While Horgan and Llewellyn made a heap of changes in their side to travel to Eugene Cross Park to run the rule over their whole squad, opposite number Nigel Davies did much the same as he made eight changes from the team that had beaten Newport the previous weekend.
There was little continuity in the early part of the game and it took the Steelmen a long time to get on top up front. Right wing Steffan Jones opened the scoring with a try that rounded off a period of sustained pressure from the home side and Iain Smerdon’s conversion made it 8-0.
They were all the points the two sides could muster in a first-half that was increasingly dominated by the home side. Neath lost centre Dean Howell to a yellow card in the second half, but were then let off the hook when Smerdon missed with a 45 metre penalty.
The tension was mounting among the home fans as they saw their side squander chances, but they were given a gem of a score to applaud when Jones rounded off a brilliant back line move for his second try. Smerdon converted to make it 16-0 and then Neath lost replacement prop Ieuan Dobbs to the sin-bin.
The game was rounded off with a typical catch and drive try from the Ebbw Vale pack, with Joe Franchi picking up the credit. The only disappointment in the end was they didn’t manage to secure a bonus point.
Two tries from experienced hooker Ashleigh James helped Pontypridd hold off a spirited Newport 44-38 at Rodney Parade, although there Ws some consolation for the home side as they picked up two bonus points.
Ponty proved too strong up front and clinched the win thanks to James’ brace and tries from Corey Domachowski, Rhys Shellard, Wayne O’Connor and a penalty try. The win extended the league leaders’ winning start.
Newport broke the deadlock when wing Wes Cunliffe surged through a gap in the Ponty defence to notch the first home six point try and Arwel Robson converted. Ponty hit back through James’ first try but veteran outside-half Ceri Sweeney’s conversion struck the post.
Prop Domachowski then wriggled over and Sweeney kicked the extras. The Black and Ambers could not handle the power of the Ponty pack and they were punished again before the interval. Referee Rhys Thomas whistled for a penalty try, which extended the visitors’ advantage to 22-8. Newport back-rower Rhys Jenkins was sin-binned for the infringement.
Ponty began the second half as they ended the first. James grabbed his second of the game from another driving maul, Sweeney converting.
Second-half tries from Barney Nightingale, the Wales Under 20 centre’s third in as many games, Ryan James, Ollie Griffiths and replacement Craig Attwell brought the hosts within range, but Shellard and O’Connor’s late tries helped the visitors weather Newport’s second-half storm and clinch victory.
A Stuart Worrall try finished off Bridgend as Llandovery claimed a comfortable win at the Brewery Field, 40-14. Flanker Worrall touched down from a line-out drive mid-way through the second half to clinch a bonus-point victory.
And Jack Maynard, who scored 16 points, added a fifth try to maintain a near-perfect start to the season. Scott Hicks crashed over in the final seconds but Bridgend are still looking for their first win.
Trailing 26-6, they briefly threatened a recovery when the Drovers pack was reduced to six men following yellow cards to lock Matthew Harbut and then No 8 Richard Brooks, either side of half-time.
Yet the Ravens still could not make the advantage count despite winning a series of penalties from the scrum. Breaks by Bennett, also binned in the first half, and Adam O’Driscoll went unfinished.
But it was Bridgend’s poor tackling in the first-half that cost them. A quickly-taken penalty handed Will Thomas an easy finish inside seven minutes, but then a blunder by the Drovers full-back’s was pounced upon by Mike Powell and Bridgend No 8 Ifrelemi Boladau rumbled over from 10 metres out.
Llandovery scrum-half Lee Rees responded within minutes and centre Craig Woodall followed before half-time.
Three first-half yellow cards blew any hopes Llanelli held of ending their winless run as they were beaten 30-24 at home by a resurgent Cardiff. Jack Condy, Rhys Thomas and Jordan Williams were all sent to the sin-bin in the space of nine disastrous minutes for the home side at Parc y Scarlets.
That left Llanelli with just 12 players on the pitch for a few moments and gift-wrapped victory for Cardiff. Kirby Myhill and Josh Macleod crossed either side of half-time in a second-half fight-back for the home team, but Chris Knight finished another attack to clinch a bonus-point for the Blue & Blacks.
It had started brightly for Llanelli when Stephen Shingler kicked the opening points, but it swiftly went downhill from then for the hosts. Johnathan Edwards crossed for Cardiff on 22 minutes before the hosts imploded.
No8 Condy was binned for a late shoulder charge on impressive full-back Harry Davies and the prop Thomas then followed and conceded a penalty try at a scrum five metres from Llanelli’s try line. And wing Williams saw the third yellow card, sliding into a challenge foot-first, as Knight went for the line.
Condy was then at the heart of a home revival but Knight touched down before Owain Morgan claimed what looked an unlikely losing bonus with a last-minute try.
The deadly duo of Stefan Andrews and Morgan Williams helped Aberavon to a third win in a row as they triumphed 16-12 at Carmarthen Quins. The creative Wizards wings proved the difference to claim the points in a tight game at Carmarthen Park.
The win maintains Aberavon’s unbeaten start to the season after previous wins over Bedwas and Cardiff, though this was their toughest test yet. Wing Andrews added to last week’s try with an 11th minute score that was converted by fly-half James Garland.
Quins recovered from the early blow and edged their way back into contention through their forwards. Scarlets playmaker Aled Thomas – in the side for Craig Evans – halved the deficit with two penalties and Aberavon led 8-4 at half-time.
Garland added a penalty of his own after the break, before Williams caught Quins and sped clear to score and give Aberavon breathing space at 16-4. The visitors’ comfortable lead did not last long, though, as the Quins reduced the deficit to four points with a converted try from centre Iolo Evans that clinched a losing bonus point.
Starting their season with three successive home games, Quins will be disappointed with a return of just one win, and they face a tricky task this weekend when they travel to table-topping Pontypridd.
