Fixture

After already beating them twice in the National Bowl this season Tumble welcomed Amman United RFC to Parc y Mynydd Mawr in the first fixture of the Admiral National League Division 3 West B. The Magpies started off like a train and within the first five minutes had seen wing Sam Jones tackled short of the line in the corner and number 8 Nathan Willard power over only to be held up and be unable to ground the ball. However only a minute later elusive full back Elis Lewis sprinted in in the right hand corner following a break and a juggle of the ball by hooker Dafydd Humphreys. The conversion attempt was pulled wide of the upright from a tight angle by outside half Steven Hewitt. The Magpies were looking strong at this point and hungry for more with a good move and strong run from captain and centre Steffan Price unfortunately ending up in a turnover deep in the Amman 22. After being under the cosh for the first 10 minutes Amman started to establish themselves in the game missing a penalty after 17 minutes only to correct the wrong two minutes later with a successful attempt from their outside half, closing the gap in the score to two points, 5-3. On 21 minutes Amman had the chance to take the lead with a penalty from the half way when Tumble second row Ifan Samuel was adjudged to have made a no arms tackle, the kick sailed wide to keep the score at 5-3. The game was now pretty even with both teams showing plenty of commitment and good handling but with a lack of clear scoring opportunities. On 29 minutes Amman found themselves down to 14 players when their second row was shown a yellow card for a transgression at a ruck. On the half hour and in the Amman 22 outside half Steve Hewitt attempted to chase his grubber kick through the defence only to be taken out off the ball. The penalty was awarded only for an Amman player to charge the kick and Hewitt hit the upright. The referee asked for the kick to be retaken and unbelievably the normally reliable Hewitt saw his second attempt also ricochet off the post. With the game in the balance the Magpies turned down a clear penalty goal attempt a minute before the interval and opted for the scrum only to conceded possession. The ball was regathered as Tumble were pressing for the elusive second try in the Amman 22 right on half time. Keen to spread the ball a long pass was made only for it to be intercepted by the Amman centre who proceed to run 50 metres and only be held out by a superb cover tackle, the ball went dead and the referee Gareth Symmons blew for half time, much to the relief of the Parc y Mynydd Mawr faithful.

Much like the first Tumble started the second half playing with pace and intensity taking only two minutes for full back Elis Lewis to go over for his second try of the game. Hewitt then landed a superb conversion from the left hand touchline to open the score up to 12-3. The Magpies were in the mood and some slick handling and back play saw wing Sam Jones in at the corner for a try. The conversion attempt was narrowly wide making the score 17-3 with only six minutes played of the second half. Amman then proceeded to get the better of the possession stakes for the next twenty minutes but apart from a badly scuffed penalty attempt were unable to do anything against a resolute Tumble defence which kept most of the play around the halfway line. Both teams were playing some good stuff but were unable to make any headway. On 62 minutes the Magpies found themselves down to 14 men when replacement, hooker Rhys Lewis - playing his first game of the season was adjudged to have illegally pulled down a rolling mall. The next scrum saw Humphreys back on the field and flanker Steffan Owen sacrificed for the ten minutes. Tumble were defending solidly and soaking up all that Amman were throwing at them. The last 10 minutes saw Tumble up the tempo. Another slick backs move saw wing Sam Jones tackled near the left hand corner. Flanker Callum Williams gathered the ball from the resultant ruck to use his power and guile to get over for Tumble's fourth try of the afternoon and secure the bonus point. Hewitt added the extras with a successful penalty to make the score 24-3 and put the Magpies out of touch. Tumble were now turning the screw and a darting run from young wing Kieron Jones was unluckily to not result in a try scoring situation. Deep into injury time the Magpies secured a scrum near the Amman try line. The ball was worked back to replacement number 8 Steffan 'Mawr' Davies who used his strength to force his way over for a try near the right hand corner flag. The conversion was missed with the game ending up as a well earned 29-3 bonus point victory for Tumble. The win installs the Magpies as the league leaders of Admiral Division 3 West B after round 1 of fixtures. No league game next week but a Tumble RFC XV play Llanelli Warriors RFC at Parc y Mynydd Mawr before the Wales v Australia International.

A copy of the match day programme can be found HERE

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