Bedwas 37-5 Bargoed
Saturday, September 16, Bridge Field
A dominant second-half performance earned Bedwas a fourth successive bonus-point win on a showery Saturday afternoon in the Principality Premiership East.
Bargoed were on top in the set-piece, and should have registered the first points of the afternoon when Bedwas were penalised at scrum-time, but the kick was unsuccessful.
Both sets of forwards were in no mood to concede an inch and some rigorous tackling saw space at a premium.
Bedwas took the lead after with two Lewis Evans penalties inside the first 15 minutes, but it was the Bulls who got the game’s first try.
The home side were penalised three times at the scrum as the Bargoed pack piled on the pressure, and after Ian Smerdon put the ball into touch ten-metres from the Bedwas line, a clean catch-and-drive lineout saw the pack steamroller second-rower Matthew Thomas over the line for an unconverted try.
The first half was littered with penalties, meaning referee Elgan Williams could not blow for the interval, and as the clock ticked onto 12 minutes of added time, Bedwas finally crossed the whitewash as George Less burst through for an unconverted try.
The hosts upped the ante from the restart, and began to gain the upper hand in the tight. Craig Hudd was driven over by his pack colleagues shortly after, as Evans slotted the conversion.
Bargoed protested a number of refereeing decisions, but nothing fell their way as Bedwas grabbed their third try through replacement Brynley Toms for 25-5 on the hour mark.
Any hopes Bargoed had of salvaging a result evaporated when lock Louis Blacker was yellow-carded for foul play, as they fell prey to another catch-and-drive. Dale Rogers emerged from the pile of bodies claiming the bonus-point try, and Evans converted once again.
Bargoed’s bad day at the office was made worse when Keiron Brown received a red card for serious foul play with just two minutes left. Former Bull, Geraint Edmunds, bulldozed through to secure Bedwas’ fifth try and round it off at 37-5.
• Match report by Ian Lovell of Bedwas RFC and Peter Greening of Bargoed RFC, with photography from the former.