Bedwas made a huge stride towards Principality Premiership safety with a resounding bonus-point win over local rivals Bargoed on Friday, February 8.
Stefan Sankala’s men claimed their fifth league win of the season and their first since November to reinvigorate their survival ambitions.
Defeat makes avoiding relegation all the more difficult for Bargoed, who are now 12 points behind Bedwas in the table.
Bedwas opened the scoring after four minutes when Adam Williams crashed over for a try. Joseph Scrivens added the conversion despite wet and windy conditions.
The hosts then converted their dominance into more points through a Scrivens penalty.
Bedwas scored their second try on the 20th minute through prop Brynley Toms, who bulldozed over the line. Scrivens’ conversion gave the side a 17-0 lead.
Five minutes later, Bargoed scored against the run of play when a clearance was charged down. Full-back Julian Mogg touched the ball down across the line to secure Bargoed’s only try of the game.
Callum Jones scored the conversion to give Bargoed a fighting chance.
But on the stroke of half time, Bedwas restored their 17-point lead. Bargoed’s pack buckled under the pressure and the referee awarded a penalty try. Bargoed’s Louis Blacker was sinbinned as a result.
After the break, Bedwas captain Alun Rees secured the fourth try to earn a bonus point when he finished off a catch and drive move to push the game beyond their visitors.
Once again the points were converted through the boot of Scrivens.
With half an hour left, Bedwas had no plans to slow down. Replacement Jonathan Davies was the next player to grab a try and Scrivens converted again.
Bargoed started to secure more territory but it was Bedwas who scored next. The forwards over-powered their opponents and were awarded a second penalty try.
With ten minutes remaining, Bedwas were reduced to fourteen men when Ryan Davies was shown a yellow card for illegal play.
But the sending off didn’t stop Bedwas pushing for more points. Lewis Bowden intercepted a Bargoed pass near their own try line and crossed over to inflict further misery on their rivals.
Scrivens converted again to seal a massive 52-7 victory.
Bedwas overtake Llanelli to rise to 12th in the league table, while Bargoed stay in 15th place.
On Friday, February 15, Bedwas take on title-chasing Cardiff RFC at Cardiff Arms Park, while Bargoed face fellow-strugglers Llanelli away on Saturday, 16th February.
Report and imagery courtesy of Ian Lovell.