CWMLLYNFELL 19 - LOUGHOR 30
Loughor moved within three points of third placed Cwmllynfell after a strong performance to win 30-19.
After a little bit of a shaky start the Loughor pack put in a powerful first half display up the hill controlling large periods of the game. Halfbacks Steve Wake and Andrew Williams pushed the ball deep into the home team’s territory and with Tom Davies at fullback also putting in a solid performance clearing his lines much of the play went the way of the visitors. After several carries through forwards Mike White, Rhys Corcoran, Peter Francis and Joel Thompson, a lineout from ten metres out was driven over for young flanker Rhys luckwell to crash over, converted by Williams.
The pressure was constant and several breaks by wing Richard Thomas presented an opportunity for hooker Mike White to chip the defence like Carlos tevez, retrieve and offload to lock Corcoran to sprint in between the posts, again converted by Williams. The home team worked hard to get back into the game through their large pack of forwards and fly half Craig Jones slotted three penalties and cwm wing Bowdy Davies scored a try on the halftime whistle to keep the home team in touch and remind Loughor the game wasn’t won.
The second half saw the home team surge there way up field to try and get the next score, but sterling defence led by the superb back row of Luckwell, Daniel and Jason Howells and centres Smigirlia and Mead stemmed the attacks.After one bout of tremendous defensive work, good turnover ball was won for Loughor to attack down field and after good phase play and offloading prop Jai Leung powered his way over for his first try in Loughor colours. Cwmllynfell responded well to this and kept up the pressure and camped on the visitors line for the next 15 minutes until the defence broke and the home team scrum half sneaked over to give the game a tense finish. Going in to the latter part of a game a good clearance kick from no 9 Wake and chase from wing Morgan Bryant saw Loughor pressure the Cwm 22, and from a lineout Mike White intercepted and run 40 meters for an excellent individual try to make the game safe.
A sound 80 minute performance with the forwards in excellent form and being well complimented by the backline who put them on the front foot on many occasions. The team now looks to build for next Saturday, with Skewen the visitors playing both first and seconds.
1sts v Skewen (Villa)
2nds v Skewen (Elba)
Any players interested in a game contact the coaches or Froggy on facebook
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Loughor 2nd's V Penclawedd 2nd's 12/11/11
A number of controversial refereeing decisons overshadowed a very competitive contest between the home side and an experienced Penclawedd team. Despite losing 34-21 there were a number of highlights for the Blue's for individuals and the team. After conceeding two trys early on due to a lack of organisation, Loughor clawed their way back into the game and if Loughor had not been down to 14 men for the final 10 minutes, then the result may well have been different. The standout performers for the Blues were Gareth Ebeenezer and Nick White. The towering Ebeenezer continued to demonstrate his potential, with a display of raw athleticism. Outside-half White controlled the game well, showing the full range of his ability with some aggresive tackles, pinpoint accuracy with the boot and some jinking runs that led to a great individual try. There were also promising performances from Tom Stevens who managed to convert a penalty with an effective if not pretty kick and Tom Hill making his debut at loosehead. Despite the coaching staff's concerns at 'The Bomb's ' lack of experience in the front row, he put in an assured performance that alleviated any fears. The recently converted flanker Dan Richards crossed for his first senior try for the club and he like all the players involved dug deep to take the vastly more experienced visitors to the limit. With a number of players involved with the First team, fears of a heavy loss were present but a number of players stepped up to show a great deal of spirit. The refereeing decisions bemused players,coaches and supporters from both sides. With no malice from either side it was shocking to see 7 yellow cards produced and both sides should take pride in their ability to keep the game competitive.