Fixture

Brecon RFC | 1st Team 52 - 17 Wattstown RFC | 1st Team
Jake Crockett
Try 2
Richard Lucas Jones
Try 1
Jake Mitchell Newman
Try 1
Gari Davies
Conversion 6
Aaron Wayd Horne
Try 1
Jonathan James
Try 1
Dafydd Thomas
Try 1

Match Report
21 September 2014 / Team News

Brecon 52 - Wattstown 17

After a history of slow starts to league seasons Brecon have at last bucked that trend. For the third week in a row Brecon left their opponents trailing in their wake as the stormed to the top of the league by maintaining their 100% record and claiming their second winning bonus point. While the start has certainly exceeded expectations nobody is getting carried away by the success to date. Management and players are all too aware of how things can change during the course of a season and of the fact that the three teams vanquished to date all lie at the foot of the table. However, it is true that Brecon are playing an exciting brand of rugby and are racking up the points. Their latest win came courtesy of a mixed bag of 8 tries, four from the backs; three from the forwards and their second penalty try of the season for which the pack and front row in particular have to take the credit. The tries were mixed also in that some were fairly fortunate while others were truly sublime, combining a mixture of individual flair and great team play.

So what is the difference from previous seasons? First the preparations and build up, pre-season, went well. Three warm up matches against a variety of opponents prepared the team for competitive rugby but probably the most influential factor has been the strength in depth and togetherness of the squad. Too often, in the past, players have started matches carrying injuries because there has been insufficient cover. This year players with similar injuries have been rested and their places taken by players of equal quality. As those injuries start to heal there is no doubting that the management will have the enviable, but not easy, task of selecting their best teams for the hard encounters yet to be faced.

Apart from wishing to maintain their winning streak, Brecon had the added incentive of wanting to gain revenge over opponents who, in the final match of last season, rested the Mid District Plate out of the holders grasp. With that as an incentive Brecon started clinically and effectively. After some good passages of play, all in the Wattstown half, Brecon scored in a slightly bizarre fashion. From a scrum on 5 metres Brecon drove Wattstown back and they were forced to carry the ball over their own line and minor. At the next scrum, with a Brecon put in, everyone anticipated a Brecon drive over the line but the ball shot out on the Vistitors’ side. The attempted clearance kick was charged down and Tom Daley pounced on the loose ball to score. Gari Davies converted the first of his six conversions.

From the kick off Daley broke and linked with his backs and they drew players and passed expertly to put Jake Newman in at the corner. With the conversion again being successful Brecon were 14 points up and full of confidence.

From the next kick off, young second row Eifion Phillips who has made a huge impression in his first three senior outings, broke through the first line of defence only to be penalised after the tackle. Wattstown’s Mike Evans kicked the first of his four successful penalties.

The score gave the visitors a bit of a lift but any thought that they might break through was quickly dispelled as tackles from the likes of Rob Price and Davey Herdman smashed their opponents to the ground. Then with the ball back in their possession Brecon created a lovely try from a deep position. Wing Lucas Jones finished the move after a lovely piece of link play from full back Jake Crockett.

Wattstown replied with a penalty before Brecon sealed their fourth bonus point try when a powerful Davey Herdman run provided good ball for the backs. Jake Crockett kicked ahead and a wicked bounce took the ball away from the defenders and into the welcoming arms of Crockett who re-gathered his own kick and scored.

With the bonus point in the bag Brecon fell off their earlier high tempo game. The slower pace allowed Wattstown to come more into the game and by half time Mike Evans had registered two further penalties to reduce the Gap to 14 points.

Brecon started the second half in the same lacklustre fashion and although they scored a penalty try thanks to their dominant scrum, they hardly looked the side that had racked up four tries in the first 25 minutes. They were made to pay as Wattstown battled back and after a good period of pressure scored a deserved try as their pack drove over the home line.

Brecon’s advantage was now cut to 16 points and there was need for the team to shake off the malaise that had crept into their game in the middle quarter. A more pragmatic approach was needed to get into their stride. A penalty into the corner set up the next score. From the line out the forwards took control and instead of providing possession for a wide play the kept it tight and drove hooker Aaron Horne over the line for a try.

Now back in the grove they finished the final quarter with a flourish. On half way Davey Herdman again made the hard yards and from quick possession Jake Crockett was given space on the outside. It was all he needed and he sped into the corner for his second try of the match.

In the dying moments Tom Daley also claimed his second try when he broke completely clear from half way and touched down in the corner to take the points total over the half century.

Adding to the joy at the final whistle was the news that bot the second team and youth had also recorded victories. The 2nd XV maintained their 100% record for the season so far with an emphatic 31 points to 12 win at Treherbert while the Youth team defeated neighbours and close rivals, Gwernyfed by 22 points to 9.

Players
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