Llanhilleth RFC - 29

Crickhowell RFC - 34

The second round of the WRU Bowl competition saw Crickhowell take on Llanhilleth RFC, who play in League ‘A’, several tiers above them.

The Crickhowell pack set out their stall early when the first scrum of the game saw the home team travelling backwards.

Inspired by their forwards, a clever pass by Harry Purvis on the inside freed Tom Keane to burst through and score the first try which was converted by Leon Rees.

Shortly afterwards, a dart from the scrum-half fed Lewis Logan, running a good line in support, led to try number two, converted by Rees.

An intelligent kick ahead by Bleddyn Carrington took play to the Llanhilleth line. The first attempt to score was held up but the second attempt saw Ryan James touch down in the corner.

The conversion kick hit the upright and failed but outside-half Leon Rees added to his tally with a coolly-taken penalty a few minutes later, 0-22.

Llanhilleth were stung into retaliation and opted to go for the line rather than take the penalties they were awarded.

Their perseverance paid off and after sustained pressure gained two unconverted tries just before half-time, restoring some respectability to the scoreline.

The second half began with more positive play from Llanhilleth but it was again Crickhowell who struck first when Matt Botting gathered from a kick ahead and found his way clear to the line. Rees again converted. Shortly afterwards Llanhilleth were reduced to 14 men when a player was yellow-carded for obstruction.

Crickhowell replied with a smart move from scrum-half Lewis Cook, who took the ball from the scrum, and darted round to cross the line for an unconverted try.

A yellow card saw Crickhowell reduced to 14 men, and a back-to-full-strength Llanhilleth took full advantage, scoring three rapid-fire tries to take the scoreline to 29-34.

In a nail-biting finish, Crickhowell managed to withstand continuous pressure from the determined Llanhilleth team and were relieved when a penalty gave them the opportunity to clear the ball upfield just before the final whistle blew.

Coach Gareth Bowen said afterwards, “It was a great win today. All the players should be extremely proud of themselves. It was a massive effort. Thanks, also, to the supporters who come week in week out to cheer on the boys.”

The team now eagerly wait to discover who they will face in the next round.

Also, in an earlier unreported league fixture versus Old Tyleryans, Crickhowell ran out the victors 50-0, which at that time placed them at the top of their league table.

Next Saturday sees an away friendly versus Brecon Seconds. The next scheduled league fixture is on October 22 when Crick travel up to Rhayader RFC.