It was a day when the coaching brains of Nathan Thomas and Damien Hudd clashed in a fascinating tactical duel. Former Welsh international Thomas just came out on top thanks to his side’s good work at the line-out and staunch defence.
Having finally hung up his boots after a stellar career Thomas was on the touchline masterminding the Abergavenny game plan, while the 40-year-old Hudd was in the thick of the action as ever, leading his team from the back row.
Brynmawr came into the game unbeaten and, given their higher league status and the fact they hadn’t been out of the top three in Division 1 East for the last three seasons, arrived very much the favourites.
But under Thomas, and player-coach James Lewis, Ben Roberts and Simon Williams, Abergavenny have become a very capable outfit. They followed up their promotion from Division 3 East A in 2019 with a third place finish in Division 2 East a year later when COVID hit.
Then, of course, there was their dramatic, last-gasp triumph at Principality Stadium in April, 2019, when Thomas led his side to the WRU National Bowl title in a 27-23 triumph over Oakdale. Solid ground on which to build and despite finally hanging up his boots, Thomas appears to be driving his players to even greater heights.
“I have now officially hung up my boots, although I’m still available for the odd charity match. I played with Damian Hudd the a few weeks ago, but I only lasted 15 minutes. I’m done and dusted,” said Thomas.
“It was a massive win for us playing against a team that came here full of confidence and who were from a league above us. It helped us that we hadn’t had a very good performance in our previous game against Ynysddu – that galvanised us to give a really good showing at home.
“We work hard as a coaching team and we are fortunate enough that the players buy into everything we are doing. James works with the back, Ben helps with the forwards and Simon also has a supporting role as well.
“We all stick together and you saw how well the players stuck together in the closing 10 minutes when Brynmawr put us under a lot of pressure. It is quite a young team, and all the players want to learn and get better, and as coaches we want them to work hard and enjoy their Saturday’s.
“The WRU Plate competition is very difficult for us because we are a league below everyone else. But we are going to give it our all and see where we get to.
“Being away from the players has made it difficult for the coaching team during COVID. We really wanted to start the league campaign earlier, but we are delighted it has been brought forward to November.
“By the time we start playing in the league we should be right up to speed and ready for another good season.”
Having taken the lead with a penalty from full back Rhys Jones, Abergavenny stretched their lead to 10 points when Anthony Squire romped over after some great inter-passing. The conversion made it 10-0 before Brynmawr struck back with a typical driving line-out try and Jack Congreve raced over for a second to level matters at the break.
No 8 Alex Howes was outstanding in the home back row and his powerful carrying made a number of considerable dents in the Brynmawr defensive line. He was involved in the second try at the start of the second half that put Abergavenny back in front, neat passing down the back line finally allowing Jones to cross in the right corner.
The efficiency and vision displayed by former Wales U21 centre Lewis in throwing a long, miss pass to his full back created the overlap. Jones hit the upright with the conversion attempt and then missed from point blank range later on with a penalty that could have considerably calmed the nerves of the very healthy crowd.
Back came Brynmawr and the home side looked vulnerable when Lewis was shown a yellow card for mischief at a breakdown close to his line. That gave Brynmawr a penalty in front of the posts and they easily cut the gap to two points.
Brynmawr’s pack went from line-out to line-out seeking the strong base from which to push for a winning score, but on two occasions they had the ball stolen from them as the defensive effort of their hosts rose to heroic proportions.
The final frustration for the visitors came in the final play of the game when Hudd lost the ball forward in contact 15 metres out. It was one of only a handful of handling errors by both teams in a game of real high quality, but it was the one which ended any hopes of a last minute revival.
“We knew what they were going to bring – a good line-out and physicality. That’s what won them the game in the end because our line-out went to pot,” admitted Hudd.
“We had five key players drop out during the week, but no excuses. Hats off to Abergavenny, they deserved their win.
“I’d like to think it will be a different story when they come up to us, but they deserved it because they took their chances well and there was a decent skill level all round.
“Our pick and go game was good, but our conditioning levels aren’t great at the moment. We have brought eight or nine youth players through this season and we had five teenagers playing.
“As for me, I’m still enjoying playing and as long as I can play decently, and I don’t let down my team mates or myself, then I’ll carry on. You’re a long time retired. I’m 40 now, and I’ve been playing for 24 years, but I love rugby and I will be involved for as long as I can. I’m enjoying the coaching and I’m just trying to pass on the experience I have gained over the years.
“It was always my ambition to play at the highest level I could and then come back to my local club. I won’t play as much rugby this year when everyone is fit and that will allow me to concentrate a bit more on coaching.”
