What started as a snowy morning in South Wales it all cleared up in time for a top of the table clash at Churchbank. Although it remained cold, the travelling Ebbw Vale fans were rewarded with a very valuable 6 points at their top of the table rivals. Known for their solid scrum and pack, the backs wanted a piece of the action as Franchi’s brace showed their skills. Written by Cardiff Met sports media student Seán Richards.
The visitors took the first points of the evening as Dafydd Thomas showed the first signs of danger, breaking through the Llandovery defence with ease but was brought down just inside the opposition 22 metre line. This resulted in a penalty and an easy 3 points for Evan Lloyd and the visitors.
The move for the first try came initially with a Rhodri Jones crossfield kick which was
fumbled by Dom Franchi and Jac Davies was brought down just short of the line. As Ben
Whitehouse put the arm out for an advantage, Ioan Hughes went wide and Kian Abraham
with a bit of work still to do, finished well in the corner to cross for the first try of the evening.
Jack Maynard converted to put the home side in front 7-3. Relentless Ebbw pressure going through the phases finally made the Drovers unable to hold out against the league leaders. Ebbw, who kept knocking on the door, finally got through it as Dom Franchi crossed the line. Evan Lloyd, who passed late to a charging Sion Parry on an angle made the initial break, but on his shoulder was Dom Franchi who was left with a simple try and the lead of 7-10 with the help of Evan Lloyd.
As a quiet period of the game appeared, Ebbw finally found their breakthrough. By fixing that lineout and a strong maul which is what they’re commonly known for and an area so strong for them, Sion Parry the openside flanker was at the end of this 20 yard shove.
An area of the game that didn’t go perfectly to plan as Joe Franchi’s throw found the hands of Joe Powell twice and once found Dan Gemine earlier in the match. This wasn’t long before half time as Ben Whitehouse blew up for half time shortly after, and Ebbw went in leading 7-17 at half time.
Not long into the second half, the Ebbw number 12 Dom Franchi crossed the whitewash yet again. Using the width of the field, some slick hands allowed a breakthrough for his centre partner Ethan Phillips and Dom Franchi once again supporting on his shoulder was able to get a similar try to his first. Evan Lloyd was able to add the extras simply, putting the scores at 7-24 to the travelling Steelmen.
The home side were not looking to give up as only five minutes later some training ground trickery off a tap and go allowed prop Jamie Hughes to bowl through the Ebbw defence from short range. Jack Maynard added the easy extras to leave them 10 points within at 14-24.
Ebbw Vale who started to control the territory down in Llandovery’s half, was rewarded with a try from Morgan Jenkins. Although there was a potential shout from the drovers for crossing, almost untouched the number 8 was there to give them the all important fourth try which was converted again by Lloyd. Putting the lead up to 14-31 with just under 25 minutes to play.
Llandovery who kept knocking on the door just couldn’t convert anything as Ebbw stood tall in defence. A few half line breaks is all they could create before the full time whistle. The visitors were more than happy to defend and closed the game out with good execution.
From decision making to their defence, Evan Lloyd converted a penalty running down the clock and taking the lead up to 14-34 in the last 5 minutes. There was an agonising moment for the Drovers when the clock turned red, as Llandovery let another try in as a stray pass let substitute Cam Davies pounce and punish in the last play of the match. This was a similar theme for Llandovery as they were not just able to convert the final pass or find that final break throughout the match.Evan Lloyd then got another conversion with the full time whistle blown at 14-41 to the visitors.
A top of the table clash which didn’t go to plan as Llandovery now picked up a third loss on the bounce. A tough challenge to return to, following the festive derbies. A resilient Ebbw Vale is never an easy challenge. A Llandovery performance not to be fully ashamed of, but just lacking a bit of cutting edge as Ebbw proved why they are league leaders at Churchbank. A performance that just wasn’t complete and a final sting in the attack was missing it seemed.