Oakdale RFC - 20

Abergavenny RFC - 22

Abergavenny returned to league action after the festive celebrations with a tough trip away to arch rivals Oakdale.

After beating Oakdale earlier in the season the side were fairly confident but with unavailability and illness the coaches had to reshuffle the side a bit.

Tom Powell, Ryan Morgan, and Rob Lothian were the front row. Rhys Dawe and Will Evans in the second row. Ben Roberts came into the back row to join Dan Beavan and Josh Davies. Rhob Conick and Rhod Webster were at half back. Alex Howes filled in at centre with James Lewis. The back three was made up of Jacob Butler, Nathan Williams, and Nathan Byrne.

The home side started the game with far more purpose than Aber. They opened the scoring with a penalty and then increased their lead with a converted try to give them a ten point lead after ten minutes.

This woke Abergavenny up and for the next quarter of an hour they played some good controlled rugby. They were rewarded with a try for second row Rhys Dawe, converted by Jacob Butler who also kicked a penalty to bring the scores level ten each.

From the restart poor discipline allowed the Oakdale outside half to kick another penalty and give the home side a three point lead at the break.

The second period saw Abergavenny dominating possession and territory but resolute defence from the home side prevented Genny from scoring on several occasions.

Eventually the pressure told and flanker Dan Beavan scored from close range, converted by Butler, to give Abergavenny the lead for the first time, 13-17.

The home side were not going to roll over and upped their game. Aided by poor discipline from the Abergavenny side, Oakdale got a foothold in the twenty two from where they scored a converted try to retake the lead, 20-17.

With time running out, Aber’s coaches emptied the bench. Curtis price and Ieuan James came on in the front row, Josh Hitchman and Lewis Evans were already on the park due to injuries and Alun Rikard replaced Dawes in the second row.

The Aber players now threw everything into attack, showing a great hunger for victory. Their commitment was rewarded when Josh Hitchman crossed for the wining try to leave the final score 20-22.

The win gives Aber a much needed away victory and takes them to third place in the league.

Also on Saturday the Quinn’s travelled to previously unbeaten Chepstow and came away with a 26-12 victory, with tries being scored by Nathan Mason, Kevin Palmer, and Joe Symons. The win takes the Quinn’s to the top of their league.

On Saturday Abergavenny return to Bailey park with Talywain the opponents. This promises to be a tough encounter against the league leaders who are unbeaten this season, so all support would be much appreciated by the club.