Fixture

Cefn coed – 10

Tylorstown – 23

Tylorstown’s season ended on a high with a hard fought win in Merthyr against a spirited Cefn Coed side. Always a difficult place to visit due to the grittiness of the opponents, Tylorstown played with confidence and tenacity.

In miserable conditions both sides should be commended for offering an entertaining spectacle in spite of the driving rain and sodden playing surface.

Cefn Coed started well and held onto the ball well in contact. Tylorstown were repeatedly penalised for infringements at the ruck and couldn’t get a foothold into the game. Cefn Coed’s pressure was rewarded with a try and Tylorstown had to dig deep to get into the game and apply their own pressure.

Dig deep they did. Using the ball carrying power number 8 Nathan Davies along with flankers Chris Lloyd and James Groves, Tylorstown made inroads and developed confidence. Prop Marcus Chapman, a greatly improved player from last season, made a surging run after a line out on the home 22 and popped the ball to Second Row Robert Hemming to put the away side on the scoreboard. Outside half Chris Harris added the difficult conversion.

As the game progressed, Harris became more and more influential. He kicked intelligently and kept it tight when he needed to.

Cefn Coed started to experience what Tylorstown felt at the start of the game. The home side struggled to get their hands on the ball and when they did it was slow and easily challenged. The Tylorstown scrum was strong and caused disruption on the home put in.

From this pressure, outstanding Number 8 Davies crashed over for a try following a clever inside pass from scrum half Connor Watkins.

In the second half Tylorstown tackled well and showed good fitness. Chapman and second row Ashley Thomas made strong tackles with the Cefn Coed attackers dropping the ball in contact. The ever reliable wing Ryan Ackerman was, as ever, a rock in defence. Harris kept inching Tylorstown further in the lead with two well struck penalties.

Cefn coed played some good rugby and were camped on Tylorstown’s line for long periods. Eventually they scored through tight play in the forwards after Tylorstown defended well for a sustained period of time.

The game entered a tricky stage and in the past Tylorstown would have lost their way and unravel in the latter stages of close games. Evidence of how far this team has progressed this season was displayed in the final quarter. Tylorstown outplayed their hosts through strong collaborative running and good tactical kicking from Harris. They looked confident and mature.

This attitude was rewarded with a try from Fijian winger Nathan Nagavaru who finished the season  in a rich vein of try scoring form. From a turn over by Lloyd, Number 8 Davies showed pace to break away and kicked downfield. The Fijian flyer raced after the ball and gathered to score under the posts.

Tylorstown finished in third place in the league and have become a side that is strong at the set piece and sharp in the backs. On June 3^rd, Tylorstown welcome guest speaker Phil Steele to the annual presentation dinner which will be a fitting end to an extremely enjoyable season.