WRU Bowl Quarter-Final

BAGLAN 8 ABERAERON 17

IT is every Welsh rugby player’s dream to tread the hallowed turf of the Principality Stadium, and for Aberaeron that dream is still alive in the national Bowl.

Despite a raft of injuries, they booked their place in the semi-finals with a controlled and comfortable victory in an intriguing encounter against Division Three West Central side Baglan.

The Seagulls will now face Division Three East Central A side Fairwater, of Cardiff, at a neutral venue on 21 March for a place in the showpiece final at the home of Welsh rugby.

Encouraged by a considerable and vociferous following, it is testimony to the squad’s strength in depth and the youth development through coach John James that their enforced absentees were hardly missed, such was the seamless transition, especially in the backline.

A perfect start was a bonus, with the visitors first off the mark as early as the fifth minute, when a strong scrummage paved the way for centre Tom Slinger to juggle the ball and crash through the defence, much to the surprise of the hosts.

The Aberaeron scrum was dominant with the front row of Alex Danton, Wozencraft and in particular Ceri Dorian Davies always to the fore.

The pressure soon paid off, giving Rhodri Jenkins the opening penalty success.

Baglan offered little in the opening quarter, with little vision and direction, and with Aberaeron also dominating the lineouts, with captain Sion Evans regularly finding Richard Francis and Tudur Jenkins, there was little to fear for the visitors.

A couple of unforced errors, however, gave the hosts the fillip they required and they enjoyed a purple patch leading up to the break.

A series of rolling mauls released the backs and created an overlap for winger Daniel Thomas to cross the line.

Minutes later they further reduced the deficit with a penalty by Dan Blethyn, to leave Aberaeron a mere three points ahead leading into the second half, after looking to be well in control of the tie.

It was important that Aberaeron regrouped in the second period, and with coach Justin Lloyd adding to the encouragement, they quickly rediscovered their first half resolve and could easily have added to their try count.

Centre Morgan Llewelyn and wing Steffan Jones, both youth developments, created openings, all to no avail, and a mixture of stout defence and missed opportunities failed to produce the results.

It was left to the reliable boot of Jenkins to keep the scoreboard ticking over with two more well-struck penalties to give breathing space.

A red card for Baglan also helped the visitors’ cause, and with no further scores there was considerable jubilation at the final whistle after a well-deserved success.

A big semi-final tie on neutral ground now beckons in March, with the hope of a trip to the capital - but it’s back to league duties on Saturday at Haverfordwest.