With the rain lashing across the Arms Park it was never going to be a pretty game and it was the visitors, who hadn’t won a game so far this season, who started the better of the two sides. But Cardiff’s defence stood up to everything that was thrown at them as the opening exchanges remained scoreless.
The home side grew more in confidence as the game went on and Gareth Davies put the first points on the board after the Wizards were guilty of being caught offside. Ten minutes later Davies doubled the advantage but that was to be the only scores of what was a messy first half.
The second half saw more of the same mistakes as the conditions got worse. The home side though were having the better of the early exchanges and it was not long before the Blue and Blacks extended their lead. From a short scrum several lunges at the line were held short before Thomas Davies scrambled over.
Jamie Davies got Aberavon on the board with a short range penalty before former Cardiff man Craig Evans brought the away side closer with a penalty from the half way line. Aberavon now had their tails up and when a scrum was awarded on the five metre line they looked certain to score. Cardiff’s defence though, which had been outstanding all game, was at its best as it held its own, eventually forcing the turnover and allowing the home side to clear their lines.
After surviving that scare, a hack through by Cory Allen was chased down and the ball popped up for Ben Roach to seal the game in Cardiff’s favour.