Cobra 16 Bala 6.

Cobra went into another local derby still smarting from last weeks narrow defeat at Dolgellau. The hosts were determined to rid themselves of the 'close but no cigar' idiom that had affixed itself to recent matches against the men from Bala. With a handful of players missing for various reasons Aled Davies and his men knew that they would have to be at their very best to get the win.

On a glorious afternoon of sunshine at Cae Cobra a number of exuberant supporters filled the balcony of the clubhouse and the home touchline. Buoyed by the buzz of the crowd the home side started with a bang with a dominant early scrum in front of the clubhouse . The Bala front row knew that they were in for a long afternoon at the office with the front row union of Bryn Edwards, Steve Isaac and Hywel Jones demolishing the away sides set piece in the early exchanges. This set the tone for the first half with grit, determination and togetherness at the forefront of the home sides display.

Bala managed to ride the initial storm and took a shock lead with their fly half slotting over a penalty after an infringement at a lineout following their first visit into the Cobra half. It was a short lived lead as Cobra's very own 'Mr Reliable' Llew Williams drew the home side level with 3 points from his accurate boot.

Cobra enjoyed a lot of possession in the opening half and knew that they had to keep the ball in hand against their dogged opponents and a strong wind. Scrum half Andrew Pryce revelled in his new role and kept the Bala defence on their toes as he sniped around the base of the rucks. Pryce was helped out by a tireless pack who offered themselves as willing runners at every opportunity; however, credit must be given to the away sides defence as they met the runners head on with crunching hits.

Both fly halfs exchanged penalties and the score stood at 6-6 when Bala were granted a scrum on their own 22. The Cobra front row were determined to disrupt the Bala ball and as soon as the ball was fed into the scrum the pressure came on from the home side. The Bala scrum splintered and Jack Jukes was given the perfect attacking platform. The rangy young number 8 did not need any second invitation as he picked up and ran at the Bala defence. Jukes, who has had a very impressive season for the Cobra men, broke a couple of tackles before diving under the posts. This was to the delight of the home players and supporters alike and was nothing less than the hosts deserved. Williams added the extras along with another penalty to give Cobra a 16-6 half time lead.

Coaches Matt Griffiths and James Watkin praised the sides efforts at half time and touted the opening half as the best 40 minutes of rugby played all season. The coaching duo also reiterated the need to maintain the tempo and spirit shown in the first half.

With the wind at their backs Llew Wiliams, Sion Wyn Williams and the other backs relished the kick chase tactic that was adopted in the second half. Good pressure by wing Ieuan Williams on the Bala full back gave Cobra a superb attacking platform with a scrum 5 metres from the try line. After a couple of re set scrums the shove finally came on from the home side who juggernauted their way over the line. The front 5's celebrations were a little premature as the ball had been knocked on as it crossed the line. The next 5 minutes was filled with scrums in the Bala 22 with all 6 front rowers determined not to give away an inch to their opposite number.

Despite the fact that no points were scored in the second half, credit must be given to both teams. Neither set of players were willing to give up and the physicality of the match continued to the very last minute. Big hits and strong carrying by both teams gave each set of supporters something to shout out.

When the referees blew his whistle to signal the end of the match the delight was evident on the home players' faces. They had managed to get the 'monkey off their back' and had beaten their local rivals and previous Division 1 champions for the first time in a number of seasons.

The victory was once again built on a solid defence with 1-15 showing commitment to the cause by putting their bodies on the line. This was epitomised by second row Rhodri Evans who suffered an blow to the head early in the second half. The hard man from Foel shook off the injury and played on until the end.

Cae Cobra has now become somewhat of a fortress with the hosts winning 7 out of their 10 matches at home this season. Only 2 games of the season now remain against table topping Nant Conwy and Pwllheli. Both sides are in the hunt for the league title and Cobra will enter both matches with a carefree attitude and a mission of denting each sides title ambitions.

Team- 1. Bryn Edwards, 2. Steven Isaac, 3 Hywel Jones, 4. Rhodri Evans, 5. Steff Lowther, 6. Aled Davies, 7. Lloyd Bright, 8 Jack Jukes, 9 Andrew Pryce, 10 Llew Williams, 11. Ieuan Williams, 12. Aled Humphreys, 13 Frazer Roberts, 14. Chris Robsos/ George North, 15. Sion Wyn Williams,

Subs 16 Meilir Evans,