News

After a promising few early months in the season, Brecon Athletic had faced some tough times in recent fixtures, as injuries and unavailabilities through the Senior Squad had an impact. The last fixture before Christmas offered an opportunity to get things back on track, and the transport, provided as ever by the very supportive Williams Coaches, left for the journey south over the Bannau with a strong squad, and some equally vociferus support looking ahead to the pre-festive fun.

The bus journey was leading to the Rhymney Valley, and the town of Bargoed, with the former collieries of Bargoed, Gilfach, and Britannia forming a now re-landscaped backdrop to this settlement straddling the historic boundary of Glamorgan and Monmouth. Bargoed Rugby Club is a Community Club with a proud history, and is also one that has set a certain standard in terms of the ability of these smaller town/village clubs to punch high into the National League Structure. They are currently progressing well in the Championship, having been at this level, or higher, for a number of seasons. This was evidenced by the fact that, as the Athletic took to the park, they did so at the same time as the Bargoed Senior team ran out against their current league leaders, and came away with an impressive 52-15 victory.

That was indicative of what Brecon Athletic would be facing as they travelled to Bargoed Park to take on the Warriors with their opponents lining up with a number of experienced players, and also taking the field with a powerful pack of forwards. Brecon’s strong squad featured some real quality throughout their ranks and, interestingly, also fielded four of sets of brothers which, including a member of the coaching staff who is currently injured. The coaching group of Gari Davies and Ioan Edwards were not deterred by the experienced appearance of the home team, and they kept faith with a starting lineup that included a number of players in their first seasons of Senior Rugby.

The fact that the home senior team were playing at home meant that the Athletic game was played on an adjoining field, one that was characterised by being relatively narrow, and also with the slope and wind favouring the home team in first half. As may have been expected, this added to what turned out to be an attritional game with, in the first 20 minutes, the home team taking advantage of a strong set piece, and physical driving game. The Athletic team held firm throughout this period and, notwithstanding the limits imposed by the width of the pitch, they still sought play with a higher tempo, and this proved to be successful in terms of gaining ground and creating opportunities.

This was highlighted by the efforts of Sammy Hellard at fullback, who was an energetic and athletic presence who took advantage of any loose kicks to run back at the home defence, with some success. Whilst wingers Hughie Prothero and Sam Davies had limited chances from the ball moving out wide, they were keen to make themselves available, both in defence and attack, across the park. Replacement wing Isaac Demesi continued in this lively vein, and was keen to be a busy presence in his time on the pitch.

Centres Konrad Krywko, and Dafydd Edwards, provided some direction with their running, with the former making some strong thrusts into the heart of the home team defenders, whilst the latter marshalled the visiting defence from the difficult Number 13 channel. The defensive effort across the whole Athletic group was hugely committed and admirable, and this contributed to what, ultimately, proved to be a successful journey for the Brecon team and their supporters. Replacement centre Matt Richards made a welcome return after a recent injury battle, and he was one of a number of players who showed real purpose, and also one amongst others who would not look out of place in either of the Senior teams.

Young halfbacks Tom Phillips, and Lewie Crocket, came under real pressure with the elements being critical in this, and also the breakdown area became a challenge in terms of releasing the ball to feed the aspiration to play the game at a higher tempo than their opponents. They both were key in how the game was managed in these difficult circumstances, and deserve enormous credit for this.

Whilst the backs certainly played an important role in the shaping the outcome of the game, it was, inevitably, the forward pack who laid a platform that was the bedrock of an outstanding and dogged performance. As outlined, the home team used their weight advantage and experience to put the younger Brecon pack under pressure at the set piece, although this early pressure and dominance was dealt with superbly by the inexperienced Athletic pack. Callum Worwood continues his development at the ‘coal face’ in a very testing environment, and emerged with great credit. Hooker Rhys Evans is making a welcome and continued comeback into the fold, and his improving fitness saw an impressively energetic performance from him. On the other side of the front row, Tom Witcomb admirably filled in at Loose Head and, despite coming under early pressure, he responded well to prove to be a key factor in the game.

