The opening exchanges were pretty even but the first points of the game came from a Neath mistake. The home side spilled the ball and when Ben Roach picked up possession, he found Richard Smith on his shoulder to run in from 30 metres. Jack Maynard added the conversion.
Just three minutes later, the visitors doubled the lead. Another Neath mistake led to an attacking line out five metres out. From the set piece, Cardiff worked the ball one way then the other, before captain for the day Ellis Jenkins sent a long pass out to Roach who scored in the corner. Maynard converted superbly from wide out and then added a snap drop goal to extend the lead.
At this stage, it was all Cardiff but Neath clawed their way back into the game when Jack Jones was shunted over from a short lineout. The visitors had the last word though, Maynard landing his second penalty following the sin binning of Jones for foul play.
The second half saw a revival from the home side. Ex-Wales Students captain first Kyle Taylor went over but it wasn’t long before Cardiff pulled further clear. When the score came, its source was no surprise with inform full back Dan Fish crossing the whitewash following turnover ball.
Neath staged a late rally when Gareth Bateman and Ceri Young both crossed for late tries.
Crucially though, Dai Langdon could only convert one of those scores and the Blue and Blacks were able to see out the win in the final few minutes.
