DINAS POWYS 24 ABERTYSSWG FALCONS 12

THE Abertysswg Falcons have soared up through the leagues in recent seasons – but although a protected species, the Falcons were gunned down on the Common in this high-quality encounter.

The game kicked off with the temperature a mere 5 degrees C, but the large crowd were warmed by the magnificent feast of rugby served up in this league encounter.

The Villagers had been motivated prior to kick-off by coach Andy Vesey showing them the Penarth Times report of the September encounter at Abertysswg, when they were hammered 43-17.

The Falcons arrived buoyed by the 69 points scored against Ferndale in their last game, and their large travelling support were confident of victory.

The cold weather contributed to some early fumbles by both sides but as numb fingers adjusted to the temperature, the errors became fewer and a high quality contest ensued.

The Dinas scrum was decimated in the away fixture so it was with trepidation that the coaching staff watched the first set piece. The fears were to prove unfounded as with six different players in the pack on this occasion, it was the home forwards who dominated this phase of play.

The powerful front row of Tom Paterson, Lloyd Horwood and Mike Jones gave their opposite front row a torrid afternoon and provided the platform for a superb team performance. Such was the dominance of the Villagers pack that it was 35 minutes before the Falcons reached the Dinas 22 .

The early dominance was marked, but such was the spirit and organisation of the visitors that it was proving difficult for Dinas to reflect this superiority on the scoreboard.

An early scrum provided the opportunity for superb centre Adam Williams to make a searing 40 metre break. The Dinas Powys Youth product looked certain to score but unselfishly decided to pass to co-centre Michael Smith; alas the pass was not of the quality of the break and the chance was missed.

The breaks were coming thick and fast. Fly half David Lloyd was once again conducting the backline with aplomb and a telling break, supported by full back Lewis Morgan, faltered when the pass to Lloyd Horwood was not of the required quality.

Centre Mike Smith evaded the defenders to free left wing John 'Evo' Evans who made a superb touchline scamper but was pushed into touch just short of the tryline.

Scrum half Nathan Williams was once again having a fine performance, his commitment as always of the highest order, and a superb break from the base of a dominant scrum was halted by a superb tackle by visiting full back Steven Klien.

The visitors were penalised for slowing down the ball and the penalty kicked to touch. From the lineout the ball was taken by flanker Lewys John who was supported and driven on by second row Mathew Knibbs to within inches of scoring, but frantic defence once again prevented the ball from emerging.

The resulting scrum was in a fine attacking position and the ball was picked up by number 8 Nick Vaggas and on to scrum half Williams then fly half Lloyd on a super angled run, to dive over and finally breach the Falcons defence.

With the conversion added by Lewis Morgan the Villagers deservedly led 7-0 after 20 minutes.

The restart was regathered by Horwood and again the Villagers launched themselves on another attack. The ensuing ruck saw second row Wes Tokalon pick up and jump over the ruck and proceed on an energetic 30 metre break before employing the 'Maori sidestep' and ploughing into Klien.

Only late in the half did the visitors gain a foothold and they took full advantage as they moved the ball from side to side, employing ball carriers from deep, before two simple passes allowed captain and centre Richard Theophilus to score in the shadow of the post.

The conversion was added by their highly impressive ex-Bargoed outside half Jamie Howells and, unbelievably, at half time the score stood at 7-7.

The dismay amongst the Dinas players and supporters was palpable as the scoreline did not reflect the huge first half performance.

The Falcons' half time team talk from their coach was heard by all present, and it provided the home side with the knowledge that they were not doing much wrong.

As coach Vesey had predicted at the break, the visitors threw everything at the Villagers at the start of the second half and it took a huge scrum from the home side to take a feed against the head to relieve the pressure through a clearance kick by Lloyd.

It was therefore ironic that the Falcons were to score from this position after it appeared that the danger had been cleared. A sweet move, much rehearsed on the training field, saw the entry of full back Klien into the line at pace, passing on to looping fly half Howells who fed left wing Jamie Parry to arc outside the defence on a 35 metre scoring run.

The move did include a forward pass, but the whole move was done at such pace, with many decoy runners, that it was no surprise that the referee did not spot the incident.The difficult conversion was missed and the visitors, against the balance of play, led 7-12.

The second half then reverted to the pattern of the first with the Villagers dominating the forward encounter and desperate defence from the visitors trying to stop them from gaining the victory.

A telling kick from hand by Lewis Morgan took the home side to the corner near the clubhouse and they camped in this area for the next 5 minutes as attacker after attacker was held just short of the tryline.

The winning of a scrum 10 metres from this line seemed to signal the scoring of the inevitable try, but such was the speed with which the scrum drove back their opponents that Vaggas at the base could not control the ball with his feed adequately.

Knibbs, Vaggas and Jones all appeared to be on the verge of scoring but were repelled by brave defence. The resulting scrum allowed Vaggas to pick up and feed Williams, who drew the cover before feeding right wing Mark Goode who crashed over to score and level the score at 12-12.

The athletic winger was soon tormenting the defence once again as a stunning 40 metre run appeared to be heading for a try, but he was dragged down inches short of the line after being released by a pass from replacement flanker Charlie Ryan.

Scrum half Williams was on hand to feed brother Adam who drove forward before feeding Horwood, who attracted two defenders before passing out of the tackle to impressive centre Smith on a sweet angle to crash over despite the attention of two men.

With the Villagers leading 17-12 all present appreciated the importance of the conversion, and with coach Vesey not able to watch, it was the groans of the crowd that informed him that the conversion hit the post and failed to go over the crossbar.

The visitors from Abertysswg proved themselves to be a proud side as they mounted an effort to steal the victory. The home defence was resolute and huge tackles from Lewys John, Lewis Morgan and Mark Goode were to frustrate a series of Falcons attacks.

The closeness of the score provided much anxiety and a series of penalties awarded by the match official inspired the confident Falcons to press forward for an unlikely victory.

Foremost in this defensive effort was centre Adam Williams. Always physical in the tackle, the muscular centre ripped the ball from his opposite number in contact on the half way line and proceeded on a bullocking run.

A powerful hand-off allowed him to break the first tackle and thereafter tackler after tackler bounced off the Youth product as he took the shortest route towards the tryline.

There was no stopping Williams on his way to the inevitable try as for the second week in succession he scored in the dying seconds. The conversion was successful and the celebrations commenced as the Villagers gained a highly deserved victory by 24-12.

This was a magnificent contest, much enjoyed by all who witnessed it and a sporting Falcons outfit admitted that they were well beaten.

Dinas travel to Llandaff Fields next, to play unbeaten league leaders Clwb Rygbi Cymry Caerdydd, seeking revenge for the 20-29 defeat on the Common in September.