THEY say fortune favours the brave. That’s not always true. Sometimes the bold decision made in the heat of the moment leads to validation and victory, often it ends in regret and ruin.

The last throw of the dice, the final spin of the wheel, the simple toss of the coin and the momentous decision to kick for a draw, or play to win are defining moments.

And when Abergavenny coach Nathan Thomas urged his team to gun for glory in the 80th minute, instead of resigning themselves to a hollow victory and a share of the spoils in yesterday’s edge-of-the-seat National Bowl clash against Oakdale, it was the defining moment in a campaign that can only be defined by one word - heroic.

In a death or glory scenario, Abergavenny were trailing by three points with the clock in the red. Showing the same sort of tenacity and grit which had already seen them claw back what many thoughts was an insurmountable deficit, the claret and ambers won a penalty slap bang in the middle of the posts.

A simple kick would take the game to extra time and with the momentum on Aber’s side, the odds looked favourable.

Yet it wasn’t to be. Ref Elliot Mayer advised that if the kick went over there would be no extra time and the game would be tied.

The S4C commentators agreed that a shared trophy was better than no trophy at all but they hadn’t just spent the last 80 minutes busting a gut to bring the silverware home.

With a do or die mentality Aber opted to go for the scrum and it was game on!

In a stadium which is no stranger to last-minute drama, the tension was as thick as treacle as time slowed down and ‘Genny fought tooth and nail to hold possession, and as one vocal claret and amber man put it, “to cross the f***ing line.”

Passes appeared delivered in slow motion, with the watching fans anticipating the dreaded spectacle of a fumbled catch, the terrible turnover, or the cruel knock-on, but on this day of days the fates were kind, the universe was just, and fortune really did favour the brave.

After an age of nail-biting anticipation, Anthony Squire crossed the line and so ended an epic and euphoric encounter that will Iive long in the history of both the club and the town.

For a full match report and pics see this Thursday’s Chronicle.