The sun shone, the fans poured through the gates and while he cooked the burgers and sold the beer the 1st XV went about demolishing their local rivals Llandaff North 34-12 in the WRU’s innovative ‘Pathway to Participation’ Bowl competition.
There were more than 300 people packed around the field as the club followed up their visit the previous weekend by Scott Quinnell and his Lions Sky van with another carnival atmosphere. Rugby was back with a vengeance!
“It was a cracking day with a big crowd and a great result for us. It is just nice to see rugby back on the calendar and it was a real derby fixture,” said Williams.
“The playing surface was magnificent and it was a good standard of rugby. Now we are just looking forward to the rest of the season. Rugby was taken away from us and everyone wants to get back to either playing or supporting. It’s what we all love and it is what we all aspire to be a part of.
“We have had more people come back to us since the lockdown ended and there is a greater appetite for the game than ever before. There is some data out there that after the WW2 there was a mini-boom with more players coming back to play and, fingers crossed, that will continue.”
Llandaff’s new dressing rooms
The game also saw the club’s new £100,000 investment in bigger and better changing rooms used for the first time in a competitive situation. Williams believes clubs need to continually look at, and potentially update, their facilities to ensure they are competitive in the quality they are offering.
“Rugby is in the entertainment business and you need to have really good facilities to attract players and fans alike. We will continue to spend on our clubhouse to ensure we are offering the best possible experience for our members,” he added.
“We spent some money over the enforced break and it really was a good time to get the work done. It meant we were able to christen our new dressing rooms and now we can look forward to having two teams at home every week, which will be a real bonus for us.”
On the field the players and referee had to not only contend with the baking conditions, but also a number of new law variations. The first try of the match came from a classic example of how to utilise the new 50:22 regulation, with the home full back catching a clearance kick just inside his own half and kicking an inch perfect reply deep into the North 22 to pick up an attacking line-out throw that was turned into a try.
For referee Gareth Butler it was a second run out of the season and he was full of praise for the players and spectators for the way in which they embraced the new laws.
“It was a very good game, very open and very positive. The players behaved very well and it was a good spectacle of rugby,” said Butler.
“The reception I’ve had so far has been very good given the changes in the laws and some of the COVID stipulations. Trying to remember what the laws used to be, compared to what they are now, has been a bit testing
“It has required a little bit of education on the field. Everybody has missed rugby for the past 18 months and the games have so far been played in very good spirits.
“Fitness was one of the challenges all referees faced, especially as I probably ate too much during the lockdown, but so was the need to regain the mental speed required to keep up with match situations. We probably went to bed reading up on the law variations to prepare us for the return and I think we are all pretty much there now”
Most clubs have had at least a month of training under their belts and have been planning for their return to competitive action in the cup competitions ahead of welcoming back full blown National League fixtures later in the season.
As with any local derby, there was no quarter asked or given and the second half resolve displayed by Gareth Harrison’s Llandaff North side after they had conceded two interception tries, and gone into the interval trailing 22-0, was there for all to see.
“We’re not going to get nilled in this game,” were the skipper’s stern words in his half-time team talk. They weren’t and ended up drawing the second half 12-12, as well as having two other attempts to score held up on the home line.
“This was our first proper game back and for some of us it was a first outing in 18 months. We can only get better from here,” said North player-coach, Owen Marshall.
Llandaff North skipper Gareth Harrison
“We couldn’t get out of second gear today and those two interceptions killed us. One of them was a 14 point turn around because we were looking to score five metres out from their line.
“We couldn’t work our way around their defensive line, which worked very well. This is a game that everyone wants to play in, and in which nobody wants to get nilled, and we got back on the front foot a bit more in the second half.
“We’re all still getting used to the new laws. It is a learning curve in this competition and then after Christmas, when we get back in our normal leagues, we should have fathomed everything out.
“This competition is a great way to ease out way back into playing and the fact all our matches are local is really helping.
“The boys have been itching to play since we returned from lockdown and our training numbers have been up for 15-20 to 30-40. There have been a lot of younger boys getting involved, especially with our Youth players graduating into the senior ranks, and it is great to see so many local boys wanting to get involved in the game again.”
The Llandaff captain, centre Dave Hugo, was delighted to see his team pick up a win after their opening day defeat at Fairwater and believes there is plenty of build on as the season progresses.
Llandaff captain David Hugo
“We’ve picked up where we left off, although it is going to take a while before everyone completely understands the new laws. That’s why the WRU’s phased approach on returning to action has been so good,” said Dave Hugo.
“By the time we get back into a full league programme I think everyone, players, coaches, referees and fans, will be good to go. It is a bit hard on the body at the moment coming back into full contact after almost two years without a game.
“Our first try was a perfect example of how to use the new 50:22 law. We’ve all seen it in rugby league, with their 40:22 rule, and we just need to get used to the possibilities the new variations offer us.
“Hopefully it will promote more attacking play because looking back on the Lions tour there was so much kicking it got a bit boring to watch. It you are able to kick into the right positions, and get the ball back straight away, it could be good for the game.
“Fair play to Llandaff North, they kept piling on the pressure in the second half and made it very difficult for us.”
The home hero was outside half Dan Henderson, who scored 14 points including the final try. he is also the club’s latest international player, having played for Qatar while he was in the Gulf state working as a rugby development officer.
Llandaff faced Canton in their next game on 28 August, a fixture that dates all the way back to their earliest days in the 1870s, while Llandaff North host Caerau Ely at home on 21 August.
