A top performance from the boys in red and white capped Farmers Day off with six points. An outstanding team performance, with Jac Davies particularly impressive as he was involved in six of the ten tries scored by the Drovers. Written by Seán Richards, Llandovery RFC Media.
A returning Harry Thomas grabbed himself two tries after coming back from injury, while Isaac Murray-Macgregor also grabbed a brace. One of his finishes was one to remember, with excellent football skills used to steer the ball over the line.
The Drovers started the game with an early try as Jac Davies crossed on the left wing unopposed. In typical Drovers fashion, the corner was chosen over the posts and it clearly paid off. There was no luck with the conversion from Ioan Hughes, but it was a strong early lead.
Inside centre Tom Hughes was next to get over the whitewash with his first competitive try for the Drovers. It almost came minutes earlier, but in the exact same fashion, a supporting run and an offload found his hands for the second early try. Lucca Setaro received the ball after a fake maul by the Drovers and saw the gap before going through. Hughes worked hard to support and crossed the line. No mistakes this time from Ioan Hughes as he kicked the home side into a 12-0 lead.
Harry Thomas found himself in an unfamiliar position out wide as Jac Davies received a missed pass before going back in for Harry Thomas to cross. Some patient work from the Drovers, who kept their territory well in the Wizards’ half, eventually led to the try. A successful wide conversion from Ioan Hughes saw a 19-0 lead.
Llandovery closed off the half with a wonder try, excellently finished off by Isaac Murray-Macgregor. The initial steal came from Joe Powell, who intercepted the ball before the Drovers attacked with pace and purpose. Jac Davies ran down the wing and kicked through before Isaac Murray-Macgregor took over, with some wonderful work to hack the ball through seeing him finish well. Ioan Hughes had a simple conversion to send the teams down the tunnel at 26-0.
After some harsh comments about Jac Davies on the left wing, he clearly wasn’t phased as he set up his third try of the afternoon for Isaac Murray-Macgregor to cross. Only a minute into the half, the winger did the hard work but was just short, allowing Murray-Macgregor to power over and get the Drovers’ fifth try of the afternoon. Ioan Hughes converted with ease to lead 33-0 in the opening stages of the second half.
Harry Thomas went back to his traditional way of scoring with a strong driving maul, which was enough for him to get his second of the afternoon. A superb set piece for the Drovers, who powered over close enough for Ioan Hughes to convert again.
An unstoppable performance by Jac Davies saw him assist his fourth try with an excellent break, making it easy work for Tiaan Sparrow to cross with ease. Llien Morgan took the next chance for the Drovers with a similar break, but a dummy inside allowed him to cross out wide and take the Drovers into the fifties. Ioan Hughes converted both to add fourteen points in a matter of minutes.
This rampage of tries didn’t end there as the visitors got themselves on the board with a try from hooker Luke Davies following a maul. Substitute fly half Charlie Thomas made it seven points to take Aberavon to 54-7.
Jac Davies found himself amongst the tries again to cross for his second following a crossfield kick from Ioan Hughes. A simple gather for Jac Davies allowed him to cross with ease out wide. Ioan Hughes couldn’t quite get the conversion, but it was a 59-7 lead regardless.
Aberavon, for the first time in the match, found some momentum and powered over from short range. A classic forwards pick and go by the try line, but the scorer was unclear for everyone in the ground. Charlie Thomas made no mistake with the conversion. The Drovers replied with an outrageous crossfield kick that found Llien Morgan, who stepped his way over the line for a wonderful finish. Powering over from the crossfield kick, Llien Morgan made his way over by stepping two defenders and crossing in the middle of the field for Ioan Hughes to convert.
Aberavon closed the game off with a try of their own through Frankie Jones. Making it a hard task with a surging overlap, the outside centre finally finished it off and the conversion was also good. This was the last score and ended the game at 66-21 as the Drovers were back on track.
A statement made at Churchbank as it’s back-to-back wins following the two opening defeats. Next up is Pontypool as the Drovers seek revenge.
Llandovery Starting XV (Coach: Euros Evans)
Dino Dallavalle, Harry Thomas (SCA), Jac Pritchard (SCA), Morgan Jones, Joe Powell (C),
Dan Gemine, Tiaan Sparrow (SCA), Dom Kossuth (SCA), Lucca Setaro, Ioan Hughes, Jac
Davies (SCA), Tom Hughes, Kian Abraham, Llien Morgan, Isaac Murray-Macgregor (SCA).
Replacements
Finn Thomas, Tom Phillips, Llŷr Green, Kai Jones (SCA), Tom Curry, Aaron Warren, Gryff
Watkins (SCA), Josh Thomas.
Aberavon Starting XV (Coach: Chris Davies)
Theo Malik, Luke Davies, Eli Cowen, Lewis Marsh, Evan Hill, James Clegg, Elis Cox (OSP),
Brandon Owens, Scott Whitlock (C), Steff Jac-Jones, Corum Nott, Ethan Bolche, Frankie
Jones, Cori Lewis-Jenkins, Scott Delnevo.
Replacements
Tyler Murvai, Ben Owen, Conrad Delfosse, Rhys Thomas, Evan Westen, Elis Horgan,
Charlie Thomas, Sam Jardine.
(SCA) – Denotes Scarlets allocated players.
(OSP) – Denotes Ospreys allocated players.
Tries
Llandovery – Jac Davies x2, Tom Hughes, Harry Thomas x2, Isaac Murray-Macgregor x2,
Tiaan Sparrow, Llien Morgan x2.
Aberavon – Saul Hurley, Unsure, Frankie Jones.
Conversions
Llandovery – Ioan Hughes x8.
Aberavon – Charlie Thomas x3.