Aberystwyth 17 Burry Port 15

BEFORE this game Burry Port RFC were fifth in the WRU Championship (West) league with 17 points whereas Aber were in eighth place with 12 points, writes Brian Morgan.

The visitors were the better team for most of the game but eventually they gave way to a home side who lasted the pace better.

Rain and a variable wind could have spoilt this game as a spectacle but both sides handled the wet ball with skill.

Aber kicked off and Burry Port immediately showed that they intended to play adventurous rugby, with backs and forwards throwing the ball around and supporting the ball carriers in flowing moves.

The hosts saw very little of the ball for the first 10 minutes as the visitors probed the home defence using their heavy forwards to create gaps. This paid off eventually as they went ahead with a good converted try by their loose head prop.

An infringement at a ruck helped them to increase their lead with a well taken penalty.

Aber hit back almost immediately taking play well into the opposition’s half and their first points came from a fine try by prop Rhodri Evans who tore the ball away form a maul and ran a full 15 metres to score.

The difficult conversion was missed but the hosts were finally on the scoresheet.

Burry Port retaliated immediately and were camped near Aber’s tryline for long periods during which the home side’s tackling was strong.

Eventually though the visitors created an overlap on their left wing to score an unconverted try. This took the half-time score to 5-15.

Burry Port deserved this lead through their more adventurous play and better discipline. They read the game well and varied their tactics more, and so had the better of the game territorially as well as on the scoreboard.

The visitors brought their backs into play whenever possible and their handling was accurate and fast.

Aber on the other hand had tended to keep play close to the set pieces or breakdowns and had little to show for it.

Both sides started the second half much as they had played the first half; kicking for position and out of defence.

Mid-way through the half both sides brought on their replacements and it was clear that the home side’s bench was stronger than that of the opposition.

With the driving rain behind them, Aber’s kicking improved and it was from an excellent penalty kick by Dylan Benjamin that his side had a lineout near the opposition’s 22 metre line.

From there they mauled and forced their way towards Burry Port’s tryline before finally releasing the ball out to the backs to enable Carwyn Evans to score near the posts. Benjamin converted to close the gap in the scores to 12 – 15.

With the rain now easing and Aber with their tails up it was very much anyone’s game.

The home side made good territorial gains but poor handling or kicking spoilt their opportunities.

Then, with only a few minutes remaining they launched a last attack but found it very difficult to penetrate the Burry port defence.

Again they found the solution in their backs and bycreating an overlap they were able tp put winger Leo Desousa-Davies in to score the winning try, closing the game at 17 – 15.