In the only game that survived the terrible weekend weather, the north Walians triumphed 11-8 to add the Wizards’ scalp to that of their near-neighbours Neath, who they beat 32-26 at The Gnoll 12 months earlier.
RGC1404 head coach Phil Davies is used to big challenges. As coach to the Namibian team at the 2015 World Cup he had to prepare his side to take on New Zealand in a pool game, so getting the RGC side ready to tackle a near full-strength Aberavon side wasn’t going to be a problem.
And it wasn’t just the quagmire pitch that enabled the SSE SWALEC Championship team to earn a ticket into the third round. They created a great try at the start of the second half, got the upper hand at the scrums and controlled the game for long periods with their kicking from half-back
“I was really proud of the way the players approached the game. There was some heroic defence in the final 10 minutes as Aberavon threw everything they had at us, but they also moved the ball well and kicked cleverly for territory,” said Davies, who recently signed on for another World Cup campaign with Namibia.
“It was a great occasion for north Wales rugby, beating the top team in the Premiership, and the local players in the side, and the crowd, were simply fantastic.”
The first half saw Danny Cross outkick James Garland by two penalties to one to give RGC a 6-3 interval lead and then South African wing Tiaan Loots sped over in the corner for a try at the start of the second half. Aberavon conjured up a try from their pack as they drove over the line with the last move of the game, but it was too little, too late.
