Cardiff were able to extend their advantage over Carmarthen Quins to 10 points with their 41-12 home win over Bridgend, while Ebbw Vale picked up two points in their 6-6 draw in Carmarthen to edge five points clear of the Ravens in the fight for survival.
After a gap of six weeks from league action Cardiff showed no signs of rustiness as they got into shape to face third placed Aberavon at the Talbot Athletic Ground on Saturday. That could be the decisive game in the race for the title and the Blue & Blacks will have skipper Morgan Allen back from suspension for the big clash.
“The Bridgend game was a potential banana skin for us because they have shown what a capable side they are in a number of big games this season. We handled the game really well and I was very pleased with the performance and the outcome,” said Cardiff head coach Steve Law.
“If we can beat Aberavon then we can possibly afford to lose one of two games and still win the title. If we lose, then there will be no margin for error. It is going to be a huge game.”
With second placed Carmarthen Quins once again dropping points in their home draw against bottom-but-one Ebbw Vale, this five try romp allowed the Blue & Blacks to create even more breathing space in the title run-in.
Bridgend arrived three points adrift at the bottom of the table and saw that increase to five because of Ebbw Vale’s draw down west.
Cardiff played into the strong wind in the first half and were in complete control by the break thanks to tries from wings Teri Gee and James Beal, celebrating his 50th appearance for the club, and skipper and scrum half Tom Habberfield. Gareth Thompson converted all three.
It took less than a minute after the re-start for hooker Ethan Lewis to bag the bonus point and Thompson added another conversion and penalty to make it 31-0. By this time the home side were in cruise control although, to their credit, the Ravens outscored them by two tries to one in the final quarter.
Prop Georghe Gajion and replacement Tyler Williams saved the visitors’ blushes with their two scores, the latter being converted by outside half Jacob Chilcott, but Cardiff had the final word with a try from Blues Academy youngster Gwilym Bradley.
Ebbw Vale head coach Greg Woods has challenged his players to back up their latest draw in west Wales with another good performance against RGC 1404 this weekend as they continue to move away from the relegation zone.
With a win at RGC at draws in Llandovery and Carmarthen, the Steelmen have picked up vital points against teams in the top half of the table this season to keep alive their hopes of beating Bridgend in the battle against the dreaded drop.
While the Ravens were falling at top of the table Cardiff, Ashley Sweet’s men were giving as good as they got against second in the table Carmarthen. They wrecked the home side’s line-out, nullified their driving maul and dominated their scrum to stretch their advantage over Bridgend to five points with a game in hand.
“We are still fighting, it’s another two points and now we have to back this up at home against RGC next weekend. We looked solid, we frustrated them and we were really competitive,” said Woods.
“The work we did on the line-out in the build up to the game worked for us and for them to go for the posts rather than the touchline was a massive win for us. We won the physical battle against a really good team.
“Ashley Sweet, Corey Talbot and Dan Hill were immense for us and there were signs of the back line growing in confidence and looking to play a bit more. It was a really good performance and something we must look to build on.”
The Quins gave their visitors first use of the strong wind, but the Steelmen failed to make best use of it. Rhys Jones kicked them into the lead with a 15th minute penalty from 42 metres and then edged them in front once again with the last kick of the opening 40 minutes after Steff Marshall had levelled things up on the half-hour.
The Quins looked dangerous with ball in hand, but simply couldn’t get on top up front. Three times they lost the ball at close range line-outs in the Ebbw 22 and it took them 20 minutes with the wind to get on level terms with a second penalty from Marshall.
