After suffering defeat in the first pre-season friendly, the Athletic squad anticipated a tough test against a visiting Llanybydder outfit.

Due to a depleted squad and lack of a combative front row, Llanybydder requested passive scrums from the outset. The game kicked off under the Church Bank lights and, following a handling-error from the Athletic forwards, the ball was turned over. ‘Bydder made the most of a blistering attack and caught the three-quarter line heavy footed, and a subsequent miss-pass was gathered by the opposition winger and a try was duly scored. The conversion failed to divide the uprights. This seemed to spark some life into the Athletic XV, and they piled on the pressure and if it hadn’t been for the odd dropped ball, turnover at the breakdown (the Llanybydder defence was a well organised unit) and an intercepted pass, the Drovers should have been 3 to 4 tries to the good by half-time.

The second half got underway and, following some great dynamics from the forwards, the ball was spread out to the left wing and a penalty was duly awarded. A quick tap from Dylan ‘Pwllcalch’ Williams and a 25m run to the line including evading the covering defence, and a try in the corner ensued. A superb touchline conversion was kicked by Joe Morgan. Score 7-5.

Two minutes later, after fielding the ball, great work from the back row and the linking centres made hard yards through the sea of green and red, and it wasn’t long before Elgan ‘Sos’ Lewis touched down to the right of the posts. Conversion attempt was once again good.

The Llanybydder team worked their way back into home territory and if it hadn’t been for repeat infringements at the breakdown, they would have advanced to the Drovers’ try line. The ball was kicked into touch by Ioan ‘Penlan’ Davies and this set the forward pack up nicely for a catch and drive. The ball was whipped into the centre of the park and then, following yet another infringement, a penalty was awarded to the Drovers. The referee handed Llanybydder a yellow card.

The Athletic boys opted for a scrum and, following a surge from the half-backs, including a storming run from young scrum-half Bradley, a try was scored by Gareth ‘Dent’ Davies. The conversion attempt was once again good and the score was 21-5 to the Drovers. The referee signalled the end of the game after 20 minutes in the second half due to a couple of injuries and the yellow card for Llanybydder.

It was good to see some of the youngsters having a run for the Athletic XV, and thanks must go to Bradley and Carwyn for a great game at scrum-half and loose head prop respectively. Recognition for a great performance must also go to Sam Pritchard on his debut in the back row.

We look forward to seeing the regulars back at training next week, so that we can work hard in preparation for the first league game on Saturday 6th September versus Carmarthen Quins.

If you are interested in joining the Athletic XV, please contact Head Coach Darren Mills on 07977 129055.