Bedwas bounced back from a stoppage-time defeat at Cross Keys on September 25 by grinding out a 13-5 against the Keys at a rainy Pandy Park on Saturday.

It was the third time the sides met this season, with the first two encounters coming in the WRU Championship Cup.

Having failed to top their group in the Championship Cup, both sides are now playing in the WRU Challenge Plate.

Both sides took their time to get into their rhythm with a wet ball contributing to a few handling errors. Bedwas lost blindside flanker Ben Sier after ten minutes, paving the way for his replacement, Rhys Jones, to make his competitive debut.

Defences continued to dominate before a clever hoisted kick by Bedwas fullback Sam Davies was collected by Alec Jones, who put No8 Alex Bourne into space, before galloping the final twenty-five metres to score in the corner.

Matty Bancroft confidently added the conversion to give Bedwas a 7-0 lead.

The visitors’ lead was increased around the half-hour mark, when Bancroft’s penalty sailed between the posts.

There was no further scoring in the first half as the rain continued to fall.

Eight minutes into the second half, Bedwas’ Sam Davies was taken off injured and was replaced by Dion McIntosh. McIntosh took over at fly-half while Bancroft moved to fullback.

It didn’t take long for McIntosh to make his mark on the game, increasing the lead to 13-0 with a penalty kick in the 55th minute.

However, tensions on the field began to rise and fisticuffs broke out between the sides before settling down again.

The Keys got themselves back into the game in the 66th minute, when No8 Francisco Souto crossed the tryline following a spell of sustained pressure on the Bedwas line. However, the conversion fell wide.

As the game wore on, the sides started to tire and neither could grab a decisive try late on.

A yellow card was shown to Bedwas’ Bancroft for over-enthusiastic use of the boot, but the visitors’ 14 men were able to hold on see out the win.

On Saturday, October 9, Bedwas will host Tata Steel in the WRU Challenge Plate, while Cross Keys will travel to Beddau.

Cardiff Met and Trebanos are the two other sides competing in the round-robin competition.

Match report and imagery provided by Ian Lovell of Bedwas RFC.