Matchday Report Cardiff Met.
By Gareth Morgan
Llanharan RFC v Cardiff Met RFC – Match Report
Saturday 26th September 2026.
Bill Carey’s Dairymen have thus far taken the return to Championship Rugby in their stride. Matchday four, saw perfect conditions for Llanharan to welcome Cardiff Met to the Dairy Field, for the battle of the early season pace setters, with both teams having registered a maximum fifteen points from their opening three fixtures. Many wondered which side would be the first to drop points, and in fairness the eighty minutes during which this question would be answered turned out to be an excellent advert for championship rugby.
The home side had made several changes to the team which had won convincingly away at Blaina the previous weekend, with Harrison Pritchard and Josh Walsh replacing Rhys Dauncey and Lloyd Gregory in the back row, and Rhys Conquer coming in for his debut in the centre, in place of the injured Jack Brooks. With captain Ieuan Pring and vice-captain Brooks both unavailable, it was long serving second-row Kieran Martin who took up the armband.
The first quarter of an hour was played at a frenzied pace, and the visitors took the early lead, a well worked converted try giving them a seven-point advantage after seven minutes. Llanharan however struck straight back from the kick off, securing an attacking line out five yards from the Met try line. The line out was won, and the Dairymen’s trademark rolling maul was slipping into gear, when it was illegally brought down by the visitors. The penalty try saw the scores levelled and Met captain Spencer Codling dispatched to the sin bin for ten minutes. The loss of their captain however, seemed to inspire the Met’s youngsters, and another well worked move saw them crash over. The try was duly converted, and the visitors’ seven-point advantage was restored.
The next twenty minutes saw the game settle into a more sustainable rhythm, there were good attacking opportunities for both teams, but both also demonstrated excellent defence, meaning that neither team was able to add to their score. However, in the dying minutes of the half, the hosts were able to mount some sustained pressure, which saw captain Kieran Martin cross for a deserved try. Scott Jones’ successful conversion ensured that both teams were level on fourteen points apiece at the half time interval.
For twenty-five minutes, the second period was reminiscent of large periods of the first, two very good teams battling for dominance, with no quarter asked or given. This was a dual which would go down to the wire, and in all honesty, which could go either way. However, as the half progressed there were signs that momentum was starting to favour the Dairy Men. Debutant centre Rhys Conquer executed a perfect tackle on his opposite number, which appeared to visibly lift the home side. Experienced half back pairing Chris Williams and Scott Jones, also appeared to be controlling the game slightly more than their opposite numbers, whilst the evergreen Scott Malone and Kieran Martin were influential throughout.
Twenty-five minutes into the second half, exciting fullback Stef Davies, on his first home appearance for the Dairy Men, finished off a well worked move, and crossed for the first try of the second period. Scott Jones was again on target with the conversion, making the score twenty-one to fourteen to the hosts. From the restart the home side looked to consolidate their advantage, however, some unforced errors, and excellent initiative from the visitors, saw them hit back with a converted try of their own, to again tie the scores. Things then appeared to go from bad to worse for Llanharan, as some indiscipline gifted Cardiff Met a kickable penalty on the hosts ten-meter line. It was successfully converted, and the visitors found themselves twenty-four to twenty-one to the good, with five minutes to play.
Situations like this can provide an acid-test of a team’s tenacity and desire, and the Dairymen, for whom winning has become habitual of late, seemed to welcome such a test. They did not panic and enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in those final minutes. However, the Met seemed to relish the test of their defensive metal and repelled the home side on more than one occasion. As the game entered its final seconds, the visitors were penalised deep in their own half, gifting the hosts a penalty in an eminently kickable position. At this stage, few would have criticised Llanharan for kicking the points to tie the game. Fortune favours the brave, as the old adage goes, and Scott Jones executed the perfect kick to touch, resulting in an attacking line out, on the Met’s five-meter line. Second-row Joe Buckle, who had had an industrious afternoon at the coalface secured good possession at the tail. There then followed a succession of pick and goes, which eventually saw young replacement prop Callum Baldwin power over the line to secure the spoils for the Dairymen.
Scrum half Chris Williams was named player of the match following an excellent all-around performance. Young front rowers Troy Johnson, Jack Walker and Callum Baldwin continue to impress, and Josh Walsh and Harrison Pritchard both emptied the tank on their return to the starting lineup. Young backs Rhys Conquer, Sam Alexander and Stef Davies all showed an impressive combination of speed, strength and rugby nous, and it was good to see Mitchell Jones return after suffering an in jury in the opening fixture. Next week, Llanharan return to Blaina, the scene of last weeks impressive victory, for their opening round championship cup fixture, and they will be looking to maintain their winning start to the season. ⚫🔵⚫🔵🏉
Another excellent report from Gareth