Llandaff RFC U14
Matches
Sun 17 Mar 2019
Llandaff RFC
Llandaff RFC U14
21
3
Builth Wells RFC
Blues Cup QF Victory!

Blues Cup QF Victory!

Tina Cottrell17 Mar 2019 - 22:35
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A gritty performance brings a winning result.

The Blues Cup Quarter Final brought about the visit of Builth Wells RFC to a sun baked Llandaff Fields where most on the sidelines would sweat out their over indulgences of Grand Slam Saturday.

We were told to expect a physical encounter, Builth would look to dominate proceedings with their large pack and unsurprisingly, an arm wrestle ensued. The forwards were being asked to dig deep, a bruising affair this was to be and no doubt there’ll be some sore bodies amongst our boys after their industrious efforts that’s for sure.

Time after time Builth looked to use the crash ball and on each occasion they were met with the steadfast Llandaff defence. Much like our Welsh heroes the day before, they stood shoulder to shoulder to keep them out, they would not pass. On the rare occasions they did look to use their backs they came up against great last ditch tackles from Tommy and the brute force of Ethan H. His hit on their outside half albeit deemed late really set the tone. We showed them that we would not be bullied and that we could match their physicality.

A spectacle this was not. Attritional would be the best way to describe the first half. Their large pack would not be able to sustain their efforts for the full game and the Llandaff players knew that. Keep them moving around the pitch and the gaps would appear later in the game.

Thankfully the second half was to offer a great deal more and as expected, gaps did appear and our expansive game flourished. We were able to move the ball along the backs to our speed merchants, some great lines from Scott really did create the space for Raf, George C and Ollie Ha.

0-0 at half time, the first points would come from the boot of the very quiet Builth outside half, a rather contentious penalty I must say.

Most amongst us will be all too familiar with the Llandaff restart failings of the past, meandering up to the halfway with no great desire after conceding points is incredibly frustrating. Not today. Pumped up and raring to go, the boys sprinted back to the line. A fantastic restart from Tommy and a great collection from the chasing Raf saw him beat 3 men down the line and cross the whitewash, a fantastic try which really galvanised the team. A dumbstruck Builth then had to stand under the posts to watch the conversion be excellently slotted over from out wide by Tommy, 7-3.

With no plan B, the all too predictable Builth played right into our hands. Ethan S was licking his lips, he really does thrive in such contests, likewise George P. All of the forwards played extremely well, they presented some excellent ball to Kai who could work his magic. Our next moment came from this - good ball through the hands and a strong straight run from Scott sucked in defenders, the ball was recycled to Ollie Ha who broke through a tackle and needed two more players to bring him down. His guile saw him pop the ball up into the hands of the supporting George C who evaded one tackle before running half the length of the field leaving defenders in his wake to score under the posts. The heavily breathing Builth watched the conversion get slotted over and made their way back rather slowly to the half way 14-3 down.

This contest was over, even with 10 minutes left they did not have it in them, and we were not feeling charitable. Stick to the game plan and look after the ball.

Our next moment was set up by tireless Josh F with more good work around the breakdown, he ensured we had good ball at the ruck for Kai to pop it to the rampaging George P who 10 metres inside his own half, crashed through a set of defenders and galloped down the line, transferring the ball into his right hand side he was able to hand off the covering full back, cross the whitewash and place the ball down under the posts. The whole team and the supporting parents roared their support. This was game set and match, the whistle was imminent. The conversion was slotted, 21-3, that was that.

The whole team were tremendous. A few errors didn’t help the first half, but having said that, they were under a tremendous pressure. The second half was great game management, a mature performance which we can only thank the players and coaches for, their hard work is really starting to pay off. We march on!

Champagne Moment:
Ethan H putting their outside half on his backside really did set the tone, something tells me he rather likes the enforcer roll. George P galloping in from 60 metres was also special, almost as special as his catch with his head from the kick off. However, the moment of the match for me was the great team try which saw a strong straight line being ran by Scott, a winger sucking defenders in and then having the presence of mind to pop the ball up into the hands of our flier (bravo Ollie H). George C evaded their fastest defenders to score under the posts, he’s got some gas that boy.

Match details

Match date

Sun 17 Mar 2019

Kickoff

11:30
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