Dan Fish joined the back of a driving maul to poach the vital try in the last move of the match to ensure the Blue & Blacks headed home will a full-house of points and had the conversion gone over RGC 1404 would have got nothing out of the game.
Having raced into a 10 point lead, thanks to an Alex Everett try and conversion and penalty from Gareth Thompson, Cardiff then conceded two tries in five minutes to home wing Rhys Tudor before the break to find themselves trailing 17-10.
A driving line-out try from hooker Ethan Lewis then allowed them to level matters before Barney Nightingale scrambled over after going down in a tackle on the 22 and then getting back up to regain the lead at 24-17. Back came RGC with a hat-trick try from man of the match Tudor and that cut the gap to two points.
RGC, playing into the strong wind in the second half, were unable to find a way to unlock the Cardiff defence one final time and conceded a fourth try themselves in the final play of the game as the visitors’ powerful driving maul earned replacement outside half Fish an unlikely score.
Diggy Bird held his nerve to slot a last-gasp conversion to enable Pontypridd to run out 23-21 winners at the Brewery Field.
Bridgend looked to have done enough to take the points until Ponty try machine Dale Stuckey raced in for the try that levelled the scores to leave Bird needed to kick the conversion to win the game.
The home team shot into a 13 point lead in the first quarter. Two Owen Howe penalties were interspersed by a try by scrum half Chris Williams on a snap counter from a turnover of possession.
Ponty then muscled their way back into contention, outside half Ben Jones kicking a penalty before hooker Nathan Huish burrowed over from close range for a try that cut the gap to 13-8 at the break.
The visitors’ turned up the heat in the second half and wing Alex Webber went over in the corner to level the scores. Undeterred, the Ravens hit back through skipper Nathan Edwards, who burst through to score.
The home lead was trimmed by a Bird penalty, but Owen Howe responded with a penalty of his own to make it 21-16. Then came Stuckey’s late try and Bird’s heartbreaking conversion for the home fans.
Carmarthen Quins were too strong for Swansea as they ran out 21-12 victors thanks to tries from Morgan Griffiths and Osian Knott. The home side struck first against the run of play when a Leon Randall break cleared the way for Griffiths to score.
The Quins then grabbed their second try when centre Nick Reynolds set-up Knott for a run to the posts. Jack Wilson added a brace of penalties for the home side before Swansea managed to gain a foothold in the match with a try from Phil Jones.
Wilson added another penalty before Swansea finished with a flourish with a corner try from Ryan Griffiths.
Former Wales U20 and Cardiff Blues scrum half Dane Blacker struck twice for Llanelli to steer them to their first win of the season.
Having gone all the way to the play-off game against Championships winners Pontypool to retain their Premiership status last season, Llanelli had had to wait until last weekend to notch their first point of this campaign with a try bonus in a home defeat to RGC.
Seven days later they went one better by not only scoring four tries once again, but also dominating a wind-blown affair at Eugene Cross Park. They scored within the first minute, led 12-3 at the break after first use of the strong breeze and then added two more tries in the second half.
Llanelli full back Tom Rogers made the running for the opening try for left wing Aaron Grabham inside the opening 60 seconds, but Dan Haymond replied with a penalty for the Steelmen. Then Llanelli conjured up a second try for their other wing, Kallum Evans which Ioan Hughes converted.
Home outside half Dai Langdon and Llanelli tight head Alex Jefferies saw yellow just before the break after a fracas and a magnificent try saving tackle on Grabham by Paul King kept the half-time deficit to nine points.
The Steelmen started the second half in similar fashion to Llanelli in the first as they worked Euan Rosser over at the posts for a try that Haymond improved. Then came a brace from Blacker and seven points from the boot of Hughes to seal the deal for the visitors.
