Llandovery RFC v Newport RFC – 4th January 2025 by John Evans
The weather forecasts weren’t promising in the 24 hours leading up to this tough Super Rygbi Cymru fixture. Threats of snow seemed to be taken seriously by those in the know, but the expected snow arrival time moving back to nearer 5pm meant that the game went ahead, and any travelling supporters could travel in safety. The fact that the game had initially been scheduled for TV broadcast, kicking off at 5.15pm, but had been put back to 2.30pm, S4C preferring to show Pontypool v Carmarthen Quins instead, was a huge factor in this game being played; The game at Pooler was subsequently postponed.
Unfortunately, a ‘flu bug had been rampant through the Newport squad in the week previous, some players being laid up in bed for 48 hours, but most reported for duty on Saturday morning; only wing Lloyd Lewis appeared to be missing from the named starting XV, Iwan Pyrs-Jones taking his place on the wing.
Llandovery began the day in 3rd position in the league, one place above the Black & Ambers, so it was an important task for Newport to keep in touch with the small group at the top of the league.
Before the match started, there was a beautifully observed minutes silence for Dave Adams. Dave was very much a man of Llandovery but, moving to Newport for work over four decades ago, found huge enjoyment in Newport Rugby, becoming an ardent supporter for many years. Newport RFC sends sincere condolences to his family and many friends.
Ioan Hughes, the Drovers’ 10, kicked off, Josh Skinner battering into contact before Matt O’Brien kicked long in response as Newport attacked the clubhouse end of the Church Bank ground.
Good pressure from Iwan Pyrs-Jones forced Llandovery to kick long. Morgan Jones, at the front of the Drovers lineout, did well to burgle the ball, but the kick out on the full helped Newport relieve the pressure. Llandovery compounded their mistakes as Jones knocked on while trying to pinch the lineout again. From the ensuing scrum, Newport went to the middle of the pitch winning a penalty as they did so. Matt O’Brien pumped Newport into the corner, Barney Langton-Cryer took the lineout ball before Dafydd Buckland appeared to ground the ball as if he thought he had scored a try. Unfortunately for him, the markings of the new Church Bank 4G pitch are of differing colours, so the try and touch lines are marked yellow; Daf had touched down the ball on the 5-metre line. Not to worry, Newport cracked on attacking. Ollie Drake burrowed forward until Harri Ackerman had the power to smash through a tackle and ground the ball near the posts. Matt O’Brien added the conversion to make it Llandovery 0 Newport 7 with 6 minutes played.
Newport conceded a penalty, encouraging the Drovers to go to the corner. Ed Scragg, the Llandovery number 5, claimed the ball before club captain Lee Rees began dictating play. The Drovers went close, but excellent defence kept the red and white hoops at bay. Llandovery switched play to the right and good hands from prop Jamie Hughes ensured space enough for wing Jac Davies to cross out wide. Jack Maynard, the reliable home fullback, slotted the conversion to equalise the scores with 9 minutes played.
Llandovery attacked determinedly, but the visitor’s defence was impressive, forcing the hosts to put boot to ball. Jac Davies hared after the ball, but Dafydd Buckland was in position to deal with the situation. Unfortunately, the referee, Mr Craig Evans, judged that Newport were circling offside. Jack Maynard motioned at the posts before making it Llandovery 10 Newport 7 on 13 minutes.
Cold hands were beginning to play a part as players of both teams made handling errors under little pressure. But it was Llandovery who were able to capitalise as they laid siege to the Newport line. Hooker Taylor Davies appeared to be through but was downed just short. The backs realigned, but Matt O’Brien read the move and intercepted the pass. George Young battled onward before O’Brien kicked to clear. Mr Evans penalised Newport for crossing, but it was the Black & Ambers good fortune that Lee Rees, in his haste to take the penalty, spilled the ball.
Newport entered a purple patch as Llandovery found it difficult to get their hands on the ball. Josh Reid and George Young were grafting hard as the Llandovery defence was tested to the full. Chay Foster-Smith bustled along his wing; Dai Richards was a willing runner before Tyler Olding made a nice pop off the ground to Josh Skinner to keep Newport moving forward. With a penalty advantage, a Matt O’Brien cross-kick to Iwan Pyrs-Jones wasn’t completed. Sadly, Ollie Drake was forced off the field with an injury at this juncture, Nathan Evans taking over. Unfortunately, the resulting lineout was poorly executed. Llandovery even tried to give Newport the ball back to try again, Tyler Olding securing the loose overthrow, but the red and white shirts acted like a fire blanket and suffocated the ball.
Mr Evans penalised the Newport scrum on 33 minutes. The ensuing lineout was won by Llandovery as the home team looked to extend their lead. The defence was terrific, the Newport line remaining intact until Nathan Evans got across a ball-carrier and turned over possession in the shadow of the posts. The ball was cleared away, but the distance wasn’t great, just getting outside the 22. The Drovers lineout reset, Ed Scragg doing his thing again. The ball went through the hands quickly, until Harri Ackerman snuffed the move out by tackling Llandovery into touch. The Newport lineout was poor, Joe Powell, the Drovers number 8, taking the ball. The home side went to the narrow side, Jack Maynard going close, but there weren’t enough defenders to stop centre Macs Page crossing. Maynard added the two-pointer to make the score Llandovery 17 Newport 7 with 38 minutes played.
As the game entered first half stoppage time, Newport sought to reduce the deficit. The Black & Ambers played patiently, making the hosts defend honestly. Eventually, they crept offside as Mr Evans’ arm went up in favour of Newport. Kyle Tayler replaced George Young as the big man left the field of play with a nasty-looking cut to his leg. Matt O’Brien booted to the corner, allowing Tyler Olding to find Ben Roach in the lineout. Dafydd Buckland knew where he was passing, as the oval missile launched into the centre channel, Harri Ackerman crashing onto the pass and thumping his way across the line in an unstoppable pre-planned move. Matt O’Brien added the conversion to make it Llandovery 17 Newport 14 on 40+6 minutes.
