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Tonyrefail 24 - 22 Rhiwbina 2nds

 

 

                                  Rhiwbina were the visitors to Parc Tylcha Fawr for this WRU Bowl fixture against a much changed Tonyrefail side and the fact that they were facing a WRU Conference team would have not having given Ton any notions of an easy game as Rhiwbina field four senior sides with the first team playing in East Central 1.

                                  The game began with the visitors on the front foot and they were awarded an early penalty which was duly kicked to give them the lead.and they continued to pressurise Ton with good ball handling skills. The home side struggled to keep Rhiwbina at bay but in the process they were conceeding penalties and by the half hour mark they were 0-12 down and on a referee's warning. Five minutes later and another penalty saw Ton lose a player to a yellow card. This gave the visitors the edge and they were quickly over the line for a try which was converted to give them a 3-19 lead with Ton's points coming from a Garreg Lewis penalty in one of their few forays into Rhiwbina territory.  With the half going into extra time Ton were back up to full strength and they found enough to put Rhiwbina under pressure. The visitors full back was forced to kick to touch but instead the ball was fielded by centre Garreg Lewis who made ground before hoisting an up and under. He followed up to challenge the visitor's full back and came away with the ball. Two quick off-loads saw captain Alex Pugsley touch down close enough to the posts to make the convertion a formality and Ton were back in the game with a 10-19 scoreline at half time.

                                 The second half began with the visitors again showing good skills with the ball but Ton's defence was more than a match for them. The home forwards were beginning to get the better of Rhiwbina and this seemed to give the whole team a boost. As the hour approached centre Alex Pugsley made the cheekiest of interceptions inside his own half and he showed a clean pair of heels to his pursuers to touch down under the posts. Garreg Lewis added the extras and Ton now had their tails up. They put the visitors under pressure straight from the kick off and the forward used their superior scrummaging to take play close to Rhiwbina 's try line.Another series of scrums saw Ton awarded a penalty try and also a yellow card for Rhiwbina's tight head prop.

                                  With a five point lead and the forwards going well Ton were looking good but Rhiwbina still looked a threat on the counter attack. They had the ability to strike from deep in their own half but Ton's defence held and with three minutes to go the visitors elected to go for goal with a penalty rather than kick to the corner and go for the try to win the game. Five minutes of extra time kept Ton supporters on edge but the final whistle put and end to that.

                                  This was a good win for a Ton with standout displays from Daniel Coleman and Steve Driscoll up front and veteran Jason Banwell at outside half with his pinpoint kicking in the second half. Next week Ton are away to newly promoted Ferndale.