In a highly charged game – one of the best seen at Caerphilly this season – London Skolars secured a 22-6 win over South Wales Scorpions in a game that was defined by the hosts’ profligacy.
Scorpions had an early chance to put some points on the board, but Ian Newbury was pushed into touch as he approached the try-line.
From the resulting scrum, Skolars worked their way upfield and took the lead after Alex Walker dived over. Jymel Coleman’s kick hit the post.
Walker claimed a quick second, picking up Joe Keyes’ kick-off to ground. Coleman landed the conversion, and the visitors were 10-0 up after eight minutes.
Scorpions had several chances to reduce the deficit, winning a goal-line drop-out, before a handling error saw Skolars’ Michael Sykes run in under the posts.
The hosts did manage to get a try back before the interval, when Jordan Sheridan scored in the corner and Paul Emanuelli converted.
That score galvanised the Scorpions’ players and the second half was a highly charged affair, Connor Farrer sinbinned for starting a fight ten minutes after the break.
Scorpions continued to pound their opponents and did everything but get over the line.
Skolars had hardly been out of their own half and it’s credit to their defending that they were still leading by ten points when the referee called for an injury stoppage.
The greasy ball continued to cause problems for each side and when Skolars did create a dangerous attack, thanks to a decent run from Billy Driver, they knocked on when approaching the line.
But with ten minutes to go, the visitors did clinch the game, scoring against the run of play as Sam Nash grounded in the corner.
Coleman converted for a final score of 22-6.
• Match report by Ian Golden.
Virginia Park will play host to the first ever Masters Rugby League in Wales on Sunday June 26.
The Masters Rugby League is a social version of the sport for over 35 year olds, with different rules relating to age.
There are four teams competing, from South Wales, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Kent, and the official Rugby League European Cup trophy – which was won by Wales last year – will also be on display.
For tickets and information on rules, visit www.scorpionsrl.com.