Porth Harlequins II XV 38 pts v Abercwmboi II XV 0 pts - by Andy Hopkins
After suffering disappointing losses in recent weeks the seconds sought to get back to winning ways at the Black Diamond in a league fixture against Abercwmboi.
This really was a game of two halves with Porth failing to take advantage of the strong wind at their backs in the first half. Although Porth dominated possession, the score was confined to 6-0 at half time, courtesy of two penalties from Leon Rowlands., with the only action worthy of mention, a scintillating 40 yard break from Grimble.
The second half started with a firm statement of Porth’s intentions, when from the kick off and initial thrust by popular second row veteran Mark Parrry, the forwards set up a rolling maul that went fully 50 metres. A further burst from the forwards was followed by a try wide out on the left by Leon Rowland, from where, he just failed to add the conversion.
Following this confidence boosting score, Porth immediately worked their way to the opposition 22 again and when Abercwmboi conceded a penalty, demonstrated their confidence by kicking to the corner instead of taking the three points on offer. From the catch and drive, Dai Slade flopped over for the try with Leon Rowlands adding to his tally with a magnificent touchline conversion.
Porth were now completely dominant and unlike in recent weeks, it was the forwards who were controlling the show, repeatedly running aggressively at the opposition and setting up clean ball for the backs to use.
At half Lloyd Price was in fine form, using the ball wisely and registering two tries, the first seeing him force his way through three tackles.
Up front, mention must be given to the front row of Andrew Gaffney, Rhys Weeks and [Aders whats the other boy’s name?] who were replaced in the second half by the equally effective Chris Chambers, Turkey and Daniel Wilcox. The second row pairing of Mark Parry and Hightower, provided good support and ensured Porth were dominant in the line out throughout the game.
Ryan Owen worked tirelessly in defence and thankfully managed to avoid serious injury when he was severely bumped off by one of the smaller Abercwmboi players.
Behind the scrum, the backs for once had a bit of an armchair ride but nevertheless showed glimpses of what they are capable of with some intricate play late on when the game opened up.
Whilst this was a classy performance from Porth, it should not be forgotten that Abercwmboi were not the strongest opposition and stiffer tasks lay ahead! |
