The Drovers had done well to restrict the Steelmen to a five point interval lead with first use of the driving wind and rain, but simply couldn’t find a way to do any more than earn a 10-10 draw.
“It felt more like a loss than a draw and it was a very disappointed dressing room. It certainly felt more than a five point wind and we just felt that had we got in front we would have won the game,” said Evans.
“We have had a lot of wet weather this season and getting ahead is vital. We just haven’t been able to grind out victories in those conditions.”
Conditions could hardly have been any worse for either side and a draw was probably a fair result for the hard work put in by both sets of players. The draw meant the Steelmen were able to close the two point gap at the bottom of the Premiership table between themselves and Bridgend and stay in the fight for survival.
The visitors had first use of the elements and despite dominating territory found themselves falling behind to a try by home wing Jordan Evans after a neat midfield break by Jack Maynard. The lead didn’t last long, though, as a powerful Ebbw scrum earned them a penalty try from referee Elgan Williams.
The visitors maintained the pressure as the elements got worse, but could only add a 40 metre penalty from full back Ryan Evans to their tally before the break. Their five point lead didn’t look like being enough, but all the Drovers could muster in the second half was a kick from a charge down by centre Rhodri Jones.
Maynard couldn’t add the extras and was then off target with a hit and hope effort from two metres inside his own half near the end.
The power of the Merthyr pack shoved Bridgend to a 29-12 defeat and earned the home side a fourth win in a row to keep them in the hunt for a top three finish.
The Ironmen took ample revenge for their 17-12 defeat at the Brewery Field in October as they worked their way into a 19-0 interval lead to put the game pretty much beyond doubt by the break. Bridgend scored twice in the second half, but there were never any real thoughts of a similar five try second half revival as they mounted the previous weekend.
With Ebbw Vale picking up a gritty draw at Llandovery, it means the two point cushion the Ravens had over them in the basement battle has now gone. The Steelmen also have a game in hand as the battle to avoid relegation hots up with the clash between the two teams at the Brewery Field in March looking like being a decider.
The visitors couldn’t have got off to a worse start as they lost flanker Adam O’Driscoll to a yellow card in the seventh minute and then conceded a penalty try four minutes later. The try came from a five metre scrum in which the Bridgend pack were shunted back, then wheeled before totally disintegrating.
The Ravens then lost loose head prop Rhodri Apsee to the sin-bin only a few minutes after O’Driscoll had returned and the misery mounted when home No 8 Phil Rees grabbed a second home try from a scrum and then his fellow back row forward Jake Thomas edged his way over for a third try.
Matthew Jarvis, who had converted Thomas’ try, extended the lead with a penalty four minutes after the re-start to extend the lead before Bridgend hit back with a brace of tries.
Scrum half Chris Williams finally got the visitors on the scoreboard just before the hour mark and Owen Howe added the extras. Then replacement Connor Tantum crossed with seven minutes to go.
Merthyr had the last laugh, though, when Rhys Downes crossed for the bonus point score at the death to ensure they picked up the full five points. Jarvis added the conversion and that was that.
Matt O’Brien went from hero to zero in the space of a week as he saw his late kick at Rodney Parade miss the target from 35 metres with only two and a half minutes left on the clock to allow the Wizards to steal a 10-8 victory.
At the Brewery Field six days earlier the Newport outside half had shone like a beacon with a match winning tally of 16 points in a game he eventually won for his side with a last-play kick from almost 48 metres.
Had he similarly hit the mark on his home turf, albeit on a rain sodden surface, it would surely have wrestled victory from the jaws of defeat once again. This time, though, it was not meant to be and it would have been harsh on Aberavon had they not gone away with the win.
The Wizards dominated in terms of territory and possession right from the start, yet simply couldn’t post any points for 43 frustrating minutes against some magnificent Newport defence. It took a half-time talking to from head coach Jason Hyatt to sort things out.
“We came with a lot of confidence and we had a chat at half-time in which we said we could cause them problems if we went through our phases,” revealed man of the match Aled Thomas.
“We were a bit inaccurate at times after some good build up play. We were forcing things and trying to score too early in our phases”
There was some early joy for the Black & Amber fans when the Wizards turned over ball on the 10 metre line in the home half. The ball squirted to right wing Harri Lang, who picked up, pinned back his ears and showed a clean pair of heels to everyone as he sped to the line for the opening score.
O’Brien wasn’t able to convert, but he added a penalty in the 17th minute to make it 8-0 to the home side with a kick that took him through 100 points for the season and hoisted his club tally to 859, making him the seventh highest scorer of all-time.
Conditions underfoot weren’t good and the scrums got progressively worse. The only surprise was that referee Ben Breakspear took until the 58th minute to brandish a yellow card.
By that time the Aberavon loose head prop Rowan Jenkins had done a number on Tom Piper and when the Newport tight head was finally sin-binned the game turned.
Playing into the wind in the second half it was simply a question of how long Newport could hang onto their lead. Thomas made it third time lucky with a simple penalty three minutes into the second half and then came two fateful scrums for the home team.
A piece of luck as an aimless kick ahead by flanker Lloyd Evans was touched in flight by a Newport hand gifted Aberavon a scrum five metres out. When Piper buckled under pressure from Jenkins he saw yellow.
Three scrums later on the same spot, Jenkins forced replacement prop Garin Harris to collapse and Mr Beakspear had had enough. He ran to the posts to award a penalty try and that was game, set and match with 20 minutes to play.
Pontypridd recorded only their third league victory over RGC 1404, but had to endure some nervous moments before sealing a 27-12 win at Sardis Road. Tries from Corey Shepherd, Mason Grady and Dafydd Lockyer saw them trough in the end as the Gogs could only manage two in return from Tom Hughes and Afon Bagshaw.
