The Steelmen opened the scoring with an early penalty from outside half Carl Meyer, followed soon after with a try as ex-Pontypridd winger Owen Williams went over, which was duly converted by Meyer.
But this was to be the last success for Ebbw Vale as Ponty went on to score 22 unanswered points through tries from flanker Jake Thomas, fullback Dale Stuckey and No8 Dan Godfrey. Simon Humberstone converted one and kicked a penalty to give the cup holders a 22-10 triumph.
Newport, rock bottom of the Premiership, enjoyed a distraction from their torrid league form to beat Championship side Tata Steel 41-9. Two tries from Nathan Edwards gave the away side early momentum, with Geraint O’Driscoll demonstrating some impressive kicking, and the Premiership side found themselves 22-6 up at half-time.
Tata Steel gave it their all, and had the ball close to the opposition try line on a number of occasions, but were never able to claim a try, with their only points coming from three Gareth Walters penalties. Tries from Dan Partridge and Owen Davies secured the win for the Black and Ambers.
Even a five match winning streak in the league could not help RGC 1404 repeat their heroics of the previous round at Neath as they found Cross Keys a much tougher nut to crack. A try from Tom Blackwell gave the Championship side hope and, although Cross Keys went in 13-7 up at half time, their lead was far from decisive.
However, the second half proved to be a different story as Leon Andrews, Jack Candy, Scott Matthews, Elliott James and Nathan Trowbridge all crossed for tries. RGC will be disappointed at the final score, as the match was hotly contested, but the class of the Premiership side was enough to earn them a 47-14 victory in Colwyn Bay.
Llanharan have reason to be optimistic after a brave performance at home against Bridgend. Currently struggling near the bottom of the Championship, the Dairymen came up against a Bridgend team who are near the bottom of the Premiership.
The Ravens were shaken early in the game as Llanharan came out of the blocks quickly, with James Whittingham scoring a penalty after five minutes and converting centre Tom Farrah-Evans’s try. But Bridgend responded well and went on to win 20-10 as prop Mitchell Auger and centre Christopher Lewis both scored a try and James Dixon added a penalty and conversion.
Winger Rory Budina scored a hat-trick of tries as Premiership side Bedwas hammered mid-table Championship team Cardiff Met, 56-3. Playing away at The Bridge Field, the students would have been wondering what had hit them as early first half tries from Budina, Alun Rees, George Lee and Stuart Thomas made it 26-3 at the break.
The second half was no kinder for Cardiff Met as Bedwas went on to score a further 30 unanswered points through tries from Dan Crimmins, James Sawyer, Matthew John, Tom Rowlands, and two more from Budina. Outside half Jack Maynard kicked three out of a potential 10 conversions.
There were no shocks either at Carmarthen Park, where Quins thrashed Bridgend Athletic 54-0. With six different try scorers, including two from Chris Banfield, it was plain sailing for the Premiership team, aided further by seven Craig Evans conversions.
The scoreline may be harsh on Bridgend Athletic, but the home side showed yet again why they are still in reach of table toppers Pontypridd and Ebbw Vale, and will be confident no matter who they are drawn against in the next round.
Llandovery continued their recent good form by beating Championship side Swansea 31-6 at Church Bank. The result of this match never really looked in doubt as the home side had run in three tries before half-time, making it 19-6 at the break.
Swansea will now look to focus on their league campaign. They face Pontypool next week, and currently lie 14 points behind Championship leaders Bargoed.
An all-Championship tie saw Merthyr beat Newbridge 22-15 in a closely fought match. Daniel Parry will be remembered as the hero of this match, as he grabbed a hat-trick of tries for Merthyr, always seeming to be in the right place at the right time.
In spite of tries from Dan Mock and Aiden Palmer for the away side, Merthyr maintained control of this enthralling cup tie and moved into the third round, knocking out their Championship rivals.
SSE Swalec Cup Quarter-Final Line-Up: Bedwas, Bridgend, Carmarthen Quins, Cross Keys, Llandovery, Merthyr, Newport, Pontypridd
