Saturday, January, 6^th, 2018.

Kenfig Hill 5 – 28 Maesteg Quins

WRU Division 1 West Central

If scrummaging be the food of rugby (and front-rowers are unavailable) - play on and say what you will, this is exactly what happened at Kenfig Hill on the final day of the festive period.

Although vowing revenge on the whole pack of Mules, Quins were a little sloppy at times. However, there were flashes of brilliance to erase visiting consternation.

A long period of fiery snapdragon attrition at the start, gave way to a bout of Twelfth Night egg tossing, as the ball was shovelled from man to man with no real purpose. This lack of cohesion was due to a midfield cluttered with forwards who had less to do than usual. Despite the sterling efforts of Ryan George and Aled Edwards to unlock the defence, many moves just fizzled out in the face of an extremely well passive prepared Kenfig Hill.

From a huge driving maul that sucked defenders in, Ben Davies was off like a milgi. On top form, the move would have ended with a try.

Possession sought was good, but given unsought was better. Therefore, breakdowns were infrequently contested because it was better not to concede penalties and gift yards to the opposition.

That said, two needless penalties at the breakdown handed the Mules easy yards. Phase after phase were played out deep in the Quins half. The visitors could not relieve the situation and when a twenty-five drop-out went straight to touch, the prolonged pressure began again.

A chip over-the-top led to a scrum five. Home skipper and scrum-half Tom Briggs’ bustling run got him over to open the scoring.

Responding immediately, a scrum move saw Jack Picton well on his way to touch down. A high tackle halted a certain try. A penalty try could have been awarded, but play went on and Aled Edwards bludgeoned his way through. Rhodri Davies converted.

Another Ben Davies break in midfield again should have been finished off. However, it did instigate a series of attacks in which backs and forwards chiselled away at the keen Kenfig Hill defence. A miss pass found Owen Richards who cantered under the posts. Davies converted.

Time was needed to untangle the problematic knot of a packed midfield. It was too difficult for the players to untie, but as clock ticked on and the Mules tired, the Quins struck.

Experiencing a moment of epiphany, with groans that thundered effort and sighs of fire, Quins started the second half in a determined mood. Concerted grinding and pounding of Kenfig Hill’s line softened the defence.

The hosts couldn’t cope with a powerful Steve Williams burst. Namesake Scott gathered the pop pass. Some are born match winners, others achieve match-winning status and some have match-winning moments thrust upon them. When Williams’ adroit pass out of a tackle found Aled Evans, the replacement collected to score with his first touch the try that virtually sealed the game. Davies converted.

Do teams believe because the Quins are forward focussed they have no creativity and skill? The try of the match commenced in the Quins half. Scott Williams broke through and again gave a slick pass to Aled Evans who ran onto the ball at pace. Evans ran on and sought support either side of him to continue the move. He found it in Ryan George. Owen Richards was gliding along outside the Quins centre and like Brexit campaigners realised his main support was on the extreme right. Giving a pin-point pass to Aled Edwards, who drew the final defender to send Alex Griffiths to the line for the bonus point try. Davies converted to maintain his one hundred percent kicking record. Leaving the Quins followers to return to work on Plough Monday with beaming smiles.

Kenfig Hill competed with a better grace, but the Quins did it more naturally. Time was played out with the Mules dominating possession and territory. They were unable to create the magic of their opponents, instead they made numerous short passes and short drives that were swallowed up by a Quins defence, determined no to give any quarter.

The Quins defence was of one heart and had one aim. Steve Williams complimented his fine tough tackling defensive display with a constant supply of good line-out ball. Jay Ronan and as usual, Josh Mines, who also cleaned up a fair amount of scrappy ball were other stout defenders. Behind the scrum, the three-quarters made the most of limited chances for three important scores.