Drovers dominant in Dunvant as Llandovery secured six vital points on the road to Swansea. Playing some lovely rugby, the Drovers were superior in both defence and attack. In the first half it started with Llandovery opting to play wide instead of kicking, and Swansea couldn’t reply. All but the final touches were there for All Whites. Written by Cardiff Met sports media student Seán Richards.
An emphatic start for the travelling Drovers brought an early try through Corey Baldwin. Returning to the starting XV for Llandovery, Baldwin marked his comeback with a score. The referee signalled advantage and, using that free play, the Drovers opted to pass it wide. It found left-sided winger Aaron Warren, who did some excellent work to spin his defender. With a sea of white in front of him, he offloaded to Corey Baldwin on his shoulder, who finished in the corner. Jack Maynard failed to add the extras, giving the visitors a 5–0 lead.
Just before the 20-minute mark, Llandovery got themselves another try. A try out of nothing in reality, but they had worked hard for the field position. Similar to their first try, using width again, Ned Bennett stormed down the right-hand side before the inside ball was intercepted. Trying to clear their lines, Iwan Temblett’s kick was charged down by Stuart Worrall just inside the Swansea 22-metre line. Finn Thomas pounced on the loose ball, allowing Jack Maynard to convert and extend the lead to 12–0.
Throughout the first half there were sparks of promising attack from Llandovery. With strong defence, Swansea failed to offer too much going forward. A spark was there for Llandovery and you could see they trusted themselves to keep the ball instead of kicking long. A smart cross-field kick allowed Rhodri Jones to set up Ned Bennett to use his pace as the Drovers broke into the opposition’s 22.
Although nothing came from that play, the territory was much better controlled by Llandovery. A missing link might have been the case for Swansea and, due to medical reasons, head coach Jonathan Thomas had stepped down. Attacking in the first half, Swansea didn’t look threatening as the Drovers stood tall in defence, apart from one strong Joe Thomas run off a scrum just before half-time.
On the final play of the half, Jack Maynard coolly slotted a penalty, sending the teams in at the break with Llandovery leading 15–0.
The second-half team talk must have worked for the home side as Swansea came out much better after the restart. Spending time down in Llandovery’s half paid off as Ieuan Cornelius crossed for Swansea’s first try. Playing in the right areas just outside the Drovers’ 22, Swansea spread the ball wide, allowing Cornelius an easy finish. The conversion was missed by co-captain Josh Phillips, leaving the score at 15–5 ten minutes into the second half.
It wasn’t long before Llandovery responded with their third try of the match and a second for Finn Thomas. As seen all season, a strong driving maul proved effective again as the Drovers powered over. Finn Thomas was the man to finish it off and, without the extras from Jack Maynard, a perfect response put the score at 20–5. Approaching the 60-minute mark, some excellent solo work from George MacDonald produced Llandovery’s all-important fourth try. George MacDonald, much like Lee Rees, went quickly from the base of a ruck and kicked over Harri Houston, who stumbled in recovery and couldn’t hold on to the ball. MacDonald was there to pounce on the error, and Maynard added the conversion to make it 27–5.
Llandovery then played with real flair for their fifth try. It all started with a good dummy by Maynard, with George MacDonald on his shoulder to get play into the Swansea 22. MacDonald then popped the ball up, allowing it to be spread wide. After some good work from Ned Bennett, he managed to offload to Osian Davies, who fell over the line in the corner. The tough conversion was missed, but the game looked in the bag for the visitors with a 32–5 lead.
A huge chance went begging late on for Swansea following an interception by Joe Thomas. On first glance you would think he was in, but Llandovery replacement Sam Potter worked back brilliantly to do enough to disrupt the offload. A tough one to take for Swansea, once again just one pass short.
No time for any more action as the referee blew the final whistle with the scores 5-32 to Llandovery. As they continue the chase on Ebbw Vale at the top of the table, and these six vital points in Dunvant could prove very important. The Drovers dominated with strong defence and real flair in attack.
Llandovery Starting XV (Coach Euros Evans ) Josh Morse, Finn Thomas, Berian Watkins, Joe Powell (C), Harry Holden, Kai Jones, Stuart Worrall, Osian Davies, George MacDonald, Jack Maynard, Aaron Warren, Rhodri Jones, Adam Warren, Ned Bennett, Corey Baldwin.
Replacements Cameron Lewis, Jamie Hughes, Chris Davies, Evan Sheldon, Jordan Evans, Tian Sparrow, Sam Potter, Lee Rees.
Swansea Starting XV ( Liam Gadd & Joe Thomas Caretaking Coaches ) Daf Davies, Jamie Cox, Ed Thompson, Chris Thompson, Ben Roberts, Callum Bowden (CC), Ethan Fackrell, Jacob Hopkins, Iwan Temblett, Josh Phillips (CC), Ieuan Cornelius, James Price, Joe Thomas, Harvey James, Harri Houston
Replacements Rhodri King, Tom Crockett, Berian Williams, Matt Dodd, Luca Giannini, Rhys Price, Llew O’Brien, Iwan Glynn.
Tries Swansea – Ieuan Cornelius
Llandovery – Corey Baldwin, Finn Thomas x2, George MacDonald, Osian Davies.
Conversions Swansea –
Llandovery – Jack Maynard x2
Penalties Swansea –
Llandovery – Jack Maynard x1