Fixture

Brecon RFC | Youth Team Under 18 34 - 10 Beddau RFC | Youth Team Under 18
Geraint Workman
Try 1
Dafydd Edwards
Conversion 3
Penalty 2
Ben Griffin
Try 1
Thomas Richards
Try 1

Match Report
10 December 2017 / Team News

Brecon Youth 34 - Beddau Youth 10

In conditions that were more appropriate for Santa and his sled Brecon Youth continued their rich vein of form with an impressive win over a powerful Beddau team. Since starting their league campaign with a home defeat to Treorchy, Brecon have developed and matured as a side and have now put together a run of three consecutive wins. Their latest triumph against Beddau, in testing conditions, elevates them into second place just behind Treorchy.

There can be no doubt that Beddau presented a considerable challenge. They boasted a similar record of just one defeat in league matches and are the only team this season to down leaders, Treorchy, in the league. Their points scoring record was nowhere near as good as that of their hosts but, on a slippery, snow covered pitch and with a greasy ball, conditions hardly favoured Brecon’s free flowing style of play. The fact that Brecon emerged as emphatic winners was certainly cause for celebration.

From the kick off it was clear that Brecon would have to battle hard at forward in order to provide a platform which was solid and secure. In difficult conditions free flowing rugby was never going to be easy and mistakes could be costly. However, this did not dent Brecon’s ambition and when they had the opportunity they moved the ball. Mistakes were made but three outstanding tries were scored and they forced an undisputed penalty try. While all the points were scored by the backs they had to thank their forwards for the front foot possession they provided. The Brecon front row of Llewelyn Stephens, Rhys Evans and Tom Witcomb held the upper hand in the tight and the same was true at the line out where Rowan and Finn Starkey won good ball and made life difficult for their opponents on their throw. In the loose back row trio of Josh Pritchard, Stephen Hughes and Henry Morgan-Gervis ran strongly and were competitive at every breakdown.

With the ball provided by the forwards the backs were able to show that they were a threat in spite of unhelpful conditions. The half backs, Gareth Price and Geraint Workman were an effective link between forwards and backs, Oliver Lewis and Thomas Richards combined beautifully in mid-field and the back three of Dafydd Edwards, Ben Griffin and Morgan Vaughan countered well and looked dangerous whenever the ball could be worked towards them.

The first try of the match was a classic illustration of the way the team linked together with important contributions from forwards and backs. Josh Pritchard made a strong run out of defence and from the breakdown Thomas Richards cut a lovely straight angle through mid-field. Llewelyn Stephens carried the ball powerfully deep into the opponents 22 and when the ball was spread amongst the backs, wing Ben Griffin ran onto a pass in mid-field to slice through the defence and score under the posts.

That score accurately reflected the general pattern of play up to and beyond that point. Brecon were always the more dangerous but in order to breakdown a determined and effective visitors’ defence Brecon needed to show patience and develop continuity in their play and with the conditions that wasn’t easy. The second try came through some outstanding handling and link play. Again Josh Pritchard was involved in carrying the ball across the gain line. Then some wonderful handling between Oliver Lewis and Thomas Richards stretched the Beddau defence and finally Geraint Workman was put through under the posts for Dafydd Edwards to complete the simplest of conversions.

Half way through the first half and with a 14 point advantage, Brecon looked in total control. However, at this stage a recurrent trend started to emerge. The breakdown, which was very competitive started to be the source of niggling penalties and Brecon in particular suffered. After a series of three penalties Beddau reduced the deficit. Brecon bounced back and scored again after Daffydd Edwards countered and put in a lovely kick over the defence. As the ball rolled towards the try line both he and Ben Griffin were winning the race only for the trailing defender to clearly pull them back and give the referee no option other than to award a penalty try

The remainder of the half petered out amidst a number of mistakes and a host of penalties.

The second half started with the same pattern. For a time Brecon benefitted from the decisions and Dafydd Edwards kicked two penalties to give the home side a 24 point advantage. With such a healthy lead and command of the tight areas Brecon should have been able forge further ahead but they persisted in presenting Beddau with penalty after penalty at the breakdown and the game became tedious and frustrating. Brecon did score a fourth try after Thomas Richards gathered a charged down kick and Edwards once again converted, however, the remainder of the match reflected the ground conditions, not very pretty. Beddau did score a converted try of their own from an interception and there one or two notable runs from Stephen Hughes but there was little else of note.

Disappointing though the last period was it could not detract from the fact that this was an emphatic win against one of the leagues strongest sides and in conditions which hardly favoured Brecon. The win puts the team in a position where they can challenge to retain the league title after a less than promising start to the campaign.

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