Fixture

Braving monsoon like conditions at Parc y Mynydd Mawr on Saturday afternoon the Magpies welcomed Tycroes RFC to Cwm Gwendraeth in Division 2 West. The wind, rain and soft underfoot conditions made running rugby difficult but both sides contributed to an entertaining and hard-fought encounter. Tycroes scored first after three minutes with a well struck penalty kick only for the Magpies to take a 7-3 lead four minutes later when they were awarded a penalty try. With the try line beckoning the Tumble rolling maul was pulled down illegally and referee Steve Curtis had no hesitation in awarding the penalty try. The Magpies were now playing well in the conditions and gaining territory through their forward runners. Youngster Morgan Davies, playing at outside half was also marshalling his backs well and brining runners into the game. On 26 minutes Tumble further extended their lead when acting captain Steffan Price nailed a penalty to give the home side a 10-3 lead. A telling moment in the game was to come two minutes before half time when wing Kieran Spain was shown the yellow card by the referee. Score at the interval 10-3 to Tumble.

Starting the second half with 14 players the Magpies were exposed out wide and conceded two tries in the first three minutes of the half to see Tycroes take a 10-13 lead. It was in this period that a number of injuries saw the Magpies permanently down to 14 players even after Spain had returned to the field of play. With the numerical advantage Tycroes scored two more second half tries to complete the scoring and secure a 10-26 victory.

The margin of defeat was tough on the boys who gave 110% effort throughout the game but found the injuries and numerical advantage of their opponents in the second half too great a hurdle to overcome. The team now have a week off for Christmas before being back in action on Saturday, 29^th December away at Pontyberem RFC in the Festive local derby.

A copy of today’s matchday programme can be found at the following link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SgMAFKzlKF1JTOXtaDB39X_j7-t8l3Hs/view?usp=sharing

Scorers:

Tries – Penalty try

Con – Steffan Price

Ymlaen Y Piod