Rugby

Poor defending costs Lampeter

Swalec Division Two West

Morriston 28

Lampeter 20

LAMPETER made the long journey down to Morriston last Saturday for this re-arranged Division Three West fixture, originally due to be played before Christmas, writes John Jones.
It was crucial that the Maroons got something out of this game, to help ease their relegation fears, as they are in danger of a dog-fight at the wrong end of the table for what appears to be the second relegation spot, with neighbours Llanybydder seemingly having too much to do in the remainder of the season to stay up.
Yet, despite a bright and encouraging start, where Huw Thomas put them ahead with an early penalty, Lampeter failed to keep out a robust and at times ruthless Morriston pack.
They eventually went down 28 points to 20, failing to get a bonus point by just one point.
An early break by young full back Lyn Jones ended with a penalty kick to the visitors, but this lead proved short-lived, for almost immediately from the restart, a poor first line tackle led to centre Rhodri Jones to score the home team’s first points. Huw Thomas then slotted over his second kick of the game to restore the visitors advantage, and at this stage of the game, Lampeter looked to be comfortable.
They sadly lost the services of Jason Thomas, however, which disrupted the back line, and Morriston regained the lead, with Shaun Jones converting a penalty from short range.
The pressure on the Lampeter eight was starting to build up, and they were struggling to contain the home pack in the scrums. To make matters even worse, they were losing too much of their own line-out ball, which only served to put more pressure on their defensive line.
As the game approached the interval, it was crucial they did not yield any more points before the break, but just as Wales did the previous night, Lampeter pressed the self-destruct button once again by missing a fairly comfortable first line tackle, which allowed winger Adam Somerfield to score their second try.
With the last move of the half, Jones then slotted over his second penalty which gave the home team a 16-6 lead at the half-time break.
Lampeter had an early opportunity in the second half to reduce the deficit, but Thomas pulled his penalty kick wide of the posts.
There was some indifferent decision making by referee, Jeff Lake, which made it difficult for both sides to understand his interpretations.
The home side certainly appeared to rule and control the breakdown, despite Mr Lake’s calls, and this seems to be a feature of the modern game, with sides playing the referee to see how far they can go before being penalised.
Another piece of slack defending allowed the home flanker Steve Crane to break through and score under the posts, which Jones converted to stretch Morristons lead to 23-6.
Morriston finally paid the price for their infringements, as they were reduced to 14 and later 13 men, with two being shown yellow.
Whilst the first player was off the park, Lampeter managed to get a score, with Dafydd Jones getting the try and Thomas converting, which reduced their deficit to 10 points.
But once again, almost immediately from the restart, they gave away a soft try, with the bounce of the ball evading Lampeter’s defenders and allowing scrum half Ben Collins to score his side’s fourth and bonus point try.
With the last move of the game, prop Eirwyn Thomas scored for the visitors from close range, but it was a case of too little too late.
There were some courageous performances, with the back row of Thomas, Jones and Williams trying their best to move the side forward. Yet, they were severely hampered by injuries, which are proving to be quite costly, with Paul Jones, Lyn Jones and Jason Thomas coming away with injuries from this game.
However, Lampeter were let down by some very poor defending at times, as well as some wrong decision-making, and on too many occasions the use of the missed pass was not needed, especially when they had a two-man advantage for 10 minutes of the game.
They now have seven league games remaining, four of which are at home, in order to put matters right, and they will be determined to secure enough points to maintain their status in Division Three West for another season.