Half Time: Llandovery RFC 17 Newport RFC 14
The floodlights were switched on as they tried to lift the gloom of the slab grey sky above. Matt O’Brien restarted the game, Lee Rees catching the ball then kicking directly to touch.
The Drovers shipped a silly penalty as someone pushed Dafydd Buckland to the floor needlessly. Matt O’Brien kicked the ball to 30 metres out, stand side, but Morgan Jones appeared to have tapped into the Newport forwards’ wavelength as he made a nuisance of himself by disrupting the throws and, eventually, forcing Newport to constantly throw to the back of the line to avoid him.
Llandovery kicked clear and, suddenly, Newport were looking at a broken field. Dafydd Buckland found space on his right and headed for it. Ben Roach was supporting infield, running hard. Harri Ackerman was flying up on the wing. He took Ben Roach’s pass before putting the burners on and winning the race to the tryline. Matt O’Brien added the conversion to make the score Llandovery 17 Newport 21 with 45 minutes played.
Llandovery didn’t take long to get their noses back in front. Jack Maynard was allowed to run too far before he was flattened. Newport streamed back in defence, but the Drovers kept at it. They eventually were found to be crossing in midfield, but Mr Evans had given an advantage for Newport offside. Rather than go to the corner, the forwards set up in two pods of three, the first taking Lee Rees’ pass and setting up a ruck before the second unit came in. This carried on for a few phases until Rhodri Jones, the Llandovery 12, acting as scrum half, found space enough over the yellow line to get the ball down and claim a try. Jack Maynard added the conversion to make the score Llandovery 24 Newport 21 with 50 minutes played.
Ioan Davies replaced Carwyn Penny, just as Newport were penalised in midfield. Llandovery went to the corner, set up the rolling maul and turned to the blind side. They kept the pressure on Newport, releasing the backs, but only as far as centre Macs Page who blew a hole through the Black & Ambers defence to claim Llandovery’s bonus point try. Jack Maynard did the business to make it Llandovery 31 Newport 21 on 53 minutes.
Henry Palmer replaced Tyler Olding soon after, just as Newport conceded another penalty. The lineout led to another rolling maul, but exemplary work from Barney Langton-Cryer saw the ball carrier wrapped up and Newport earn the turnover.
One began to wonder what effect the ‘flu bug was beginning to have on the squad. Uncharacteristic mistakes began cropping up, and a careless side-entry to a maul was one such error. Thankfully, Jack Maynard did miss one with the boot, hitting the right-hand upright, but then Newport failed to deal with it effectively. The Drovers were there in numbers, attacking the fringes, but Ioan Hughes’ cross-kick was dealt with by Chay Foster-Smith as he claimed the ball and the imminent danger was over.
Iwan Pyrs-Jones made way for Jac Lloyd on 64 minutes as Newport pushed hard for another score. Chay Foster-Smith’s dance along the touchline took them deep into home territory. Harri Ackerman carried hard, Tom Workman was still running hard before Dai Richards little kick ahead was mopped up by Llandovery, Lee Rees kicking clear. Newport reset, Josh Reid looking for work. Matt O’Brien tried to click Newport into gear, but Macs Page read the play, intercepted the pass and sprinted 70 metres to score, virtually unchallenged. Jack Maynard did the inevitable to make it Llandovery 38 Newport 21.
Josh Skinner and Tom Workman were withdrawn on 71 minutes, for Lewis David and Christian Brook respectively. Newport continued to put up a commendable fight in an effort to gain a four-try bonus point, but the accuracy had gone missing, and Llandovery could provide answers to each question that Newport set them.
Luke Crane was introduced for Dafydd Buckland, to attempt to spark something different, but that was a tall order in the circumstances. With a Drovers player off injured, and all of their replacements already on the field, they were forced to finish the game with 14 players. Even then, they were winning penalties and looking to extend their lead. A drive from a 5-metre lineout, when Stuart Worrall hitting the narrow channel took him close to the line, seemed to be likely to score, but Luke Crane got among the big forwards and tried to clear. His kick, however, was charged down, so Llandovery now had an attacking scrum, 5-metres out. The red and white shirts threw themselves into the attack, but the Newport defence was solid and eventually won a relieving penalty. With the clock ticking, and bonus points on the horizon, however distant, Matt O’Brien tapped from his own tryline. Dai Richards was up for it, but his pass out to a replacement was fumbled and Newport halted themselves after 30 metres. The Llandovery scrum would not settle, Mr Evans awarding Newport a free kick. Off Matt O’Brien went again, injecting urgency into the Newport side, but more lack of concentration saw another frustrating fumble.
The snow began to fall as Newport had a last gasp thrust to claim one bonus point, but to no avail. Poor handling ended the move, and the Drovers were deserved winners, claiming all six points on offer.
Full Time: Llandovery RFC 38 Newport RFC 21
Newport RFC now have a couple of weeks off to recover and get their lungs back to full capacity, before travelling to face Bridgend on January 25th. This is a rearranged game that was called off by Storm Bert. The following Saturday, February 1st, we travel to Swansea in a Super Rygbi Cymru Cup game. We’re on the road again on Friday February 7th, when the Black & Ambers visit Aberavon to replay the fixture that was abandoned in torrential rain on September 26th last year. Newport are finally back at home, at Newport Stadium, on Saturday February 15th, when Carmarthen Quins visit us again, this time in the Cup competition.
Onwards and upwards Newport.
Your City. Your Colours. Your Club