Callum’s elder brother Dewi came on to supplement the ballast in the front row, and was effective as ever, scrummaging and also with the ball in hand. The other front row replacement was Richie Davies, a key club player who performs to the highest standards for whichever team he is in, and is always keen to play for either of the senior sides. The introduction of these two was pivotal in helping to change the momentum of the game, as the visitors weathered the early pressures to impose themselves on their hosts.

The second row of Owain Williams and Josh Hamilton was also key to the success that, ultimately, came the Athletic’s way over the course of the eighty minutes. The former played to his usual all round high standard, and dominated the lineout in the second half, with the success in this phase of the game being key in determining the outcome. The latter was an imposing presence, particularly with ball in hand, and he made good yardage with his power and footwork. He was a real thorn in the Warrior defence, and one run of some 60 metres, scattering a plethora of defenders, was particularly notable.

The front five was also supplemented superbly by the introduction of the Jenkins brothers, Rhodri and Ellis, who were both back at home for the Christmas period. The elder Rhodri came on to play a key role in the successful line out operation, ably supplied by younger brother Ellis as replacement hooker. Both were also powerful with the ball in hand, and Ellis was prominent in a number of attacks with his dynamic carrying.

As part of the returning Christmas Crew, it was great to see Zach Gerrish home and wearing the shirt again. He played to his normal high standard, and was particularly effective in the more ‘mundane’ aspects as he hit every breakdown to great effect, and was an important element in the Athletic’s defensive structure in the latter periods of the game.

Not to be outdone by the powerful unit in front of them, the back row provided a perfect supplement to the structure being built in front of them. Will Prosser worked hard at scrum time, and was prominent around the park, and skipper Josh Millichap was his usual influential presence at No 8, making key hard yards with ball in hand, and leading by example as ever. The third member of the backrow unit was another one of the set of brothers as flanker James Hellard put in a stirling all round performance, in both attack and defence, and was also prominent when asked to switch from the pack to the back line. He led the defensive line brilliantly, and supplemented the running efforts of younger brother Sammy, outlined earlier, by making some key breaks through the structured home defensive line.

The collective excellence of the playing squad rose to the initial challenge of the Warrior power and , although the home team took advantage of the elements and early momentum to score two converted tries, this did not deter the Brecon youngsters who kept faith in their fitness and plans to fight back superbly in the game.

Whilst the teams turned round at half time, with the Warriors leading 14-0, the advantages of the pitch and wind, allied to the increasingly improving performance of the visitors, saw Brecon take advantage to great effect. A key element in this was the driving maul from the lineout, with this having been an area that the squad had worked hard upon in preparation. This led to three similar scores insomuch as the pressure the visitors exerted led to penalties being conceded, from which the ball was kicked deep in to the home team 22. On each occasion, Owain Williams rose superbly to claim good, clean, ball, and his forward colleagues rallied around to drive themselves over the line. The beneficiary on each occasion was Tommy Witcomb, who emerged from the pile of red shirts each time to claim a hat trick of scores that turned the match around.

The second half was, generally, dominated by the visiting team, although Bargoed sought to fight back strongly. Their efforts in this regard were firmly rebutted by the Brecon defence, and the home team became increasingly desperate to score, and started taking some more risks. It was from one of their frantic attacks that winger Sam Davies was able to pick off a loose pass to race away and score the try that secured such an impressive victory. This was converted by Dafydd Edwards, with the coaching team of his elder brother Ioan, and particularly the hardworking Gari Davies, then gathering the team around to congratulate them all on their efforts, and the results they can gain from hard work.

It was a notable victory on the road against formidable opponents, and the group need to use this now to build momentum through the second half of the season, starting with the visit of Rumney on the last Saturday of 2023. The coaches will have been heartened by the commitment and energy shown, and they continue to push the group to remain available as key members of the Senior Group, with a large number ready to step up, putting some healthy pressure on the selectors.

As ever, the best thing to do when reflecting on such a fine performance is to firstly enjoy, which the squad and supporters certainly did, but also to look at areas of improvement. With the success around the lineout having arisen from attendance and work at training, this has to be the template for the group moving forward, and the coaches will be keen to see this talented group come to all training sessions.

As ever, the club are grateful to the referee who handled the game well, and added to the flow of the game. The efforts are much appreciated as the Club are aware of the current difficulties in recruiting new referees, and hope to cross paths with Harvey again in the future.