Merthyr will host RGC 1404 and Aberavon will entertain Bedwas in the semi-finals of the battle for the Principality Premiership crown after a great final round of Tier 1 action.Merthyr won at Ebbw Vale to finish top of the table and stay on course to add to their WRU National Championship title from last year. They will meet another of the newly promoted sides, the WRU National Cup winners RGC 1404, at The Wern in the semi-finals.
Aberavon, who finished the first half of the season at the top of the table, beat Bedwas to clinch the second home semi-final against the same opposition. Bedwas have already won the Foster’s Challenge Cup and, like RGC, will be chasing a league and cup double.
The top three sides were already safely into the play-offs and the only doubt on the final weekend was whether
Pontypridd could hold onto fourth place or if RGC or Ebbw Vale to overtake them. In the end, reigning champions Ebbw Vale were beaten 35-26 at home by Merthyr and RGC completed a hat-trick of wins over Ponty with a 35-18 triumph at Sardis Road.
“We felt that if we didn’t get a big enough gap they were always going to have a period of play when they got enough possession to make it pay. To be fair to them they did that at the start of the second half,” admitted RGC head coach Mark Jones.
“The intercept try was the pressure release we needed at that time. We managed to recompose ourselves, get some subs on to settle the ship and get back to business
“It was a great spectacle for the neutral and a great game to be a part of. Now we are looking to move on to the next stage now.”
It was the centre Tiaan Loots who released the pressure on RGC as he raced 75 metres to score the vital try that guided the Gogs to a third win of the season over Pontypridd and earned them a play-off place.
Their 37-18 victory pushed them ahead of their hosts and into the top four to set up a semi-final with table-topping Merthyr – a repeat of the WRU National Cup semi-final that the Gogs won so dramatically last month.
With Aberavon having beaten Bedwas to claim the second home semi-final it was down to the winners at Sardis Road to bag the fourth and final play-off place. The game was hanging in the balance after Dale Stuckey had crossed for his second try in the second half to haul Ponty back to within seven points.
The home side went all-out for the try that would have earned them at least a draw, and a play-off place, but Loots picked up a loose pas in his 22 and sped to the other end of the pitch for his second try to secure a bonus point and make victory safe.
The Gogs led 18-6 at the break after restricting the home side to two penalties. Tries from centre Tom Hughes and Loots and eight points from the boot of Jacob Botica put the side that had beaten Ponty in the WRU National Cup final in the driving seat.
But then came the home revival with those two Stuckey tries either side of a third RGC score from a rolling maul by Henri Williams. Hughes then added a fifth try to wrap things up and set up a semi-final between two of that last season’s Championship sides.
Aberavon guaranteed themselves a home semi-final with a 28-9 victory over Bedwas at the Talbot Athletic Ground – and now the two teams will have to do it all over again n the semi-final.
The home side jumped ahead of their opposition in the table in the process as they outscored Bedwas by three tries to none with fly-half James Garland controlling the game. Garland is an experienced campaigner at this level, and he ended the 80 minutes with 13 points.
The visitors, who have had an impressive league campaign, moved into an early 6-0 lead thanks to two penalties from James Dixon, but the Wizards soon hit back to take control. Rowan Jenkins, Ieuan Davies and David Pritchard all crossed for first-half tries, Garland adding a pair of conversions and kicking a penalty for a 22-9 interval advantage.
Bedwas’ only response was a third penalty from Dixon as they turned around with plenty to do. With the game Aberavon’s to throw away, the start of the second period was a muted affair. Both teams tested their opposition’s defence, but it took until the 63rd minute for a further score.
Garland’s third penalty of the day was essentially the nail in Bedwas’ coffin, and even a yellow card for prop Alex Jeffries failed to stop Aberavon’s momentum. It meant they came out on top in comfortable fashion and can go into the play-offs in confident mood after Steffen Williams’ late penalty put the gloss on victory in the final minute.
Ebbw Vale’s reign as Principality Premiership champions came to an end with their 35-26 defeat and their mantle could yet pass to Merthyr, whose bonus-point win at Eugene Cross Park confirmed them as the top ranked team in Tier 1.
It means last season’s WRU National Championship winners are two wins away from adding the Premiership crown to their collection. They will have home advantage over bogey side RGC 1404 at The Wern in the semi-finals after the Gogs claimed fourth place with a win at Pontypridd.
Martyn Thomas gave Merthyr a flying start with an interception try from virtually his own line and Dean Gunter added the extras. The Steelmen used their pack to stay in touch in what was skipper Damian Hudd’s last game in charge.
Joe Franchie turned a five metre driving line-out into a score and Jonathan Davies picked up a pushover try at a scrum. In between those tries Tom Daley raced over for Merthyr’s second which Gunter converted to give the visitors a 14-12 interval lead.
The Ironmen took firm control in the third quarter as the outstanding Gunter kicked two penalties and then converted a try by his half-back partner Justin James to open up a 15 point lead. Ebbw Vale used their pack to hit back with a penalty try at a scrum and Josh Lewis added his second conversion.
Gunter steadied the ship for Merthyr with a penalty and then Adam Hoskins made the game safe with a bonus-point try before Ronnie Kynes grabbed a consolation score at the death for the former champions.
There was little other than local pride riding on the Tier 1 clash between Llandovery and Carmarthen Quins at Church Banks and the Drovers stole the show with four first-half tries to wrap-up their bonus-point before the break.
But having raced into a 28-5 interval lead, the home side had to withstand a spirited fightback from Carmarthen Quins, who conjured up two tries in the first six minutes of the second half to cut the gap to nine points to breathe new life into the contest.
Jack Parkinson got Llandovery off to a flying start with a try in the first minute. Jack Maynard converted that one and then added the extras to a try 10 minutes later from wing Aaron Warren.
Steff Marshall hit back with a try for Quins midway through the first-half, but Duane Eager and Dean Howells ensured the bonus-point was safely in the bag before half-time with two further tries. Maynard converted them both.
There was an explosive start to the second half as the powerful Quins pack picked up a penalty try two minutes after the re-start and the Drovers lost lock Joe Powell to a yellow card. The visitors needed no second invitation to make their numerical advantage count and four minutes later hooker Rhodri Clancy crossed which Marshall again converted to make it 28-19.
Llandovery got to grips with the game once again when they were back up to 15 and full back Tomi Lewis raced over for a try on the hour that made the game safe and delivered a 33-19 victory.
