NEWPORT NO MATCH FOR STEELMEN
By Rhys Owain Jones
Newport suffered a miserable 20-5 defeat at the hands of Ebbw Vale on a wet and muddy Thursday night on S4C.
The Black & Ambers came into tonight’s Gwent derby looking to end the Steelmen’s unbeaten record at Eugene Cross Park this season and to take the challenge shield which Llandovery had relinquished back in October.
With poor weather for most of the afternoon, the heavy conditions on the heads of the valleys made it difficult for either team to play their desired brand of rugby in front of their supporters and a wider audience watching at home.
The visitors’ only chance of the first 40 minutes came shortly after ten minutes. A period of sustained pressure ended with Josh Skinner crossing the whitewash, only for referee Keith David to consult with his assistant and deem the second-row’s effort to be held up.
Ebbw Vale made them pay. A Morgan Lloyd penalty shortly after opened the evening’s scoring, before a simple catch-and-drive phase of play saw Dylan Bartlett cross over. Lloyd duly converted the try.
With a series of unforced errors and difficulty in the scrum, the B&As survived further Ebbw onslaught and came close to adding to their deficit. The home side’s captain, Joe Franchi, gave the visitors a glimmer of hope when his infringement at the ruck saw him earn a ten-minute period in the bin and the side lose a man going into the interval.
HANNER AMSER: Ebbw Vale 10-0 B&As
With Franchi serving his time and no change to the score in the meantime, it proved a frustrating start to the second half. With Newport in a great position on their opposition’s five-metre line, a simple maul from a lineout was penalised by the referee ending a great chance to open their tally, before the Steelmen had a golden opportunity to go further ahead.
On the other end of the field, some complacent passing by the B&As in their own twenty-two led to a turnover in a dangerous position. The visitors piled on the pressure and Siôn Parry merely had to collect a short pass and stroll over the whitewash. The conditions, though, took their toll and the Canadian international dropped the ball in a phase he would certainly have converted nine times out of ten.
A let-off for the Black & Ambers, however Evan Lloyd did manage to extend the lead with his second penalty kick of the evening before providing a moment of magic in front of the TV cameras.
His behind-the-back pass to Harry Rees-Weldon caught all the Newport defenders off-guard and saw the young Dragon race away to beat every defender in sight and touch down for Vale’s second try. Lloyd’s subsequent conversion ensured his 100% record with the boot on the night.
The B&As did manage to get a consolation try with a minute to spare. Garin Harris’ drive over the line gave the travelling supporters a reason to cheer, but overall, it was a miserable evening as Ebbw Vale ran out deserved winners, retaining the challenge shield and keeping their winning home record intact.
SGÔR TERFYNOL: Ebbw Vale 20-5 B&As
The Black & Ambers return to Eugene Cross Park in nine days’ time for a St David’s Day clash with Ebbw Vale, but this time in the Super Rygbi Cymru Cup (Sat 1 Mar, 2.30pm).
Following that, we have two consecutive Friday-night encounters in Newport. First, we welcome Mon County to Rodney Parade for the next of our special games celebrating our 150th anniversary (Fri 7 Mar, 7.30pm) before returning to Newport Stadium and to cup action to face Pontypool (Fri 14 Mar, 7.30pm).
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