The Black & Ambers breezed to a sixth straight win to stay two points clear of arch-rivals Cardiff at the top of the Indigo Group Premiership in what was the perfect dress rehearsal for this weekend’s game against the Blue & Blacks.
Just as Llanelli were hit by regional call-ups for the Scarlets, who headed to South Africa for two weeks of URC duty after their Saturday night win over Glasgow, so Cardiff will be low on numbers for the same reason on Saturday.
Llanelli were at least able to pick up a bonus-point for scoring two tries in each half, but their ill-discipline was the main cause of their downfall. Centre Amir Jiwa-Walji was the first to see yellow after Jon Morris had opened the scoring for the visitors and then lock Chris Long joined Newport’s Josh Skinner in a 10 minute sojourn.
Ben Roach was next over the home line to double the Newport lead in the 13th minute before Harrison Button responded immediately from the re-start. Iwan Davies adding the extras.
A driving maul try from hooker Henry Palmer kept Newport moving forwards and but opposite number Rhys Cherry got one of his own to make it 21-12 to the visitors at the break. Llanelli had to start the second half without flanker Ellis Thomas for a dangerous tackle.
That made a difficult situation all the harder and the bonus-point try for Newport came when Roach crossed for his second. Scrum half Che Hope, Skinner and Morris again completed the try-fest and Will Reed and Haydn Simons knocked over six conversions between them.
At least there was a string in the tail from Llanelli as they conjured up two late tries from Joe Hutchings to bag a morale boosting bonus-point.
The previous day Cardiff had briefly led the league after their 41-28 home win over Aberavon. It was a game that featured 26 points from young full back Jacob Beetham.
Newport may be the team everyone fears in the league, but Steve Law’s men are very much in the hunt for a title they were well placed to win pre-COVID two years ago. And in Beetham they have a young player making a huge impact in his first season on the senior circuit.
“Jake is benefitting from playing regular rugby and aside from his obvious talent, his decision making is improving as he gains experience,” said Law.
“We are losing him along with a number of other Cardiff Academy players – Theo Cabanago, Rhys Anstey, Max Llewellyn and Gwilym Bradley – for the next few weeks. That is going to put us under pressure.
“We are due to face Newport at Rodney Parade on Saturday and that is going to be a far harder challenge with so many players missing. But we’ll be back up to full strength when we meet them again in the WRU Premiership Cup on 26 March.”
It was the Wizards who drew first blood through No 8 Andrew Waite, who picked up and drove over from a scrum five metres out in the sixth minute. Aled Thomas added the conversion.
Beetham then got going and added a try and conversion to two earlier penalties to hoist his side into a 13-7 lead. Hooker Alun Rees then crossed for a second home try, which Beetham improved.
Back came Aberavon and a try from Chris Banfield, once again improved by Thomas, meant they only trailed by six points at the break. The gap was quickly bridged when they took full advantage of a yellow card to the home tight head prop, Ollie Drake, as they earned a penalty try at a scrum.
That gave them a one point lead and forced Cardiff to dig deep. They came up with a great response in the form of three tries in succession. Scrum half Ethan Lloyd, wing Theo Cabango and then Beetham again crossed the Aberavon line to bag the bonus-point and Beetham added two conversions.
Aberavon ensured they left with something as Matthew Jenkins secured a fourth try at the death which Thomas again converted.
RGC 1404 head coach Ceri Jones knows a thing or two about the scrum from his days of playing in the front row at the Dragons, Harlequins and Wales.
That’s why he was positively purring about the performance of his pack in turning a tense tussle into a solid victory in the end at Parc Eirias. The Steelmen led at the break and were well in the hunt until the home scrum took control.
“We made errors and our discipline was poor in the first half. Ebbw Vale came with more energy, which was visible early on, and we needed to come out and deliver in the second half,” said RGC head coach Ceri Jones.
“Against Swansea it was the accuracy of our driving maul that gave us the result and in this game the accuracy of our scrum was key. To pick up numerous penalties before picking up the penalty try is something that deserves to be highlighted.”
