Fixture

A trip to Ynysybwl to face the league’s leading team, on a cold but dry afternoon was never going to be easy. However, for the first time since November, the ground was relatively firm and with Brecon having shown that they possess a potent backline they looked forward to being able to play in such conditions.

During the first ten minutes of the match Brecon took control. The held the majority of possession and territory. Gari Davies kicked them into a 3 point lead and Brecon’s travelling support began to wonder if they could cause an upset. Such was the confidence that, when in the twelfth minute, they were awarded a kickable penalty they opted to kick the ball into touch at the corner. With the line out having functioned well the option was not totally foolhardy. Hooker Joseph Page hit his target, as he did almost all afternoon and Brecon set for a drive. However, the bind in the maul was not tight and the Ynysybwl forwards drove through the Brecon wedge and Brecon lost the ball and allowed Ynysybwl to clear.

From that missed opportunity onwards the pattern of the game changed. Brecon continued to win good first phase ball from both line out and scrum but they failed to build any kind of momentum as they regularly failed to keep the ball in contact. Not only did this failing deprive them of any continuity but it offered the opposition free ball to play with. With that ball Ynysybwl looked sharp. Scrum half Nathan Ellis sniped around the fringes or set his backs in motion. The home side’s first score came when Ellis broke away after Brecon lost the ball at the breakdown. Ynysybwl keep the ball through a number of phases and finally second row Neil Griffiths dived over for their first try. Outside half Dion McIntosh converted from a wide angle.

For the remainder of the half the same pattern persisted. Danny Howe and Ewan Williams won good line out ball, the scrum was stable but Brecon continued to surrender the ball in contact and Ynysybwl continued to make the most of the gifts served up to them.

A dropped ball in the Ynysybwl half allowed centre Jonathan Gough to break out and when Brecon were forced to illegally kill the ball at the breakdown in their 22 outside half McIntosh extended their lead.

Within minutes Ynysybwl extended their lead. The pattern was all too familiar. This time centre, Sean Ireland, picked up a ball dropped in Brecon’s midfield. He easily carved through the disrupted defence and put his left wing Dale Stuckey away for a clear run in. Again McIntosh converted.

Brecon fought back and should have reduced the deficit. Twice they were awarded eminently kickable penalties. Twice they opted to kick for touch in the corner. Twice they were denied a score. On the first occasion they lost the line out, probably the only time they did so during the whole afternoon. However, that loss was very costly and was compounded when possession from their second kick to the corner was lost when Brecon’s hands let them down with play deep inside the Ynysybwl 22.

Ynysybwl, having escaped the pressure without surrendering a point then showed how to finish. Blindside flanker Ricky Thomas ripped the ball out of a tackle on half way, side stepped through the first line of defence and passed to Stuckey who found himself in space on the flank. With just the full back to beat he opted to chip over the top and easily regathered to claim his second try.

22 points to 3 down Brecon faced a testing last 5 minutes of the half. The game could have run completely away from them but they battled hard to the half time whistle.

The second half started in similar fashion. Ynysybwl looked dangerous as they moved the ball into open spaces but Brecon defended well and gradually grew back into the game. Some good, Brecon, forward drives, with Ewan Williams and Davey Herdman in the vanguard and a great midfield run from wing Blake Parata looked as if they may yield a score but Ynysybwl held out and soon returned to the offensive. This time, however, it was their turn to lose the ball in contact and when Brecon centre, Eifion Jones, picked up the ball on halfway he found himself in space behind opposition lines. Although chased hard he made the line comfortably and with Gari Davies kicking the conversion Brecon were just 12 points behind their opponents with a quarter of the game to go.

Just when it looked as if Brecon could claw their way back into the game the same old failings materialised. A dropped pass on halfway was eagerly claimed and Ynysybwl set off on a sweeping move in which flanker Thomas was again prominent. Finally wing Ryan Lewis crossed for Ynysybwl’s fourth try and McIntosh converted from the touchline.

The game was now beyond Brecon’s reach but they battled hard. Again they spurned penalty attempts at goal and went for the corner and again they were repulsed. At the final whistle Brecon had to accept that they were well beaten. However, there is no doubt that Brecon contributed to their downfall. Some poor decision making and the inability to build any continuity, through their failure to hold on to the ball, cost them dearly and allowed Ynysybwl a comfortable win, something which had seemed unlikely in the opening ten minutes.