Fixture

Saturday December 22^nd 2018

Beddau 21 - 0 Maesteg Quins

WRU Championship

Beddau must have been very good boys, as Santa brought them the league victory they placed at the top of their Christmas wish list. Alternatively, an off-colour Quins must have been extremely naughty. They received exactly what they deserved from this match.

Both goal-kickers missed a pair of relative sitters in the first half, but Beddau led 11-0 at the break. Cody Baker skipped through the midfield defence and crossed. A little later Hywel Chatham goaled a penalty and did so again on the stroke of half-time.

If the hosts had got to half-time twenty points up, there could have been no complaints from the coal blacks and blood reds. It was only their determined defence that kept the score this close, along with a few handling errors from the ‘Bulldogs’.

Quins lacked composure. A freneticism coughed up possession just when it appeared a good move was on the cards. Even when the Maesteg men put the phases together, Beddau managed to turnover possession, whereas the Quins were unable to reciprocate.

Playing down the slope in the second-half, the Quins were on an early attack, only for play to be brought back on the half-way line; a penalty awarded to the green and golds plus a yellow card for some not too clever thinking.

These calamities continued for the Quins. Three line-outs were lost when five yards from the home line. On the other hand, Beddau drove hooker Corrie Ellis over. At another line-out.

Chatham kicked a second penalty to extend the lead to sixteen points.

Although the Quins scrum improved in the second half, for the second time in two matches, a clean strike was kicked back into the opposition half of the scrum. Beddau didn’t look this Christmas gift in the mouth. Running through phase after phase Baker took a deep, crisp and even weighted pass to touchdown in the corner.

Quins looked as though they hadn’t played together previously. This can be excused due to the stop-start nature of their season so far. The scrum showed weakness and so did the line-out play. These weaknesses have to be eradiated.

From time to time days like these come along and merely proves, in the Championship you have to be at least ninety percent on your game: physically, mentally and skilfully to compete.

Debutant Callum Powell showed real pace in attack and defence. Tadgh McGuckin did well with the paucity of possession he had. Lewis Francis played with his usual gusto, the only forward to run onto the ball when receiving possession. Jakob Williams was terrier like when dealing with poorly presented possession, often regaining ball his forwards should have been cleanly winning.

Collectively, Quins’ minds were elsewhere. Nobody will be more disappointed at this showing than the players themselves they know they can perform better. Alternatively, Beddau were focussed on the eighty minutes that make weekends worthwhile and thoroughly deserved their win.