Referee Dewi Phillips’ ran out of patience with all the niggle in the first half and showed Joe Simpson and Matt Dodd a yellow card apiece. Then he issued a further yellow to Swansea’s Cameron Jones at the death and sent-off home forward Billy McQueeny for throwing a punch.
James Davies opened the scoring with a penalty for Swansea before the home side went ahead against the run of play when Sam Williams, celebrating his 50th game for the Gogs, made a break from a ruck and fed Efan Jones, who raced clear to score.
A mistake by the visitors, who kicked possession dead thinking it was half time, gifted RGC with a late attack, from which Cross took a crash ball to score. That sucker punch gave RGC the upper hand and allowed them to go on to clinch a bonus-point win.
The second half began much like the first with Swansea mounting a number of promising attacks through their pacey backline, but hopes began to fade when Gareth J Rees was shown a yellow card for a professional foul.
Moments later, Dion Jones kicked deep into the Whites’ 22 with the penalty and a well worked lineout saw Cross sprinted home to score his second try. The visitors kept things interesting when Sam Matthews made a break on the wing and fed Gareth O Rees, who backed his pace to score in the corner.
But Swansea’s discipline let them down in the closing stages and a quick tap penalty by Ollie Wynn saw Dion Jones squeeze over for a try. The Whites complete their season with a trip to Pontypridd on Saturday for a game that will determine which of them finishes one off the bottom of the table.
Scorers: RGC 1404: Tries: D Cross 2, E Jones, D Jones. Cons: D Jones 2. Swansea: Tries: Gareth O Rees. Con: J Davies. Pen: J Davies.
