Bedwas 49-17 Llandovery
Saturday April 8, Bedwas
Bedwas put Llandovery to the sword, notching eight tries to claim a bonus-point win and move to the brink of assuring a place in the Principality Premiership play-offs.
On a sunny afternoon, Bedwas opened the scoring through two Richard Powell penalties after the forwards set their stall out early and dominated their visiting counterparts in the scrum.
Llandovery attempted to get back in the game but former Bedwas outside-half Jack Maynard was unsuccessful with two long range penalties.
His side didn’t lie down however, and scored the day’s first try of the day when their dangerous runners opened up a gap in the Bedwas defence, and winger Aaron Warren ran through to dot down. Maynard had no problem adding the extras.
The home side hit back and looked to control possession. The pack was once again dominant at scrum-time, and referee Rhys Thomas was unsympathetic, immediately awarding a penalty try. Powell converted.
Bedwas looked to turn the screw but their good work was often undone by careless handling. Just before the half-hour mark, a clearance kick from the Bedwas half looked harmless enough, but winger Rory Budina had other ideas, turning on the gas to sprint after the ball and causing the Llandovery defender to spill the ball for him to pick up and touch down for an 18-7 half-time lead.
Nathan Hudd’s sin-binning for a high tackle could have proved more costly but the remaining Bedwas fourteen dug deep and no more points were conceded.
The second half started as the first had ended, with Llandovery on top. Centre Craig Woodall scored the first try after some good link-work, and Maynard’s conversion reduced the hosts’ lead to four points.
Almost immediately, Bedwas struck back. Hooker Alun Rees’ clever offload set up flanker James Thomas to crash through for a try improved upon by Powell.
Thomas then turned from hero to villain as he was sin-binned for retaliation after being on the receiving end of a Llandovery punch. Maynard made no mistake with the penalty and the Bedwas lead was again reduced.
Matthew John extended the home lead following a barnstorming run and with it, Bedwas earned a bonus point.
Veteran prop forward Chris Budgen came on for Matthew Pettit late on and proved age is no barrier after scoring two tries in two minutes at 44-years-old.
Llandovery’s hopes were extinguished when second-rower Joe Davies bulldozed over for Bedwas’ eighth try of the afternoon at 49-17.
• Match report and photography by Ian Lovell of Bedwas RFC.