scores.
Quins then crucially lost powerhouse lock Pugh to a yellow card and Aberavon bagged a push-over try for lock Sam Williams which James Garland converted off the touchline. Matthew Jacobs added a sixth try in the other corner, but the Quins had the final say with a Kieran Jones try that earned them two bonus points and made it four tries in the final 10 minutes of a game that will live long in the memory.
