Fixture

The Magpies travelled west on Saturday afternoon to face St Clears RFC in the last 16 of the WRU National Bowl. It was expected to be a close encounter between the two sides that sit top of Divisions 3 West A and B and so it turned out. Playing head long into a strong wind Tumble kept the ball and found themselves in the ascendancy during the early exchanges. Some hard carrying from number 8 Nathan Willard typified the Magpies effort during this stage of the game. Despite having a lot of possession, the strong wind was making it difficult for the Magpies to clear danger and repeated handling mistakes saw them surrender possession in key areas of the pitch. The Saints now started to get the upper hand and a sustained attack on the Tumble try line, saw ruck after ruck until St Clears spread the ball and worked a three man overlap to score a try, the conversion was missed making it 5-0 after 11 minutes. Tumble immediately found themselves back deep in Saints territory, but handling errors saw the ball lost and the Saints relieve the pressure. Five minutes later the Magpies found themselves further behind after the Saints converted a penalty after number 8 Nathan Willard was adjudged to have made a high tackle, 8-0 to the home side from 25 metres. The Magpies continued to put pressure on the home side despite a strong wind blowing directly in their faces and it looked like their cause had been helped on 26 minutes when a Saints player was shown the yellow card for foul play. A line out seven metres out saw the Magpies drive at the Saints try line but again the ball was turned over and the home side cleared up field. On 34 minutes the Magpies finally got the score their possession stats deserved. Tumble formed phase after phase on the right before stretching play all the way to the left-hand touchline. Then the ball was worked back to the right where wing Nicky Allinson hit the line at pace and broke through the defence. Captain and centre Steffan Price was on hand to complete the move and go over for a try wide on the right on 34 minutes, 8-5 and the Magpies right back in it. Outside half Steven Hewitt saw his conversion attempt fall well short due to the strong wind blowing directly against his kick. Any hopes Tumble had of seeing it through to half time without conceding were dashed almost immediately when the Saint secured a line out 10 metres from the Tumble line. The ball was won and phase after phase of pounding the Magpies defence finally saw the Saints break through and score a try under the posts. Unbelievably the conversion attempted hit both uprights before going over, 15-5 to the Saints. The Magpies still had one attempt left in them before half time securing a line out five metres out from the St Clears line. The ball was secured and the drive towards the try line began. Industrious hooker Rhys Lewis broke away but ended up being turned over, allowing the Saints to relieve the pressure. 15-5 to the home side at half time but the Magpies were confident knowing that they would have the strong wind behind them in the second half.

With the strong wind now behind them it was expected that Tumble would have the same assistance from the conditions in second half as had been the case for St Clears in the first. The Magpies started strongly and within two minutes of the restart saw experienced wing Nicky Allinson chase a grubber kick from full back Scott Jones. Allison outpaced his opposite man and appeared to ground the ball before the covering defence. The crowd celebrated the try only to be disappointed when the referee made the decision that the balled had been first nulled by a Saints hand. Whilst the wind had died down from the first half Tumble were still using it to their advantage and had St Clears pinned in their half during the opening exchanges of the second half. Slowly the Saints started to establish a foothold in the game and kept the ball tight to make inroads into Tumble territory. Ruck after ruck saw the Saints gain ground before they crashed over for a try to the right of the posts after 50 minutes. The conversion attempt fell short into the wind making the score 20-5 and causing concern for the Magpies bench and support. Five minutes later that concern was deepened when again close phase play saw the Saints make inroads in the Magpies defence and go over for another unconverted try on 55 minutes, 27-5 to the home side and the Magpies looking like they were going out of the National Bowl competition. Tumble continued to try and work their way back into the game. On 58 minutes they were awarded a penalty kick 30 metres from the Saints posts. All expected a kick to the corner taking into account the 22-point deficit in the score. Captain Steffan Price however made the decision to register the points and gave the ball to outside half Steven Hewitt who duly slotted over an excellent penalty. The score was now 27-8 with the Magpies still having it all to do. Registering the three points seemed to galvanise Tumble and give them real focus going forward. A kick saw the Magpies gain a line out 5 metres out. Second row Ryan Lewis won the ball cleanly allowing the Magpies to set and drive a maul forward. The Saints couldn't contain the power of the Tumble forwards who drove over for a try from the hard carrying number eight Nathan Willard. Hewitt landed the conversion from the left of the posts to make the score 27-15 on 61 minutes. Tumble were using the wind to their advantage and putting concerted pressure on the St Clears defence who were having to soak up tackle after tackle. On 67 minutes the Magpies were awarded a scrum five. With the Saints struggling to contain the Magpies in the set piece the scrum needed to be reset twice, finally on the third attempt the power from the Tumble eight came through as they shunted the home pack over their own line. At the back of the scrum replacement number eight Steffan Davies was the grateful recipient as he dived on the ball for a great try. Hewitt again landed a superb conversion attempt from right of the posts to make the score 27-22 with 13 minutes left to play. The Magpies were now in control and they looked for that critical score that could decide this game. A line out on the Saints 22 saw the ball won and the Magpies play phase after phase, stretching play one way and then another. With the ball being played back centre field a ruck was set up 20 metres from the Saints line. With it looking like another phased build up was on the cards Tumble scrum half Iwan Morgan suddenly exploded from the base of the ruck powered past two defenders before sidestepping the Saints fullback and grounding the ball for a superb individual try under the posts on 78 minutes much to the joy of the Tumble players and supporters. Up stepped Hewitt to land the conversion and give Tumble the lead, 27-29 for the very first time in the game with only two minutes remaining. The Magpies saw out the final few minutes to secure an amazing comeback victory.

A great second half performance with the whole team showing great heart and character to come back from 27-5 down. Special mention for the effort put in by hooker Rhys Lewis and centre Richard Davies, both leading by example both in attack and defence. The club now progresses into the quarter final of the WRU National Bowl for the third time, travelling to Bryncethin RFC next Saturday. We hope we can take another superb support with us next weekend to roar the boys on.

Ymlaen Y Piod