Bargoed 20-24 Ebbw Vale
Saturday, August 26, Bargoed Park
The first game of Bargoed’s Principality Premiership East season got underway in cracking fashion at a balmy Bargoed Park, as Ebbw Vale clung on to foil a stunning fight back by the Bulls.
The day, however, began in sombre mood with a minute’s silence for young Ben Thomas who died in tragic circumstances in the previous week.
The first quarter was an arm wrestle, with the only scores coming from the boots of opposing kickers Matthew Lewis and Callum Hall.
The Steelmen were the first to cross the line with No.8, Jonathan Davies, lurking on the wing to receive a speculative chip from Hall. The big back-rower juggled but hung on to the ball to dot down in the corner flag to make it 3-8 after 21 minutes.
Ebbw Vale looked strong with some crisp passing between the backs, but they found Bargoed well organised in defence and much of the first half was played out between the two 22-metre areas.
As half-time approached, Bulls’ full-back Lewis set off on a winding run from inside his own 22 and, sensing space down the left wing, put in a perfectly-weighted grubber kick which bobbled and caused confusion among the Ebbw defenders. Centre Jordan Howells followed up and pounced on the ball to cross in the corner.
Lewis cemented his part in the try by nailing the conversion from the touchline to give Bargoed a 10-8 lead at the break.
Bargoed extended their lead five minutes into the second half with a well-struck Lewis penalty from 40 metres after a scrum collapsed.
That set the pattern for the rest of the game with the home side dominant in the scrum, but the Steelmen still hit back with two penalties of their own through Dragons full-back Carl Meyer and replacement fly-half Lewis Dennet.
With the scores marginal at 13-14 on the our mark, Dennet was on the scoreboard once again with a drop-goal which Bargoed felt resulted from a knock-on, but their grievances fell on deaf ears.
Bargoed looked out of it with ten minutes left as Ebbw winger Toby Fricker finished off a fine move to run in from 30 metres. Dennet’s conversion made the score 13-24, but the home side used the bench well and finished the stronger side.
Ebbw’s stubborn resistance eventually cracked as the referee’s patience gave way with a penalty try awarded as Bargoed pushed the visitors back at scrum time for seven points and a 20-24 score as the clock turned red.
There was enough time for the restart and a subsequent Bargoed lineout after Duane Dyer was tackled off the ball, but the Bulls couldn’t pull off the most unlikely of comebacks and Ebbw clung on to claim the victory.
• Match report by Peter Greening of Bargoed RFC.