Llantrisant - 25

IN a match where Abergavenny afforded Llantrisant far too much respect in the first 30 minutes, they upped the ante in the second-half and were disappointed not to have finished off the visitors.

Forwards coach Gareth Taylor told the Chronicle, "It was a case of mixed feelings when the boys left the field. On the one hand we still picked up another bonus point, but I think we all knew that in the last ten minutes we had Llantrisant on the ropes, but failed to deliver the knock-out blow."

Although the claret and ambers have only won one game this season and lost four, they have managed to secure a bonus point from all five of their fixtures. A factor which is reason to stay optimistic in the face of so many early defeats reveals Taylor, "What you have to take into consideration is that we've purposefully brought in a lot of young players to the side this season. The average age of the squad is now probably in its mid-twenties, and for most of these players it's their first taste of Division Two rugby.

"You can't build a team over night, and the players have had to learn on the job. It's a steep learning curve for them, but one well worth having if Abergavenny are to grow as a club.

"In all fairness we've now played the current two top teams in the division and have only lost to them narrowly. Conceivably we could be sitting at the top of the table now. These games have literally slipped through our fingers."

Taylor added, "Being such a young side the boys are still lacking in a bit of the experience that comes with age. For example we play some great stuff in patches, but then we have periods of 10-15 minutes when we lose concentration and it all goes pear-shaped.

"That's when the experience of knowing how to close games out when your in the ascendancy, knowing how to slow things downs, and knowing when to put your foot on the gas comes in.

"My one criticism I had of us on Saturday, was that the boys held back and gave Llantrisant far too much respect for the first half an hour. In Division Two you can't stand off teams for 30 minutes and not expect them to cut you to pieces. We may have got away with that in certain cases last season, but it's a different style of rugby at this level and you have to be ruthless.

"Having said that, it was pleasing to see the boys pile on the pressure in the second-half, and I think towards the end we really had Llantrisant worried that they were in for their first defeat of the season.

"As a club we've got to be patient. Abergavenny has got a great infrastructure where players are constantly coming through from the youth side and the Quins to play first team rugby.

"We could be cynical and look to fill our first team with 30-something players who have been around the block a few times and have the necessary experience to deal with Division Two rugby.

"But what's the point in that. How long are they going to stick around for. We've got a great squad at the moment with so much potential and promise, who I think are definitely going to be one of the sides to watch out for in the future.

"Short-term thinking will get you nowhere anymore and we have to have a long-term plan.

It's all about short-term pain, long-term gain. We may have lost four out of our first five fixtures, but we're improving with every match, and the increasing quality of the performances we've been putting in definitely bode well for the challenges coming our way.

"Our patterns of play our good, and we know we have the necessary quality. We just need to

tighten up our defence, get a few wins under our belt, and the rest will follow."

This Saturday Aber will look for a little more than just a bonus point when they play Ynysybwl away.