Matchday Report Vs Glynneath
By Gareth Morgan ⚫🔵🏉
WRU Championship Cup Second Round
Glynneath RFC v Llanharan RFC – Match Report
Saturday 31st October 2026.
Halloween should have signalled a Saturday off for the Dairymen, but fate decided that they would instead spend it in the delightful late autumnal surroundings of Abernant Park, Glynneath, playing the second-round cup fixture which was rained off the previous Saturday. The boys headed west, hoping to avoid a scare, and return home with the treat of a home quarter final to look forward to.
Llanharan started the afternoon very much on the front foot, with the match barely two minutes old, when the ball was spread to the right, allowing the ever alert Sam Alexander to go on a probing run, beating a couple of defenders, before slipping a pass inside, to allow the returning Taine Davies, to cross and touch down near the posts, with Scott Jones on hand to add the extras, the Dairymen were seven points to the good. Glynneath responded by showing that they were no push overs, when five minutes later, thanks in no small part to a scrum penalty, they finished off a long range move, which was duly converted to tie the scores. It was apparent that both sides were up for the fight, and that the match had the makings of an excellent cup tie.Â
On the quarter of an hour mark, the Dairymen found themselves back ahead, as provider turned scorer, with the hosts starting to appreciate just how quick Sam Alexander is, as he crossed for the visitors’ second try, which remained unconverted, making the score seven points to twelve. For the next twenty minutes neither team was able to add to their score, as both sets of players appeared evenly matched. However, in the dying moments of the first half, Llanharan’s pack enjoyed some possession deep in Glynneath territory, and some deft hands from second row Joe Buckle put hooker Jack Walker into space. Dairy Field regulars are well aware that the hooker can run like a centre when offered a hint of space, and true to form he found his way to the line, allowing Scott Jones a simple conversion, and making the half time score seven points to nineteen to the Dairymen.
The hosts started the second half in a similar fashion to the way the visitors started the first, and within five minutes of the restart, Glynneath had a converted try to show for a period of sustained pressure. This made the score fourteen points to nineteen to the visitors, the game was truly in the balance, and there was a genuine feeling that the result could go either way. To use the old sporting clichĂ©, it definitely felt that the next score would be crucial. In fairness to the hosts, at this stage, they had managed to do what no other team the Dairymen had faced so far this season, and that was contain Jack Brooks. The powerful centre normally picks angles and breaks defensive lines for fun, but thanks to the tenacity of the Glynneath defence, he was having an uncharacteristically quiet afternoon in an attacking sense. As the match approached the halfway point of the second period, however, Brooks managed to breach the defensive line, and from that point on Glynneath’s defence was struggling, as the ball was worked right, to flying winger Sam Alexander, who applied the afterburners and crossed for his second try of the afternoon. Scott Jones was successful with the conversion, to make the score fourteen points to twenty-six.Â
Ten minutes later, Jack Brooks broke the defensive line again, and the hosts hearts, as he went over himself, with Scott converting, the score was now fourteen points to thirty-three. The result was no longer in doubt, but to their credit Glynneath refused to buckle until the dying minutes, when first Taine Davies raced through for his second try of the afternoon, which was his last contribution before being replaced by Alfie Cogbill, the conversion brining up the forty points for Llanharan. Shortly afterwards, with the visitors in full flow, Callum Baldwin unleashed his inner Dan Biggar, his through the legs pass setting replacement centre Morgan Sieniawski free to race clear for Llanharan’s final try of the game, with Scott Jones making it fourteen points to forty-seven with the conversion.
The final score didn’t tell the whole story, with the game a genuine contest until the final quarter, and we wish Glynneath the best of luck for the rest of the season. For the visitors, there were a number of fine performances, not least Jack Walker, Lloyd Gregory, Ieuan Pring, Taine Davies, Lewis Cogbill and Jack brooks, however it was Sam Alexander who was deservedly named Llanharan’s player of the match, for his speed and physicality both in attack and defence, as well as his two tries.
As a result of this victory, the Dairymen will welcome Gowerton to the Dairy Field on the 5th of December for a Welsh Cup Quarter Final. Due to the upcoming international fixtures, Llanharan have a couple of weekends to rest, with our next league fixture being away at St Joseph’s in the north Cardiff suburbs on the 21st of November.
⚫🔵🏉
Comments