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Bedwas RFC pulled off one of the shocks of the season by crushing league leaders Ystrad Rhondda 46-17 at the Bridgefield on Saturday November 25.
Struggling Bedwas, who had suffered four consecutive losses before last weekend, made it two wins in their last two to move up to eighth in the WRU National Championship East table.
The game saw the return of a familiar face to Bedwas – Ystrad Rhondda coach Stefan Sankala, who spent 20 years at Bedwas as a player, coach, and head coach before his departure at the end of last season.
On a cold, bright November afternoon at the Bridgfield, Bedwas got off to a flying start, taking the lead after just three minutes through Lloyd Wilkins. James Dixon added the conversion.
The hosts’ second try soon followed. Adam Williams ran in from 35 metres to score, with Dixon’s conversion putting his side 14-0 up after just six minutes.
Ystrad Rhondda tried to respond but some mishandling from their attack kept them out until the 21st minute, when winger Kurtis Williams found space to cross for his side’s opening try. Rhys Truelove continued.
Bedwas responded with a Dixon penalty after the visitors were deemed offside.
However, Ystrad pulled one back around the 30-minute mark when centre Cole Morgan crossed – but Truelove missed the conversion.
Bedwas led 17-12 as the sides went into the half-time break.
The first points of the second-half fell to Bedwas, with Dixon spotting a gap and running through for a try, which he converted himself.
Things got worse for Ystrad Rhondda, who were reduced to 14 men when Morgan was sin-binned. However, Dixon missed the ensuing penalty.
But he made no mistake three minutes later, with his penalty kick sailing between the posts. 27-12.
The league leaders kept digging however, with Bedwas’ Harry Oliver shown a yellow card for a ruck offence.
But Oliver’s dismissal didn’t affect Bedwas’ rhythm. A break off the back of a scrum by Rogers set up Aaron Billingham for an unconverted try – sealing the four-try bonus point for Bedwas.
The fifth try followed three minutes later, with Adam Williams breaking from deep to touch down in the left corner. Dixon’s conversion put Bedwas 39-12 up with ten minutes remaining.
The try was controversial, with one of Ystrad’s coaches shown a yellow card for disputing the referee’s decision.
Ystrad’s third try followed with two minutes left of play, as Kurtis Williams grabbed his second of the afternoon. However the conversion was missed.
Bedwas continued to take the game to the visitors and after three scrums where the visitors were deemed guilty of scrum offences, the referee awarded Bedwas a penalty try, followed immediately by the final whistle. 46-17 it ended.
Bedwas will look to build on the result on Saturday December 2, when they travel to face Caerphilly County Brough rivals Cross Keys at Pandy Park.
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