Bargoed 30 Penallta 5

This was the tie that Penallta supporters had been waiting for - their first ever league encounter against near neighbours Bargoed. The intense atmosphere amongst a large crowd at Ystrad Fawr was matched by the intensity of the game in a frenetic opening spell. Bargoed quickly settled into a pattern which was to dominate the game. Strong tackling, a well organised defence and excellent discipline gave the Blues the edge in the opening quarter with the front five taking the first two Penallta scrums against the head.

Danny Jones,the young Blues number ten opened the scoring with two sweetly struck penalties to put Bargoed 0-6 ahead on the half hour. Referee Colin Kirkhouse, aware of the local rivalry, had signalled his intent to avoid any flare-ups by blowing up quickly at every breakdown and this made the game a very stop-start affair. With the Bargoed forwards imposing themselves at every scrum, it was inevitable that the home side would crack under the pressure.

With 33 minutes gone, centre Darren Humphries and wing Jeremy Lovell combined to set Jamie Howells free at full back. His cleverly weighted grubber kick was gathered by a Penallta defender who was then penalised for not releasing under pressure from flanker Gareth McCarthy. Scrum half and captain Mike Roberts called a scrum and Lewis Wayman up picked at number eight and put Roberts in at the corner.

Jones converted magnificently from the touchline and Bargoed were 0-13 up. Five minutes later and Bargoed extended their lead. Another Penallta put in and another drive from the Bargoed forwards stole the ball. Second row Owen Swift, cleared up on the floor and fed Jones at outside half. A long pass missing out both centres found Jeremy Lovell wide out for the winger to score in the corner. Jones’ conversion hit the post and the half time whistle blew to give the home side some respite. Penallta tightened up at the start of the second half but still couldn’t find a way through the Bargoed defence. Props Ross Jones and Robbie Young carried well and set up flanker Huw Davies before Darren Humphries and full back Geraint Hodges combined only to find a clever offload going forward with the try line begging.

But it was not long before the blues bagged their third try. Rampaging prop Jones set up a ruck and scrum half Roberts, alert to Gareth McCarthy’s perfectly timed run, popped up a pass for the flanker to score in the corner. 0-23 to Bargoed after 48 minutes. The Blues’coaches rang the changes with several substitutions and the mid period of the second half became very flat. However, Penallta never gave up and with the clock running down, they benefited from another destructive drive from the Bargoed forwards at a scrum on the away side twenty two. The ball squirted out and scrum half Hywel Walsh seized a rare opportunity to scramble through for a try.

With the game ebbing away, Bargoed’s superiority had not yet delivered a bonus point, but it duly came with the game’s best try. Replacement centre Richard Thomas gathered in the Bargoed midfield and made ground before passing to Jamie Howells, now playing at outside half. A deft pass put Darren Humphries into space and the strong centre burst through two tackles to round the full back and touch down under the posts. Howells converted and the game ended at 5 points to 30.

Coach Steve Barber was delighted with the performance “This was a great all round display. The forwards were magnificent and given the intensity of the build up to the game, I thought our discipline was tremendous. We withstood everything that Penallta threw at us and then took our chances when they came. It wasn’t a game for rugby purists but I’m more than happy to come away from a hugely physical encounter with a win and a bonus point.”

Scrorers: Penallta - Walsh (Try) Bargoed: Tries - Roberts; Lovell; McCarthy; D Humpries. Pens: Jones (2). Cons - Jones; Howells