Ebbw Vale ran out of luck in the second half after looking more than capable of causing an upset on the road. Had Evan Lloyd’s penalty not struck the upright and bounced away they would have regained the lead in the second half.
They then lost replacement prop Ross Jones to a yellow card after successive scrum infringements and moments later conceded a penalty try as a result. That was the end for the Steelmen and a third home try at the death put a slightly unfair look to the final scoreline.
The first-half was a tight affair with the visitors gaining the upper hand thanks to an early penalty from Lloyd and a try from Dan Hill midway through. RGC cut the gap to two points by the break with two penalties from the reliable boot of Dion Jones.
Lloyd hit the target again at the start of the second half, but the visitors began to concede more and more penalties as the pressure began to mount.
Wing Rhys Tudor went over for the Gogs’ first try and the conversion from Jones made it 13-11. Then came the penalty miss from Lloyd and the 10 minute period of playing with 14 men for the visitors.
RGC seized their chance and Jordan Scott powered over in the wake of the penalty try, Jones converting.
Bridgend are still awaiting their first win in the Indigo Group Premiership, but at least left Carmarthen Park with a bonus-point after two late tries in a 22-17 defeat.
If it was too little, too late, it showed the fighting spirit of the Ravens under new head coach Alun Wyn Davies. With back-to-back home games coming up against RGC and Merthyr they will be aiming for better things.
The bonus-point victory for the Quins was their third over the Ravens this season and pushed them up into fourth place in the table to keep alive their hopes of reaching the end of season play-offs.
Kallum Evans raced over for a try in each half as the home team made amends for the previous weekend’s defeat at Carmarthen Park by Swansea. The bonus-point was enough to see them move ahead of Merthyr into fourth place.
Evans opened the scoring in the eighth minute to give his side the lead, but it was an advantage on which the Quins were unable to build. Owen Howe struck a penalty for the Ravens and it was tight affair from start to finish.
Lewys Millin drove over for a try that Jac Wilson converted to make it 12-3 to the home side at the break and that lead was increased when Evans was given a simple five metre run in after good work in the visitors’ 22 by the home pack.
That try went unconverted, as did the bonus-point score from full back Leon Randall that made it 22-3. Bridgend looked down and out as that elusive first win of the season moved further and further away from them.
But they never gave up and hit back with two tries to ensure they left with a losing bonus-point. The first was a penalty try from a driving line-out.
It also led to former Dragons back row start Nic Cudd picking up a yellow card. Then Lee Murphy grabbed a second try and Howe’s conversion cut the gap to five points.
You can always rely on Dale McIntosh to put things in proper perspective and for once the former Ponty legend and now Merthyr head coach wasn’t spitting feathers after seeing his side lose 19-17 at the death at Sardis Road.
Having seen his team win the last encounter between the two teams 61-32 at The Wern in October, he would have arrived at his old stamping ground hoping for more of the same. That didn’t happen, but the Ironmen were in full control of their destiny.
“I’m pleased for Ponty and gutted for us, but with the state of the world today it is just another game of rugby,” said McIntosh.
“There wasn’t much more we could have done on the attacking front. We all know that if you don’t close down Pontypridd they are going to bite you on the bum and I’m dumbfounded at how they won that game.
“It just showed their tenacity and why they are such a great club. Cowboys don’t cry, so we will just get on with it.”
McIntosh’ men got off to a flying start when they took full advantage of a line out secured by a 50-22 kick from Gareth Thompson to work Chris Phillips over for a try. Thompson added the extras before swapping penalties with Jake Lloyd.
Lloyd added a second penalty to make it 10-6 to the visitors at the break and cut the gap to a single points with a third kick at the start of the second half. But Merthyr hit back immediately when a Ben Jones run paved the way for Tom Daley to cross in the corner for a try that Thompson converted.
Then came the drama at the death that turned the game in the home side’s favour. Dale Stuckey kicked a penalty in the 73rd minute and then set up a try for Cole Swannack in the dying minutes when he seized on a forward pass in his 22 and banged the ball downfield.
He gave chase with Swannack, but the young Wales sevens cap beat him to it, hacked on and scored the try that levelled things up at 17-17. That left Stuckey with a conversion to win the game and he was bang on target.
