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Aberavon v Neath MatchPack : Report
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Title-chasing Neath had to keep the champagne on
ice for the time being as Aberavon ran out deserved winners on a
bitterly cold, windswept Easter Monday. While Neath may remain-odds
on to retain their league title, if there was an award for the most
improved side during the course of a season it would be difficult to
send it anywhere other than the Talbot Athletic Ground, where the
Wizards' supporters can only wonder at |
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| what might have been had their team discovered their
2008 form at the beginning of the campaign. |
It was at the turn of the year that the Wizards suddenly seemed to
discover the kind of self-belief that led to an instant transformation
from a team that was struggling to find itself into a devastating
combination of forward power, midfield solidity and pace out wide. Cardiff
were the first victims at the turn of the year, and since that memorable
occasion the Wizards' only reverse has been at Sardis Road, where they
were unable to raise their game in a difficult evening fixture.
Comparing this occasion with the Boxing Day encounter last year, which the
All Blacks won at a canter, highlights how quickly fortunes can change.
Neath were not happy with their own performance this time out, but were
prepared to give credit to an Aberavon side that was in no small way
responsible for the visitors' inability to scale their usual heights. A
dogged determination held the black-clad attackers at bay time and time
again, while the Wizards' threequarters looked by some distance the more
threatening of the two.
It was the Wizards threequarters who got the ball rolling within the first
minute. A loose clearance kick was fielded and moved to the right, where
Paul Bamsey broke through but stumbled as he sought to finish off his own
break. Undeterred, he flicked a reverse-pass, one-handed, out to
supporting wing Richard Carter, who went racing in on the overlap with the
match just forty seconds old. Jamie Davies converted, but whereas the very
same player had opened the scoring at the Gnoll on Boxing Day, this time
the Wizards believed in themselves and went about the business of
increasing their lead.
With a strong wind at their backs the home side were clearly going to need
more than a seven-point margin for any realistic hope of containing the
visitors after the interval to bear fruit. In the event, despite the
attentions of referee Phil Fear, who infuriated the home crowd with
inconsistencies that they felt very much favoured the All Blacks, the
Wizards were 19-nil ahead at the end of the first quarter, with first
James Garland crossing for an unconverted try after a great surge from
Chris Davies, and then outstanding scrum-half Chris Morgans finished off a
period of forward pressure to dive over for his half-back partner Jamie
Davies to convert.
There was worse to come from Mr Fear, however, as Aberavon hooker Chris
Wells was despatched to the sin-bin for an unknown offence. The loss of
such a big and experienced forward took its toll, and as pressure on the
Aberavon line mounted a penalty try was awarded, to the incredulity of
just about everyone, when an untidy maul went to ground. Arwel Thomas
converted, then just a few minutes later the home crowd were further
incensed when Garland again went racing through only to get brought down
inches from the Neath line. Quick possession at this point would have
almost certainly led to another try, but former Aberavon full back Gareth
King threw himself over the top to kill the ball. The referee's decision?
- a scrum.
The Wizards, however, rallied well and coped with the remainder of Wells'
absence, and ultimately had the last word of the half when a penalty,
awarded to an ironic cheer from the home crowd, was sent between the posts
to take the score to 22-7. It was now a question of whether a fifteen
point lead was going to be sufficient given the strength of the wind that
would now be in Neath's favour.
Warning bells began to ring when number eight Andy Llewellyn plunged over
for an unconverted try, and when a subsequent Thomas penalty narrowed the
gap to just seven points it began to look as though the pendulum was
swinging in the visitors' favour.
This Aberavon side, however, is nothing if not resilient, and whilst Neath
may have had the scent of victory in their nostrils at that point, it was
not there for long. With the home backs tackling in devastating fashion,
and their forwards gaining the upper hand in loose play, the Wizards upped
their game. At the same time Arwel Thomas seemed to fall apart under
pressure from his opposite number Davies and the Aberavon back row, making
a dreadful mess of what should have been a couple of long touchfinders
that in the event barely travelled forward, and then dropping the ball in
midfield.
Eventually the pressure from the home pack paid off. After Davies had hit
a goalpost with a penalty attempt an attack that went through countless
phases of possession ended in the left-hand corner with flanker Darryl
Thomas driving through for a crucial try. Equally crucial was Davies'
magnificent conversion into the wind, opening up a fourteen-point gap with
time fast running out.
There was just time for one final score, and the visitors clawed back a
losing bonus point when Matthew Nuthall went racing over to be awarded a
try despite a blatant forward pass that again had the home crowd venting
their anger at Mr Fear. Replacement Howard Thomas added the conversion,
but it was no more than a consolation score as the home pack again took
control, content to just repeatedly pick and go, maintaining control of
the ball at all costs with Chris Morgans snapping at their heels, shouting
instructions and calling the shots until the clock ran down and
man-of-the-match Morgans hoofed the ball into the stand.
Paul Williams
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