Fixture

Glynneath travelled to Parc Lloyd Thomas with a much changed side following victories over Trebanos and Tata respectively. The outcome was a hard fought bonus point victory against a typically abrasive and physical opponent.

After a relatively even start to the game Crymych put the first points on the board with a well taken penalty after 10 minutes only to be trapped in their own 22 for the next 30 minutes which Glynneath totally dominated. Unfortunately, a combination of heroic defending by the hosts combined with a lack of composure in the red zone on times looked as if GRFC would not get the rewards their dominance deserved. However, following some great driving work by the forwards who were immense throughout, a number of Crymych defenders were drawn in leaving space on the outside which Glynneath exploited with quick ball. As the final pass would see the winger in at the corner however, the Crymych defender knocked on deliberately and a penalty try and a yellow card was awarded to see Glynneath go in 3-7 up which in reality was scant reward for their dominance.

H-T

Crymych 3 Glynneath 7

This was the 3rd game in a row that Glynneath had been behind and it is testament to the half-time talk from the coaches that the players came out with a changed mind set. However, it was Crymych who put the first 3 points on the board as they did in the first half to see the game tightly poised at 6-7. At this point, Glynneath seemed to find another gear and another great forward effort saw veteran second row Jonny Griffiths going over in the corner much to the relief of the significant travelling contingent of fans. The touchline conversion was missed leaving the score 6-12. At this stage, it appeared that that heroic physical defending effort from Crymych was going to take its toll as Glynneath began to assert their dominance. However, as the old adage goes, being just one score ahead can be dangerous and this nearly proved to be true as following a speculative kick the Crymych winger found himself free on the blind side and ran from the half way line to score what looked a certain try until Sam Harris tracking back diagonally at speed managed to force the winger into touch 2-3 ft from the Glynneath line. Possibly a turning point in the game as Glynneath cleared their lines and made some personnel changes with Craig Tennant, Dalton Brown, Keelan Marney and Rowan Lovering entering the fray. As Glynneath pressed with fresh legs, their dominant scrum once again caused problems on the Crymych 22 and through the smallest of gaps Dalton Brown ducked, weaved and side stepped to the line making the score 6-19 following Dylan’s conversion. At last the scoreline started to reflect Glynneath’ s dominance and a scrum 5 metres from the Crymych line with the last move of the game was again dominant with yet another powerful drive leading to another penalty try and a much welcomed bonus point with the final score being 6-26.

The team was ably led by stand in captain Jed O’Reilly with special mentions going to the forward effort in general which set the platform for the victory with Kohen Williams and Rhodri Evans deserving praise for replacing the experience of the seasoned warriors of James Parry and Shaun Tennant seamlessly.

Squad depth will be vital this season and this was evidence that we have the squad to do well here after an amazing start. Also great to see Rowan Lovering back on the field after a long time out through injury which can only benefit Glynneath further as the season progresses.

Speaking to former Wales captain Kevin Phillips during and after the game he eulogised about the Glynneath pack and the “togetherness” of the team in general and he was generous in his praise for the club and went on to state that not many teams will come here and prevent Crymych from scoring a try. This again is testament to the efforts the coaches and the players put into their defence during training. A great effort and an immense start to life in the Championship.