Fixture

The Magpies welcomed Llandybie to Parc y Mynydd Mawr on a drizzly Thursday night for a rearranged Division 3 West B fixture. The conditions contributed towards a scrappy start to the game but Llandybie settled first and got the opening points of the game by capitalising on some poor Tumble defence with a converted try after six minutes. Within a couple of minutes the Magpies went close when skipper Steffan Price chased a grubber kick into the corner from scrum half Iwan Morgan but there was too much pace on the ball and it ended up going dead. Price however only had to wait until the thirteenth minute to get on the score sheet when he went over in the righthand corner following a well worked team try. Experienced full back Steven Hewitt's conversion attempt went wide of the right hand upright making it 5-7 to the visitors. Three minutes later Hewitt had the opportunity to put the Magpies ahead when a penalty was awarded against Llandybie for holding on in a ruck, unfortunately the attempt went wide of the posts. However, almost immediately from the kick off Tumble got their noses in front. A strong running break from centre Steffan Price saw him feed the supporting Hewitt who ran into the Llandybie 22 at pace. Hewitt drew the defender and passed back inside to Price who went over for a lovely try to the left to the posts. The conversion attempted went wide, making the score 10-7 and giving the home side the lead for the first time in the game. Defensive lapses were again punished when Llandybie went over for a converted try on 22 minutes. The score putting the visitors back in the lead 10-14. Fortune was now to favour the Magpies, attacking deep in the Llandybie 22. A promising move was brought to an end following Llandybie upending Tumble's hooker Sam Cavill before he could receive a decisive pass. The referee deemed the transgression worthy of a yellow card and also ran to the posts to signal the penalty try. Whether a certain try was guaranteed was debatable but we'll back the referee's judgement over this decision, 17-14 to the Magpies with 34 minutes played. The remainder of the first half saw Tumble in good territorial positions but unable to capitalise on further points mainly due to mistakes and poor handling.

The second half started as the first had ended with promising moves breaking down due to handling or decision making errors. 52 minutes in the Magpies launched a promising attack near the half way. It appeared they had a numerical advantage on the right and a well placed pass would take advantage of this. Unfortunately, veteran Llandybie full back Wayne Williams intercepted to sprint in for a try below the posts from near the halfway line. The conversion was added to make the score 17-21 and leave Tumble looking shell shocked. Tumble now had to endure a period of pressure from a Llandybie side buoyed by their shock score. It was about to get a bit worse for the home side when on 56 minutes they conceded another penalty which Llandybie gladly took, 17-24. The Magpies had been guilty of perhaps over complicating things and not ensuring the basics were done sufficiently well so far in the game. It was a frustrating watch as in patches they played some lovely stuff and showed what this side is capable of only to come unstuck with poor handling, defensive lapses or forcing passes when it would have been better to take the ball on and set up the ruck. Fortunately the last 20 minutes play improved greatly with Tumble finally getting on top of their opponents. Securing possession from a scrum on the half way the Magpies worked their way deep into Llandybie territory, dragging the defence one way and then another. Drive after drive was soaked up by Llandybie as Tumble closed in on their tryline. Hewitt and then replacement hooker Rhys Lewis closed in on the line to set up the ruck. A further take up by second row Nathan Willard was repelled before being popped out from the ruck to Hewitt who fired a beautiful miss one mass out to the unmarked Sam Jones on the wing who dived over the whitewash. A really good, well worked and patient try. Hewitt kicked a fantastic conversion off the right hand touchline to bring the scores back even 24-24, with 62 minutes played. A penalty in the Llandybie 22 four minutes later saw Hewitt slot over the kick and nudge Tumble back in front 27-24. The Magpies now upped the pace and played the type of rugby that this side is capable of and which took them to a league and West Wales plate double last season. A break and powerful run down the left saw wing Mike Edwards go over for a well taken try. The conversion going wide but the lead opened up to 32-24 and with 12 minutes left to play. The rain was now coming down heavier and Llandybie refused to give up, pressure from the visitors saw the Tumble defence hold firm and the likes of youngster Elis Vaughan put his body on the line with some hard and aggressive tackling. On 74 minutes the Magpies found themselves down to 14 men when replacement forward Rhys Jones was yellow carded for a high hit on an opponent. Despite the numerical disadvantage Tumble still maintained their attacking prowess. Another well worked move saw centre Callum Williams and then hooker Rhys Lewis carry to near the Llandybie line. From the resultant ruck young replacement second row Ryan Williams picked up the ball and drove over the Llandybie line for a well worked try. The conversion attempt went wide from Hewitt who was having an inconsistent night from the tee. Very unlike him with his usual high success rate. 37-24 to the Magpies with 78 minutes played but there was still time for one more score. From the kick off scrum half Iwan Morgan made a fantastic break up to the edge of the Llandybie 22, before drawing the covering defender and slipping the pass out to wing Sam Jones who sprinted in for a great try. Hewitt kicked a great conversion as the referee blew his whistle for full-time, 44-24 to the Magpies. In the end a really good victory which will give the boys confidence going into the two week international break. Next up will be a visit to league leaders Amman United on 18 February at 2.30pm. Come and support the Magpies!

Match day Programme: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GY3M4Lj8oCaSP7WMvN5qgtXX6UQn5e_r/view?usp=sharing

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