Fixture

Saturday September 1^st 2018

Cardiff Met 42 – 20 Maesteg Quins

WRU Championship

On the 79^th anniversary of Germany entering new realms using revolutionary blitzkrieg tactics under Hitler's order to invade Poland, the Quins ventured into new territory as they made their bow in the WRU Championship. Unfortunately. their tactics were more all out ‘krieg’ than swift ‘blitz’ and this was a factor in the final result.

It started well for the Maesteg men. Their scrum ‘blitz’ helping them dominate affairs early on. Mike Owen was carrying well and a couple of breakdown penalties firstly saw Ben Davies race away. The second was kicked to touch, but an opportunity was lost.

Met’s scrum succumbed to Quins pressure and Rhodri Davies kicked a penalty.

This lead was short lived. The re-start was gathered but the pass back was misguided and went over the head of the intended recipient. Chasing up at great pace, home skipper Aled Ward scooped up the ball and dived over.

Re-invigorated, the Students’ defence got sterner and their tactics executed superbly. The box-kicking of scrum half Marsh was of the highest order, with the chasers pinning Quins down.

It appeared the Quins were unable to psychologically accept this challenge. Innocuous kicks up-field were upgraded to dangerous penalties due to nonsensical late contacts. One such indiscretion was goaled to extend the home lead to five points.

Despite moving their hooker into the second row, well that’s where the put-ins were going, Quins still managed to shunt the young Archers off the ball. Absurdly crooked feeds were acceptable, but when Lewis Francis merely overpowered his opposite number it was deemed illegal.

Frustrated by this and the home resilience the Quins reacted with an unneeded petulance. Pulling back a support runner in clear view of everybody and an unfortunate knock-on in the process of intercepting preceded a significant brawl. This culminated in four yellow cards being shown. One to the hosts and three to the Quins. It could have been worse.

The last time the Quins were reduced to twelve in one go, current Mets coach Rhys Roberts actually extended the Quins' ‘Dirty Dozens’ lead with a forty yards dropped goal against Maesteg at South Parade.

Lady Luck was not to smile on the Quins this time. Within minutes influential centre Luke Northmore had skipped through tackles and glided over the line and Johnston converted.

Skipper Ward was over for his second from a short-range ruck and Johnston converted to move his team’s tally into the twenties.

With the shackles off the Met were all the more dangerous. The game took on a seven-a-side feel. The Archers tapped the ball back from a line-out but with so much space it didn’t matter, the Students knew what to do. Marsh threw the ball in the general direction of his half-back partner who in turn, send the ball out wide as quickly as he could. Despite every effort to reach full-back Benjamin, when he put on the afterburners he raced in at the corner unhindered.

With the score at 27-3, the game was up. A Johnstone penalty and Northmore’s slick second try raised fears a sixty pointer was on the cards. Yet rather than feel sorry for themselves, the Maesteg men picked themselves up by their boot laces.

Getting into three promising positions the Llynfi men gleaned a penalty try. A long series of pick-up and drives saw Jay Ronan barge over. Ronan was smuggled over again. as a result of a successful driving line-out.

There was a real possibility of gaining a fourth try bonus point. Why not? The replacements were showing up well. Ryan George was dynamic, while Josh Mines and Aled Evans combative.

Yet it was Cardiff Met who would have the last word with replacement Cory Lewis diving over and fellow bencher Russel Bennett gaoling the extras.

The coal black and blood reds have been here before, playing below their potential in a new environment and conceding poor penalties. They have shown to be adaptable and quick learners in the past. When confronted with a barrier they have grown taller and they have sprinted towards the furthest ans sternest of challenges. They will do so again but aggression: like revenge, is best served cold; with calculating, focussed, cool heads, icey hearts and clear thinking.