Defiant Drovers conquer Cardiff in the Arms Park. Llandovery battle to a 22-30 win against Cardiff in the capital to progress through to the SRC final, writes Llandovery’s rugby correspondent, Harri Beckwith.
Drovers started the game in strong fashion, working their way into the Cardiff 22 meter line. Great passing saw the ball in Aaron Warren’s hands. Warren, finding a gap, ran through the Cardiff defence to place the ball down under the posts. Ioan Hughes converted comfortably, and Llandovery were ahead after just 5 minutes.
Things continued to go the way of the away side, with multiple penalty decisions favouring the team from West Wales. This fortunely resulted in Llandovery extending their lead further, Kian Abraham showing his pace along the left-wing to finish in the corner. Ioan Hughes converted brilliantly from the tight angle and Drovers had a healthy 14-point lead.
Drovers seemed incredibly strong and confident in the opening 15 minutes, something that hasn’t always been the case this SRC season. They opened the game with swift passing, flair, and ambition.
In the 22nd minute things changed. Cardiff scored through Osian Darwin-Lewis and Harri Wilde added the extras. Llandovery needed to make sure they didn’t allow Cardiff back into the game. Mistakes were made and penalties lost.
In the 34th minute, Cardiff looked to have scored, but the referee called that the ball had been held up. The TMO saw that the Hughes pairing for Llandovery, Jamie, and Ioan, had held the ball up. Unfortunately, Cardiff came straight back at the Llandovery defence and resulted in Tom Curry seeing yellow for ripping the ball illegally.
With all the momentum, and the man advantage, Cardiff scored through the power of Ben Fry, his last action of the game as he was injured in the process. Wilde converted again, and the scores were equal going into halftime.
Cardiff started the second half the way they ended the first, making the most of their extra man and scored after just 3 minutes, Alun Rees the scorer. Harri Wilde missed the conversion, but Cardiff led.
In the 49th minute, Kian Abraham picked the ball up in his own half and used his electric pace to find a gap in the Cardiff defence. He then ran through, drawing tackles and beating the defenders before diving under the posts. Ioan Hughes converted and retook the lead for Llandovery.
The lead didn’t last long however, Cardiff’s Lucas De La Rua winning a penalty for the hosts before Harri Wilde slotted the ball between the posts.
On his 401st appearance for Llandovery, SRC icon Lee Rees took a penalty quickly, drawing in Harri Wilde and kicking the ball forwards, getting taken out by the Cardiff fly-half, leading to the Cardiff man being sent to the bin. Now it was about making the most of a man-advantage for the Drovers.
In what could have proved a huge moment, the referee missed a clear knock-on from Cardiff in a very dangerous attacking position for Llandovery, leaving all Drovers furious, players and supporters alike. Thankfully for Llandovery, they were able to keep Cardiff’s subsequent attack out following this decision.
Still with the man-advantage, Llandovery won a penalty and Ioan Hughes slotted the ball confidently. Hughes scored another penalty minutes later, this time from much further out, extending the Drovers lead to 5.
With less than 10 minutes to go, Cardiff were after a try and throwing everything at the Llandovery defence. But the Drovers stood strong.
In the 78th minute, the most important moment of the game came. Llandovery had won a penalty and Ioan Hughes had a chance to put the Drovers ahead by 8, meaning Cardiff would need more than a converted try to win. Ioan struck the penalty beautifully and won the game for Llandovery, giving them a place in the SRC final following a fantastic team performance.
A mouth-watering final awaits as Llandovery will play the winner of the second Semi-Final between Newport and Ebbw Vale, two teams who have had Llandovery’s number for most of this season. Can Llandovery reclaim their spot as SRC champions? We sure hope so!
Lineups
Cardiff Starting XV (Coach – Dan Fish)
Ioan Emanuel, Alun Rees, Thomas Harper, Craig Hudd (C), Evan Rees, Ben Fry, Nathan Hudd, Lucas De La Rua, Ethan Lloyd, Harri Wilde, Dewi Cross, Steff Emanuel, Osian Darwin-Lewis, Joe Goodchild, Matty Young
Replacements
Evan Ngasseu-Nicholls, Joe Cowell, Will Davies-King, Ethan Phillips, Sean Moore, Joe Williams, Lloyd Lucas, Rhys Cummings
Llandovery Starting XV (Coach – Euros Evans)
Jamie Hughes, Cam Lewis, Gabe Hawley, Harry Holden, Joe Powell, Dan Gemine, Tom Curry, Evan Sheldon, Lee Rees (C), Ioan Hughes, Aaron Warren, Rhodri Jones, Kian Abraham, Harri Doel, Jac Davies
Replacements
Harry Thomas, Josh Morse, Berian Watkins, Kai Jones, Tiaan Sparrow, Adam Warren, Jack Maynard, Lucca Setaro
Tries
Cardiff – Osian Darwin-Lewis, Ben Fry, Alun Rees
Llandovery – Aaron Warren, Kian Abraham (2)
Conversions
Cardiff – Harri Wilde (2)
Llandovery – Ioan Hughes (3)
Penalties
Cardiff – Harri Wilde
Llandovery – Ioan Hughes (3)
Yellow Cards
Cardiff – Harri Wilde
Llandovery – Tom Curry