NATIONAL LEAGUE
ONE EAST CENTRAL 2016/17
NOV 12 LLANHARAN 31 CARDIFF QUINS 26 (HT 23-14)
Report and photos courtesy of Hugh Smith.
A dominant pack laid the basis for our bonus point win .
The home eight, with Matt Philips a highly competent stand in for the suspended Joel Ringer, regularly had the Quins’ scrum in retreat.
Not so superior though was the lineout, where the muddy ball made control difficult, whilst the closing minutes saw the defensive antennae switch off to allow the Cardiff side two very late tries and with them a double bonus point.
The game got off to a whiz bang start with five tries in the opening quarter.
The Dairymen struck first, Ross Pritchard finishing well after a scissors with Chrissy Poole, but an instant response came as a poor kick allowed visiting skipper Osion Fitzpatrick to race in from twenty metres, Rhys Morgan adding the kick.
It was a temporary respite though, Poole speeding home from a scrum ball, the outside half then creating a try for prop Rhys Taylor after a typical drive from skipper Huw Thomas.
Gavin Parsons converted two and the bonus point came soon after, Thomas cleaning up a loose Quins kick to allow Taylor to claim his second courtesy of an Olympic style dive.
With supporters’ thoughts turning to a runaway victory, the away side came back into affairs with some forceful play.
They hammered away at the home line for ten minutes nonstop as conditions deteriorated into a mud bath, and perhaps would have profited better from letting ball go wide on occasions.
However, the pressure saw Lee Morris carded and their reward eventually came against the fourteen-man team, with prop Aled Hill forcing his way over and Morgan’s conversion making it 24-14 at half time.
The second half saw Llanharan dictate territory down the slope, but we were playing into the muddiest half of the field and cohesion was difficult to achieve.
However, a 5th try came in the 45th minute, Quins making a hash of returning Craig Burton’s kick and the mercurial Poole darting in for his second, the conversion stretching the lead to 31-14.
Quins offered plucky defence and occasional adventure, but in the end it was the mud and slime that thwarted Llanharan more than anything, despite notable efforts as when new right wing Jamie Williams made an exciting diagonal cross field run.
There was little chance of Quins winning with stoppage time nearing, but they made the most of two quick penalties in the drier half of the pitch to run in tries from Zak Bartlett and Lewis Haines, Hughes converting the first to earn some reward for their spirited opposition.
Tries – C.Poole 2, R.Taylor 2, and R.Pritchard. Cone 3 – Parsons
Quins’ tries; Zak Bartlett, Aled Hill, Osion Fitzpatrick, Lewis Haines; Cons 3 – Rhys Morgan
Team:
Tries – C.Poole 2, R.Taylor 2, and R.Pritchard. Cone 3 – Parsons
Quins’ tries; Zak Bartlett, Aled Hill, Osion Fitzpatrick, Lewis Haines; Cons 3 – Rhys Morgan
Tries – C.Poole 2, R.Taylor 2, and R.Pritchard. Cone 3 – Parsons
Quins’ tries; Zak Bartlett, Aled Hill, Osion Fitzpatrick, Lewis Haines; Cons 3 – Rhys Morgan.
Team:
Gavin Parsons (Chris Sharkey 49)
Lewis Hughes
Liam Williams
Ross Pritchard
Jamie Williams
Chrissy Poole
Craig Burton
Rhys Taylor (Sam Grant 41)
Sam Llewellyn (Sam Pick 65)
Matt Phillips
Richard Hart
Lee Morris (Elys Goode53)
Kierian Martin
Richard Lawrence (Morgan Griffiths45)
Huw Thomas (Capt.)
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