Fixture

On a perfect sunlit afternoon with not a breath of wind Rhigos secured their first win of the season against a very committed and determined Banwen and so earned the bragging rights for this local derby but it was a tight call.

Banwen started brightly and found themselves in front after 3 minutes courtesy of a try from Crouch following a rolling maul after a clean line out catch and drive. Within a matter of minutes Rhigos had struck back winning a scrum deep in Banwen's red zone Greg fed Huw who passed to Sos and a quick switch sent Paul through the inside gap and around behind the posts for a try that Ryan converted.

This little cameo of a try from a lineout for Banwen followed by a try from a scrum for Rhigos was representative of the whole game; a dominant Rhigos scrum led by the excellent Richie Smith battled against an excellent Banwen lineout led by Crouchie with both backlines cancelling each other out with their strong tackling games.

Banwen had more possession than Rhigos and on a number of occasions threatened the Rhigos line with rolling mauls and driving lineouts but they found it very difficult to pass Ryan and Paul in midfield and the two Dans in the backrow. 

At half time Rhigos led 10 points to 8 after Ryan and Pele had exchanged penalties. The second half was more of the same with defences smothering the game until at last Paul made a bit of space for us to push up into the 22 red zone when the ball was whipped along the back line for Brandon to touch down in the corner. It was a cracking team try and well earned after Rhigos had spent 15 minutes in their own 22 defending strongly.

Rhigos could not put the game to bed because Banwen stormed back and again had their driving maul threaten the Rhigos line and eventually wear down the defence and score a well earned try too far out for Pele to convert. Rhigos won, just about and deservedly so, just about.

After the game Mark was hugely pleased with the scrummaging performance and excellent defensive work of the whole team. After losing to Glais by 1 point last week and defeating Banwen by 2 points this week the Division looks to be very competitive indeed full of very able sides.