Picture the afternoon. January sun shining. Pitch all ready, thanks to the efficiency of Anthony and Mal. The crowd starting to swell, to Ceri Thomas and Julie Morgan’s delight in the refreshment bar! Andrew 'Tigger' Thomas and Rhian Jones applying strapping and giving vital massages to stiff muscles. Coaches Peter Bradley, Gareth Richards and Malo Jenkins (Snr) formalising the final plans for the ensuing match with Maesteg Quins, while the players mill around, listening to their (rubbish) music and chilling.
Sounds serene and calm - well it was until fine referee Lloyd Hughes blew his whistle to start the match against a side that had already beaten us in October.
Bryncethin started the game positively from the outset and didn’t let up for the full 70 minutes. Yes there were a couple of momentary lapses in concentration, but this was possible the best performance of rugby that the staff had seen from these players in two seasons.
The boiler house in the front five at scrum time, of Ieuan Davies, Sam Jervis, Jake Williams, Ryan Nolan and Sam Reynolds found early on that they had the beating of their opposite numbers and this allowed the back row of Gareth Evans, captain Steven James and No. 8 Will Thomas to rampage off the back.
This pack secured lots of clean ball and worked tirelessly all game meaning that half backs Cai Bradley and Dan Lockyer were able to dictate the speed of the game, to suit the the pace and guile of the three quarters. Ryan James and Ross Thomas formed a solid centre partnership that shackled their opponents and pressurised them into making errors. The back three of Jason Green and Tomos Hopkins on the wings and Shane Howells at 15, looked comfortable from the outset, but Hopkins was forced 11 minutes, having sustained a heavy tackle with his ribs exposed. He was ably replaced by Dafydd Jones.
Lock Sam Reynolds claimed the opening try of the game after some powerful driving play released him on a scything angle on 18 minutes. The game ebbed and flowed for another thirteen minutes where the Quins pushed hard with some good handling, but everyone of the home side tackled hard and snuffed out any threats.
The cherry and whites looked to counter attack at any opportunity and when awarded a penalty on the home 10m line, live-wire scrum half Bradley took off quickly and released Lockyer who chipped through for Jones to chase. Visiting full back Scott Lyons was first to the ball, but Jones caught him in possession and at the ensuing ruck, Bryncethin got the turnover they need. Some stunning interplay between backs and forwards then saw centre Ross Thomas cut back against the flow and he jinked and danced his way to the line from 22m for a sublime try.
After a half of good, physical rugby from both sides, Bryncethin grabbed a crucial score on the stroke of half time. Again a delightfully weighted chip ahead by Lockyer was chased down by himself and Jones, Lockyer nudging the ball over the Maesteg line and pouncing on it for the try that he also converted.
Half time: Bryncethin 17 - 0 Maesteg Quins
The second period started as the first had ended as the Quins got bogged down in their own 22 from the kick off. Barely five minutes were on the clock when a home scrum 15m out, saw No.8 Will Thomas burst off the back of the scrum, draw the defence and feed Bradley. He in turn sucked in the defending wing Connor Bevan and pass on to Green, who cut inside the covering Lyons and dived over.
Undaunted at the score, Maesteg raised the tempo and put a concerted effort into getting back into the game. They got their reward after a momentary lapse in the home sides concentration allowed the Quins to create a well worked overlap for Bevan to gain revenge and score. This went unconverted.
Dylan Phillips came on at flanker and immediately got involved driving hard and getting quickly to every breakdown. Handling on the floor gave the home side a penalty which resulted in a line out 20m out. From this the home forwards drove and though the Quins defence held firm Bryncethin edged their way forward. No.8 Thomas, drove hard bursting through 2 defenders and offloaded to U16 prop Ieuan Davies who took the ball at full pace and crashed over from 5m, taking defenders with him. The try was converted by by Lockyer.
Ellis Andrews and Matthew Betts now took the field for Bryncethin, as they looked to use the fresh player of the bench to relieve some of the hard working home players.
Again, the Quins showed that they are made of stern stuff and lead by captain Aled Evans, they stepped up the gears again. They were rewarded after some strong approach play when Evans bulldozed his way to score another unconverted try.
The Cherry and Whites responded to this by forcing their way into the Quins 22. They were awarded a penalty 3m out, which Bradley again took quickly and burrowed his way over with just 4 minutes left on the clock. Lockyer converted and the final change was made which saw Leon Sylvester replace try scorer Davies in the front row.
Sylvester was straight into action from the kick off, when he gathered the high restart and presented the ball perfectly for the home side. The last minutes were all Quins as they looked to gain respectability in the result, but the home side again tackled valiantly. At the final ruck of the match the robust home pack secured a turn over, wing Jones tapping the ball out of play for the final whistle.
This result had the coaching staff purring and the supporters talking about the best performance they’d seen from this squad. On the final whistle, raffle ticket sellers extraordinaire Angela Thomas and Lisa Phillips had only just finished selling thier wares because they were so engrossed in the match.
There were many candidates for Man of the Match after such a fine team performance, but the honour went to Ross Thomas for exceptional work in defence, some fine attacking play and of course, his try. Notable mentions for Ieuan Davies; inspirational captain Steven James; Sam Reynolds in the line out and for a try; Will Thomas; Shane Howells.
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