Aberystwyth lost their second pre-season friendly match of the new season at Plascrug on Saturday to their mid-Wales rivals from Builth. After winning convincingly against a touring side from the USA in the first friendly, they came up against tougher opposition on this occasion.

Aberystwyth RFC 17 Builth Wells RFC 33

The squad assembled by Aber for this match was probably the youngest senior XV the club has ever fielded and it would not have surprised anyone if Builth’s margin of victory had been greater. But this blend of last season’s youth players with others who had already tasted senior rugby would have impressed any pessimists in the large crowd of Aber supporters who came to watch.

Conditions were good for open rugby on Saturday but Aber gave away an early penalty. From the ensuing five-metre lineout Builth produced a simple, efficient catch-and-drive to score a try in the corner. They repeated this manoeuvre shortly after and added a conversion to increase their lead to 0 – 12. An attacking kick from Aber was then partially charged down and the ball was scooped up by Builth’s alert left wing to run 60 metres to score under the posts. The conversion took them to a 0-19 lead.

A misunderstanding at an Aber lineout gave Builth possession to create an excellent attack from 35 metres which resulted in another converted try and a lead of 0-26. It would have been understandable if heads in Aber ranks had dropped after this, but to a man they showed the character to hit back and from an excellent touch-finding kick from Benjamin they crossed for their first try which Benjamin converted to close the gap to 7-26. Aber added two more tries in quick succession to move the score to 17-26, but Builth had the final word in the dying seconds of the game with a converted try to close the scoring at 17-33.

Aber’s coaches – both youth and senior – can feel proud of this display as players, many of whom had never played together previously, settled down gradually and overcame their new environment. Marshalled by Dylan Benjamin at outside half they put in an excellent display of controlled defending. Their tackling may have been untidy at times but it was effective throughout, except when Builth found opportunities out wide where their greater experience and space enabled them to exploit Aber’s lack of senior rugby. The final scoreline flattered the visitors but Aber’s young squad for the day can feel encouraged by their own brave and skillful effort.

The home side’s back row was tenacious in defence and with ball in hand and it took strong tackling from Builth to keep them from breaking through the visitors’ cover. Lineout possession was fairly evenly shared although a lack of understanding between thrower and jumper deprived Aber of possession at crucial times. The hosts’ scrummaging was comparatively solid thanks to an uncompromising display from their front row.

Aber were missing some familiar faces due to injuries, but the return of those missing players should provide the side with the edge they need to compete effectively in Div 1 West from early September. In the meantime, it is clear that the club has to ensure that those players who are on the fringe of 1st XV rugby get plenty of senior rugby experience, and the only way they can get that is through the resurrection of Aber’s Athletic XV. This has to be a priority for the club if it is going to produce a continuous supply of talented players.