Fixture

Saturday March 30^th 2019

Trebanos 19 – 10 Maesteg Quins

WRU Championship

This was scheduled to be the final game of the season, but just like Brexit there has been an extension. Quins would be thankful there is. They would hate to have ended the season on a moderate low with nothing to show for all their sizeable efforts.

One point separated Trebanos in ninth and Quins in sixth. In a congested relegation area both clubs needed to grab something from the game, even in defeat. More-especially the Quins, who have four consecutive away fixtures.

Penalties were coming thick and fast against the Quins. Eventually the scoring leger was opened by the hosts as Steffan Lewis kicked his second attempt at goal.

Trebanos typically chance their arm at the breakdown, playing very close to the knife-edge of the law. Multiple penalties for slowing tactics were given and Tadgh McGuckin levelled the scores.

Winning a Trebanos throw, Andrew Healy went big run. Quickly the ball was sent into midfield, only for a knock-on to end the movement and initiate a Trebanos attack. This ended in a penalty and Lewis goaled.

Re-gaining the kick-off was wasted. No Quin offered himself to forcefully drive forward, resulting in the ball been chucked around between stationary players. Forced backwards, boot had to be put to the ball which went dead.

Tadgh McGuckin made a fine break. Michael Owen who ran more than he has previously done in a Quins shirt burst onto the ball. Downed in the shadow of the posts, without a Quins support player in view, a miracle-pass was needlessly attempted. This ploy has become a regular sight in recent matches and has only served to hand possession back to opponents. On this occasion as others, it killed the prospect of building pressure to score.

Generally, the team work was very good. Even the new groupings performed in harness with each other. The major difference between the teams was in attack. Trebanos could exploit turnover possession and space, while the Quins were the polar opposite.

When the ball was quickly recycled, Trebanos conceded penalties and the Quins entered a little possession and territorial purple patch. Yet the coal black and blood reds were losing focus, distracted from the quest in cricket parlance to build a total.

Turning down two kickable penalties in favour of line-outs proved fruitless. Yet hindsight is one skill every sportsman on the planet wishes they possessed and at half-time, three points separated the sides.

Sadly, pushing wasn’t really allowed at the scrum. A couple of commanding Quins drives were penalised on the back of guesstimates. Luckily, the hardest working of front rows has other arrows to their bow. No. 8 Rhodri Bwye deemed the culprit on his rumbustious return to the front row. Francis and Ronan worked hard in a tireless defensive action. Meanwhile Bwye made several very good carries. One of which saw him embark on a particularly fantastic charge early in the second half, only for his deft pass to beat the support runner who knocked on.

Trebanos sent the ball into midfield. Two tacklers collared home centre Tom Dew. However, freeing his hands, Dew’s skilful slip pass sent Josh Ferryman racing to the line from twenty-five yards.

Quins’ next attack saw the them foil themselves. If ignoring the superior numbers on the open to go blind didn’t kill this particular move’s potency, the pass that not only went behind the intended target, but bounced up and nearly result in an intercept did,

A pick-up from a solid defensive scrum went well, only for a lack of support for the carrier to be totally lacking. Against a voracious foraging team like Trebanos it proved manna from Heaven. A penalty put even more space between the teams.

While Trebanos are excellent turnover competitors, Matthew Tidball was equal to the task against combative opponents.

Defensive miscommunications allowed the hosts to slip through and the Quins were finally hit below the sink-line when Kieran Whiteman rushed over in the corner.

In the last ten minutes Quins played with the necessary patience, tempo and accuracy. Playing through a stream of phases and strong, intelligent running, a long pass then found replacement Jack Picton who scored in the corner [Pictured by R.A. Evans] This has to be the manner and level of competency in which the Quins play in the remaining half dozen fixtures.

McGuckin converted, meaning any form of score would have strained a bonus point from the match.

Although playing in the right area, Trebanos denied even this small achievement which, in the context of the Championship may make a huge difference.

Trebanos moved out of the drop-zone and put the Quins back into that fourth and final relegation spot. Still there is no need to throw the baby out with the bath water, there is plenty of it to travel under the bridge. The two teams will meet again at South Parade in four weeks. It promises to be another very good encounter.

The Quins’ next port of call will be Narberth for the very first encounter between the two clubs.