All out attack brings good score but bad result

Despite scoring almost 40 points the Warriors lost out in this exciting match with Primary Ed

A bright crisp day set the scene for some exciting rugby and neither side disappointed in this fast and loose exhibition match in which both teams looked to run at all costs. Last season this match up brought a physical battle but this time it was all about the movement.

The students started quickest and scored two quick fire tries almost from the off, some early missed tackles making things to easy for Bessant and Farrell. Whilst the Warriors defence did tighten up the first half certainly belonged to the visitors with their forwards working hard to give quality ball to the backline. The main instigator was centre Josh Congreve with Golden and Hall benefiting. A lack of experience in the Warriors back three meant the cover tended to be too wide resulting any line break costing them dear.
The Warriors only consolation was a try from flanker Gwilym Lewis capitalising on a sharp break from Nathan Murphy.

The 2nd half was a much more even affair. The Warriors started with a bang, quality lineout ball and a neat delay from Gravelle at fly half allowed Rowlands to hit through the gain line and from there quick hands across the line gave Dan John just enough room to cross. From the kick off the Warriors attacked again and although this time they were held up Andrew Davies worked the ball over from a ruck.

The momentum of the game had suddenly changed and the Warriors were looking for a third quick score but Congreve seized on a loose ball and sprinted all the way to the try line. The frantic tempo didn't drop though the play swung from end to end with neither side looking for respite. Ben Winstanely and Craig James scored at the end of some excellent team play from the Warriors but again the Eddas looked sharp whenever they got the ball. Dafydd Jones and Lewis Kenney showed some neat touches and Dan Wright made the most of a half chance to score another long range effort.
Simon Jenkins capped a fine performance with a bustling try but with Alex Hall and Shane Wainwright getting over for the visitors it was just a consolation effort.
Whilst the game was dominated by running rugby, there was plenty of graft put in, Steffan Arthur and Ben Kitson put in some hits for the visitors whilst Jon Keanry and Elliot Griffiths did well for the home team.

All in all a very enjoyable game with plenty of exhausted and bruised players who should all be proud of the quality produced.

Llanelli Warriors: Lee Rowlands (Gareth Ladd), Simon Day (Elliot Griffiths, Dan John), Johnathan Kearney (Nathan Murphy), Ben Winstanley (Gareth Gravelle), Dylan Crolla, Jamie Evans, Craig James, Mark Lewis (Dylan Evans), Richard Evans (Cpt)(Jason Jenkins), Colin Tacon (Rhys Evans), John Horwood, Darren Pollitt (Andrew Davies), Nathan Lawson (Jordan Jones), Simon Jenkins*, Gwilym Lewis

Warriors Tries: Gwilym Lewis, Nathan Murphy, Simon Jenkins, Craig James, Ben Winstanley, Dan John, Andrew Davies

Primary Ed Try scorers
Josh Congreve x3 Ieuan Bessant Ben Farrell Christian Golden Daniel Wright Alex Hall Shane Wainwright

Primary Ed Team
1. Ben Farrell 2. Ben Kitson 3. Dion Mitchell-Lewis (Cpt) 4. Daf Jones 5. Henry Frost 6. James Date 7. Brian Murdock 8. Steff Arthur 9. Shane Wainwright 10. Ieuan Bessant 11. Chris Golden 12. Steff Davies* 13. Alex Hall 14. Daniel Wright 15. Josh Congreve 16. Josh Atkins 17. Daniel Stone 18. Lewis Kenney

*Man of the Match

A lovely crisp sunny morning made for running rugby. A tough game for the Warriors but very enjoyable. The students brought a strong team even if it did include former team mate Ben Kitson. Shame that Wales couldn't quite match it later on but a packed clubhouse enjoyed watching the students getting ready for their Carmarthen pub crawl. Thanks to Gary James for refereeing and Grav for nearly marking the field.

Match programs didn't print very well but can be seen/downloaded here: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/files.pitchero.com/clubs/1000/WjtVpNHMTFmcwTZRKX2w_Prim%20Ed%20Prog.pdf