 |
 |
|
 |
 |
CARDIFF SARACENS v CLWB RYGBI CYMRY CAERDYDD – 23RD JAN
After a month of inactivity there was almost a ‘start of season’ feel to this game, with even the weather, in the form a low sun, attempting to play along
With the Sarries only having won 2 out of their 8 league games so far this season and Clwb Rygbi winning 5 of theirs this was going to be another tough encounter for the Sarries as they come to terms with life in the National leagues
From the kick off Clwb established themselves deep in Sarries territory and it came as no surprise as the opened the scoring with a penalty after 9 minutes. After 15 minutes Sarries scrum-half and captain Nathan ‘Waka’ Angell was forced to take a 10 minute ‘rest’ after being deemed to have handled at a ruck in the 22 – the only unusual thing was this was a ruck in the Clwb 22 !!
Sarries defence was manful as they struggled without their skipper. Eventually, Clwb took their opportunity whilst the Sarries were a man down and ran in a touchdown on 24 minutes which was duly converted. Cracks were appearing as the Sarries continually over committed at the ruck in an effort to stem the Clwb tide. There was no sense of shock when just 5 minutes later Clwb crossed for their 2nd try, again it was converted
Sarries really were up against it here and it would have been easy to crumble. However, they stuck to the task and re-doubled their efforts. Their endeavour was suitably rewarded when with 3 minutes to half time a beautifully engineered moved resulted in outside-half Craig ‘Henners’ Davies scoring out wide. Unfortunately, although his kick was struck well, he was unable to add the 2 points
Sadly, the score seemed to make the Sarries lose concentration and this allowed Clwb to score their 3rd try right on half-time, which was again converted
HALF TIME – CARDIFF SARACENS 5 - CLWB RYGBI 24
Whatever coach Stuart ‘Cleo’ Lane said during half-time had the desired effect as the Sarries tore into Clwb like banshees. Nor where their labours fruitless as, on 50 minutes, another lovely move saw centre Emyr ‘Crazylegs’ Humphreys time his run to perfection to smash through to the line – Henners was able to add the extras
This time instead of losing their concentration the Sarries moved up another gear if anything. They only had to wait another 5 minutes before they were well and truly back in the game as vice-captain Paul ‘Spunky’ Seaman rounded of a concerted drive, again Henners converted
As the Sarries continued to tear into the game, Clwb were now looking decidedly shaky. After 66 minutes Roger 'Camma-na vista' Hill crashed over to bring the scores level and secure a ‘try bonus point’. Unfortunately, Henners was not able to gain the Sarries a vital 2 extra points
From the re-start the Sarries raced back into the Clwb half, and gained a penalty about 45 metres out. With the ground wet and slippy underfoot Henners was unable to get the necessary purchase on his kick and the chance was missed
The momentum was now really with the Sarries, so it is to their credit that Clwb managed to turn the game around a score their 4th try with just 10 minutes to go and also convert it.
That score may have deflated many teams, but not the Sarries and they battled away in the Clwb 22. With 78 minutes gone Waka atoned for his sin-bining as he crashed over with 3 Clwb players clinging to him. Henners coolly added the conversion to once again leave the scores tied
The match now headed in to injury time. After their supreme effort in the 2nd half the Sarries surely deserved a draw. However, the rugby gods had decided not to smile on them as, with the last move of the game 6 minutes into injury time, Clwb swept the ball along the line. With the Sarries again being guilty of over committing at the ruck, Clwb skilfully exploited the gaps and crossed out wide, the conversion was missed but the final score was all that mattered.
The 2 bonus points went some way to easing the pain but it was heartbreak for the Sarries. Nonetheless, they have kept up the habit of improving their performance with every game - significantly closing the gap since their 33 – 7 loss to Clwb back in September
FINAL SCORE – CARDIFF SARACENS 31 – CLWB RYGBI 36
TRIES – Craig Davies, Emyr Humphreys, Paul Seaman, Roger Hill, Nathan Angell
CON – Craig Davies (3)
MOTM – Mal Fish (Cardiff Saracens) Hywel Jones (Clwb Rygbi)
NEXT FIXTURE – League - (Away – Llandrindod Wells) – Saturday 30TH JAN