Abercynon - 10

AFTER a woeful record of 11 games, and 10 defeats, Christmas came early for the Bailey Park faithful on Saturday as Abergavenny run in four tries against Abercynon and catapulted themselves out of the bottom regions of Division Two East in the process.

"It was a defence based game, and all the crucial work that forwards coach Gareth Taylor has put in with the team, especially in the last three weeks or so came to fruition on Saturday," explained head coach Gary Lawrence after the match.

"No-one on the pitch gave a poor performance, and I told all the boys beforehand that they would all get an early Christmas present if they played well," added the head honcho.

"They did, and I hope they were all happy with the seasonal gift of a bonus point - they certainly deserved it."

In a game that the claret and ambers were always in control of, Ryan Williams on the right wing opened Aber's account with an unconverted try.

Loose-head Owen Staphnil was up next with a solid run that saw him barge past a few players before touching down for Steve Lang to convert.

Aber's scrum-half Ross Bridgeman invited himself to the points party with a clever little try, that saw him pounce on a loose ball that had been left unaccompanied as it inched towards the Abercynon line after Steve Lang's attempt at a drop goal went wrong.

Last to add his name to the scoresheet was South African centre Jessie Nowers who weaved his way in and out of the visitor's defence to touchdown and let the boots of Lang convert.

Lawrence told the Chronicle, "Overall it was a very pleasing team display, but I think special mention must be given to man-of-the-match James Smith on the left-wing. In wet and muddy conditions he had an outstanding game. His handling was excellent, and he caught a lot of difficult high ball.

"Owen Staphnil also stood out in a match where the entire pack of forwards remained solid and showed a lot of spirit.

"After a string of defeats, the mood in the whole camp is very upbeat after Saturday's win. It's now simply a case of looking to increase that momentum as we head into 2009."

This Saturday Abergavenny visit RTB Ebbw Vale from the bottom of Division Five East in Round One of the Swalec Plate, before their last league fixture of 2008 away to a table-topping Tredegar.