Penarth Sport
Dinas Powys RFC hold out to win thriller against Cefn Coed
8:20am Thursday 2nd February 2012
DINAS POWYS 19 CEFN COED 18
THE VILLAGERS took the field on a cold, dry day with no wind, and with the ground underfoot 'good to soft' in racing parlance, conditions were perfect for rugby football.
The team had a different look to the last game as eight changes were enforced due to injury and work commitments.
The disruptions continued when second row stalwart Matthew Knibbs was forced to leave the pitch to spend his afternoon in hospital with a dislocated shoulder. Knibbs has been a bastion this season, and his loss for the majority of the remainder of the season will be a huge blow for the Villagers.
The loss of Knibbs allowed Youth team player Kyle Foat to take the pitch in front of his proud father, former utility back John Foat. His introduction would improve the competitiveness of the lineout at the expense of bulk in the scrums and close quarter play.
The early exchanges were peppered with penalty awards as both sides tried to gain the early advantage. It was the kicking of a penalty by outside half Jonathon Lewis that allowed the visitors to take an early 3 point lead.
The penalty should have been awarded the other way as the visitors used hands in a scrum to secure their feed but the referee was unsighted. This was to be one of the official's few errors and on the whole he was to have a good afternoon.
Dinas enjoyed a few bright passages of play. Tom Davies made a sparkling break from the base of a ruck before feeding Foat who drove deep into opposition territory, the ball was moved to the right and flamboyant fly half David Lloyd made a break when the visitors were penalised for not rolling away from the tackle.
The injury to the normal kicker Lewis Morgan the previous week forced Lloyd to attempt the kick himself, but unfortunately the ball drifted just wide.
The visitors from Cefn Coed were fourth in the league prior to kick off and enjoying a generally successful season and their bulky, well-drilled pack were starting to dominate set plays.
The visitors were throwing up two jumpers at every Dinas Powys throw-in and preventing the Villagers from gaining ball from this area.
The scrum, normally an area of dominance for the Villagers, was also proving difficult as the visitors wheeled the home feed and drove forward powerfully on their own ball. The loss of the experience of Knibbs in the second row was proving painful for the youthful Dinas pack.
The visitors were controlling the ball and only brave defence by the Florida suntanned flanker Morgan Williams, aided by props Tom Paterson and Mike Jones, held up the visitors' centre over the tryline and prevented the score.
The brave defensive effort continued as Andrew Knibbs and Wes Tokalon worked tirelessly to stop rolling maul after rolling maul from the visitors dominant lineout.
The Villagers were unable to get their hands on the ball and wave after wave of Cefn Coed attackers were repelled by the spirited home side.
The pressure eventually told as a 5 metre scrum was driven forward by the visitors and after half an hour the visitors' bulky number 8 Jason Price fell on the ball as it crossed the tryline to score the first try of the afternoon. The difficult conversion was missed by Lewis and the visitors from Merthyr Tydfil led by 8 points.
The score was not a true reflection of the dominance of the visitors and it looked inevitable that they would increase their lead before half time. The threequarters of both sides were generally spectators as the visitors kept the ball tight and attempted to grind out the victory through their forwards.
Regular visitors to the Common to watch the Villagers this season have witnessed some incredible contests, but the next few minutes of action were to prove as dramatic as any.
With the visitors again encamped on the Dinas tryline a score looked inevitable. The confident visitors for once decided to spin the ball wide and the completion of three passes saw the ball reach their inside centre, but he was tackled by home centre Adam Williams who ripped the ball from his hapless opponent's grip and deftly slipped it from the back of his hand to alert co-centre Michael Smith, who fed right wing Nick Coles to race 80 metres for a spectacular try.
The conversion added by Lloyd took the score to an unlikely 7-8 and the final action of the first half.
Momentum is a strange factor in sport and the start of the second half saw the Villagers dominate early exchanges and push for a further score. The restart secured, the home side freed strong running Mark Good who carved his way through the visitors' defence before feeding left wing John 'Evo' Evans who made further inroads before passing back inside to Foat who took the difficult pass with aplomb.
The visitors were forced to slow the ball down at the ruck and skipper Tom Paterson showed huge confidence in his scrum by opting for the set piece. Coaches Andy Vesey and Chunky Boydland along with tight head Mike Jones had rectified the woes at the scrum, which proved solid, and the ball reached Williams in the centre who passed inside to wing Evans who raced under the posts.
Unfortunately for the home team referee Jeff Allen from Abertillery deemed the pass forward and the try was disallowed. The visitors cleared their lines from the resulting scrum with fly half Lewis kicking downfield.
The ball was gathered by the rampant Good who powered down the touchline before passing infield to the supporting Williams who crashed over for the try. The conversion was added by Lloyd and after two minutes of the second half the Villagers led 14-8.
The visiting touchline was shocked. A three minute purple patch had seen the Villagers turn the game on its head and go from hanging on and surviving, to leading in the contest.
Gareth Bennett replaced the injured Andrew Knibbs and was immediately into action gathering the restart and charging into the opposition half. Strong carries by Tokalon and Jones allowed hooker Charlie Ryan to free Evans on the wing but he was dragged down just short of a further try.
The visitors were continuing to kick the ball downfield allowing the impressive Mark Good to run back and cause havoc in the the defence. Enjoying his best game of the season, the powerful full back was having a field day.
The visitors had only lost two league matches all season and stabilised the situation by slowing the game and reverting to type, using the rolling maul as their method of attack, and eventually after an hour of play their number 8 Price drove over for a try to make the score 14-13.
The game was a classic contest between the bludgeon and the rapier; forward power against the potency of the threequarters. The bulky visiting pack were having their fitness tested as the Villagers dragged them around the park, and strong runs from flankers Foat and Williams tested their defensive resolve.
Dinas led by a single point and with time running away from the visitors a drop goal attempt was blocked by centre Williams, the ball was hacked ahead but could not be gathered by desperate home fingers.
The visitors had the feed in a good attacking position and it appeared that victory would be snatched from the Villagers' grasp. However a huge effort in the scrum saw the visitors scrum pushed backwards and the secured ball went through the hands of Davies and Lloyd to Adam Williams, who in his customary manner ran 80 metres to score a match-winning try!
The hugely influential player seems to score an incredible try every game and this was another pearl as he handed off player after player before running over a few further potential tacklers to score another unbelievable try.
Future opponents would be wise to try and secure a lump of kryptonite to try and stop this powerful individual. The conversion slipped past the post and a scoreline of 19-13 meant an anxious final five minutes faced the valiant Villagers.
The tension was heightened when left wing Jason Wilkes scored a try for the visitors in the corner, 19-18. The vital conversion was missed and the narrowest of leads had to be defended as referee Jeff Allen decided there was time for play to continue.
The brave Villagers attempted to score a further try to gain a bonus point and the visitors a score to gain the victory. The drama was real, the tension palpable as the result hung in the balance, with desperate defence from every Villager.
Influential number 8 Price drove on in the attempt to score his third try but had the ball stolen from his grasp by the competitive outside half Lloyd which allowed scrum half Tom Davies to clear his line, and with the advancing Cefn Coed player knocking on, match official Allen brought the contest to a close.
A hard-won victory secured by the scoring of three spectacular tries that stunned the visitors, who had to settle for a losing bonus point .
Dinas have a free week before returning to league action at near neighbours Old Penarthians on February 11 for what is sure to be a keenly contested game.