Their 31-14 victory over a spirited Gowerton side included tries from Taylor Coles, Gabe Williams, and Sion Hill, as well as 16 points from the boot of the Go.Compare Player of the Match, Lloyd Lucas.
It was Lucas’ second visit to the home of Welsh rugby this season after he ended up on the losing side in the WSC Rugby final with Ysgol Glantaf in their defeat to Llandovery College. But this time he ended up a winner, to go with his triumph with Cardiff Schools in the Dewar Shield final in 2022.
He had hoped to have been playing for Wales U18 in the Six Nations Festival in Parma, partnering his Glantaf half-back colleague Sion Davies, but just missed out on selection. He made up for that disappointment by skillfully guiding the Quins to an emphatic victory.
Quins were reduced to 14 men on two occasions as wing Tom Drinkwater-Evans, in the first half, and then hooker Louie Ions in the second, were both shown yellow cards. Despite that they had more than enough to keep Gowerton at bay.
Gowerton made proceedings difficult at times and two tries from outside half Iwan Pearce-Morgan were no less than they deserved. Skipper John Mann’s trusty boot improved them both, but that was as good as it got for the Swansea side.
Lucas opened up the scoring with the first of his four penalties when Gowerton were penalties for rolling away at the ruck. The Quins’ centre was then involved in the making of the opening try of the game after a brilliant kick into the corner.
This was followed by Quins successfully regathering at the lineout and hooker Cole benefitting from a well-rehearsed driving maul on the 15-minute mark. Lucas added the extras to extend the Quins lead further.
Lucas then added another three points from 40 metres to make it 13-0. At that stage the points were coming against the run of the game territorially, but the Quins were being far more precise than their ill-disciplined rivals.
When Drinkwater-Evans went to the sin-bin for a high tackle, Gowerton piled on the pressure and centre Jack Wilcox broke through before offloading to Pearce-Morgan who crossed for a much-needed try. Mann’s successful conversion cut the gap to six points.
Quins ended a very competitive first-half on a high with lock Gabe Williams stretching to claim his side’s second try. For once, Lucas missed the target, but his side still went into the break with an 11 point advantage.
Lucas opened the second half with another penalty to further extend his side’s lead as the Quins continued to dominate. Hill was next to score, taking a quick tap penalty before powering over for a try that Lucas once again improved.
However, after finally mounting some pressure on the Quins defence, Pearce-Morgan stepped back inside to score his second of the match after great handling skills from the Gowerton backline. Mann added the extras to narrow the lead and then saw Ions pick up a second yellow for the Quins.
This time Gowerton weren’t able to make their numerical advantage pay, and that man Lucas landed another long-range effort to keep the Quins moving on the scoreboard. That was game, set and match to the Cardiff club, whose senior side make an appearance at Principality Stadium next weekend in the Division 3 Cup final.
Gowerton: Cameron Bevan; Garan Jenkins, Jack Wilcox, John Mann (captain), Dan Dennis; Iwan Pearce Morgan, Ben Hughes; Aled Malpas, James Tucker, Jayden Maybank, Finn Lewis, Alfie Davies, Elis Graham, Ivor Lewis, James Wells
Reps: Ryan Blyth, Conor Green, Josh Anderson, Ollie Lewis, Joseph Jones, Ioan Richards, Noah Carmichael, Jake DaviesCardiff Quins: Gethin Marshall; Ryan Watts, Kobey Tatham, Lloyd Lucas, Tom Drinkwater-Evans; Tom Payne, Joe Gill; Regan Guerin, Taylor Coles, Sion Hill, Ellis Dawkins, Gabe Williams, Tyler Dean, James Harding, Tom Cadman (captain)
Reps: Louie Ions, Owen Williams, Jake Pucknell, Will Adams, Kayden Beere. Noel Walters, Rhys WitchellGO.Compare.Com Player of the Match: Lloyd Lucas (Cardiff Quins)
