TWO excellent tries helped Cardigan secure a 12-9 win in the Ceredigion derby at Tregaron, but the difficult conditions and wet and windy weather made life very difficult for both teams.

There were no points scored in the second half, although the hosts were forced to defend resiliently as Tregaron came at them for long periods, and John Lumb and his team did well to keep them out.

It was the home side that opened the scoring when full back Huw Bonner slotted a penalty after an infringement at the breakdown, and Cardigan were under huge pressure with none better for them than hard tackling blind-side Tom Taylor.

Tregaron’s Rhydian Evans, playing in the unaccustomed position of outside half, played the percentage game well and in this period they had the majority of possession and the best field positions.

Bonner added a second penalty midway through the half, following another indiscretion, but this seemed to spark some life into the visitors’ backline, which was aided by greater accuracy at the set piece.

Cardigan took a tight grip on the game and scored two quality tries within three minutes, with the first of these coming from right winger Rhydian Jenkins.

A massive turning point came on the half on hour mark; the visitors full back kicked a long range kick which was covered by Bonner, but as he was going to gather the ball, he slipped and he could only watch as John Lamb gather the ball to score, and Iwan John converted.

Tregaron bounced back and another penalty kick was slotted over by Bonner to give a 9-12 scoreline at the interval.

The second half proved to be exciting, but it was also fractured as the young Llanelli referee frustrated both teams with his frequent whistle blowing.

Cardigan had the best of the third quarter and pushed hard to extend their lead, but the home defence stood firm, and young second rower Dewi Jones, who was excellent in the line-out, was also very prominent with his huge tackle count.

The game changed once more on the hour as the referee yellow-carded two of the visitors’ players in quick succession.

With the extra numbers, the hosts threw everything at their opponents, but a lack of composure and a hard working defence meant the whitewash wasn’t crossed.

A penalty kick was turned down and an attempt for a drop goal was narrowly missed, to leave Tregaron very disappointed with only a losing bonus point, despite a morale-boosting performance.

Neyland 22 Llanybydder 16

IT is always a tough match for Llanybydder at the Athletic Ground in Neyland, and the blustery rain and strong wind made conditions difficult for both teams in their attempts to play open rugby.

The home side started well and were rewarded when lively right wing Patrick Bellerby made a strong midfield run to cross for the opening try, which was then converted by fly-half Mark Riley.

Llanybydder settled, however, and a good run by centre Arwel Thomas took the play deep into the home side’s 22. Further pressure from the visitors led to two penalties for centre Steff Richards to kick, to give a score of 7-6 at the interval.

Neyland controlled possession and territory for most of the second period, with forwards and backs combining well.

They were duly rewarded with two tries scored by No 8 Ben Williams, and another for replacement hooker Richard Jones as the home team claimed a bonus point.

The visitors, who were missing a few regulars, responded positively and they scored a late try through scrum half Llyr James, with an excellent conversion by Richards securing the losing bonus point.

Crymych 21 Felinfoel 25

POWERFUL back rower Osian Davies grabbed a hat-trick of tries for Crymych as they produced an excellent second half revival after trailing 25-7 at half-time.

He still ended up on the losing side, however, as the Preseli men were unable to turn late pressure into points, and in the final analysis had to settle for a losing bonus point when they might have scooped the lot.

Davies’ first try owed much to the endeavours in the tight from skipper Rhys ‘Beaky’ Davies, Matthew Freebury, Jason Nicholls, Carwyn Rees and Morgan James, with Jake Jenkins adding the extra points.

Felinfoel showed why they are doing so well, however, as they looked to build the platforms for attack, which saw hooker Rhys Evans, second row Andrew Thomas and centre Jordan Dunn score tries, with two conversions and two penalties from fly half Aled Roberts.

Whatever coach Randall Williams said to the Preseli men at half-time it certainly worked as they gradually gained the back-row ascendancy through Osian Davies, Sion Colella and Aled Harries, which resulted in two further scores for Davies, both converted by replacement centre Ifan Phillips.

Felinfoel held on for victory, but they could well have lost had Crymych not missed tackles and given them too big an advantage.