Category: Rugby

Match Report: Aberavon 10 – 12 Pontypool
by Paul Williams

The Wizards came within a hair’s breadth of making it three victories from three outings this season, but they were controversially denied a winning score in a bizarre end to the match.

It was a match largely dominated by the whistle of young referee Ben Connor, who seemed unhappy throughout with the scrummaging of both teams, regularly calling for resets or awarding penalties one way or the other. With both Aberavon and their visitors, back in the Premiership after what must have felt like an eternity, going hard at it to establish a foothold of some kind, play tended to be rather more attritional than flowing, but to the credit of all concerned it proceeded in the best of spirits.

While both sides had their opportunities as play went from one end to the other and back again, it was the visitors who were ahead at the interval, with fly-half Matthew Jarvis, a veteran of a couple of seasons at the Talbot Athletic Ground quite some time ago, succeeding with two penalty shots to make it 0-6.

The second half began with the home side gradually gaining the upper hand as they laid siege to the visitors’ line with locks Shay Smallman and Rhodri Hughes leading the charge. The ball was moved from right to left, and although it went to ground fly-half James Davies was able to pick up and send an inch perfect kick into the in-goal area for Stef Andrews to go racing in and claim the touch-down. Davies’ conversion put the Wizards ahead 7-6.

Thereafter normal service was resumed, with both sides refusing to yield an inch. Pontypool continued to attack through their forwards, while the Wizards tried to take a more ambitious approach, despite losing the considerable midfield influence of skipper Joe Gage with an ankle injury. Frankie Jones, operating at outside centre, looked confident as he caused the Pontypool defence some problems with some pacy and elusive running, while there was strong tackling right across the field. 

However, amid all this Jarvis managed to land two further penalties, with Aberavon replacement Aled Thomas replying with one, making the score 10-12 in the visitors’ favour with the clock running down. The Wizards once again upped the pace and another sortie into the Pontypool 22 yielded a penalty for a high tackle. With time all but up, Thomas called for the kicking tee and lined up the shot at goal from a position out to the left of the goalposts. As he began his run-up, however, a Pontypool player came running off the goal-line between the goalposts, and Thomas’ kick went wide. A chorus of protests followed from the Aberavon players pointing out that when facing a penalty kick at goal defenders must stand still. Mr Connor, however, remained unmoved and brought things to a somewhat unsatisfactory end.

Date:
Saturday September 16th, 2023

Score:
Aberavon 10 – 12 Pontypool

Aberavon Team:
Scott Delnevo; Jay Baker, Frankie Jones, Joe Gage (capt) (rep Bradley Roderick 58 min), Stef Andrews; James Davies (rep Aled Thomas 54 min), Aron Hemmings (rep Iwan Temblett 51 min); Jordan Walters (rep Rowan Jenkins 42 min), Cameron Lewis (rep Luke Davies 51 min), Geraint James (rep Rhys Fawcett 61 min), Shay Smallman, Rhodri Hughes, Rhys Thomas, Travis Huntley (rep Sam Pailor 69 min), Casey Williams (rep Joe Tomalin-Reeves 54 min).

Notes:
Travis Huntley appeared from Maesteg Harlequins RFC.

Aberavon Scorers:
T – Stef Andrews
C – James Davies
P – Aled Thomas

Pontypool Scorers:
P – Matthew Jarvis (4)

Referee:
Ben Connor

Man Of The Match:
1 – Rhodri Hughes
2 – Scott Delnevo
3 – Luke Davies

Time Line:
26 min: Pontypool – PG – Matthew Jarvis (0 – 3)
29 min: Pontypool – PG – Matthew Jarvis (0 – 6)
34 min: Pontypool – Yellow Card – Sam Cochrane
40+4 min: Pontypool – Yellow Card – Walker Price
Half Time
47 min: Aberavon – T – Stef Andrews & C – James Davies (7 – 6)
57 min: Aberavon – Yellow Card – Aled Thomas
58 min: Pontypool – PG – Matthew Jarvis (7 – 9)
74 min: Aberavon – PG – Aled Thomas (10 – 9)
80+1 min: Pontypool – PG – Matthew Jarvis (10 – 12)
Full Time

Action Replay (Pontypool Programme Notes)

Bridgend 18-24 Aberavon
Indigo Premiership, 9th September 2023
by Paul Williams

The Wizards registered their second league victory of the season in a tough encounter at the Brewery Field, the result of which hung in the balance right up until the final whistle. Aberavon skipper Joe Gage put his team ahead with the ultimate captain’s try some eight minutes from time, but the Wizards had to endure some tense moments before eventually running down the clock until the ball could be booted off the field to bring down the curtain on a hard-fought match.

The Wizards are still having to manage without certain key players, particularly in the pack, but this has provided the chance to run the rule over several young newcomers who are seizing the opportunity to stake their claim for a regular place in the club’s matchday squad.

Flanker Casey Williams made his debut at the tail end of last season, and the flanker continues to impress. Very much a typical traditional open-side flanker, reliant on speed about the field and strength over the ball, he was on hand to finish off a fine team try on this occasion, dummying over in the left-hand corner for a first-half touchdown.

Other new faces to impress were full-back Scott Delnevo, fly-half James Davies and scrum-half Aaron Hemmings, whose addition to the Wizards’ collection of scrum-halves has come at a crucial time with the popular and experienced Rhodri Cole currently out of action with a broken collarbone. At the same time the Wizards handed a debut to back row man Travis Huntley, who came off the bench in the second half to make his mark with some powerful ball-carrying.

As a tentative opening ten minutes unfolded, there was little to choose between the two sides until the Wizards gained a foothold in the home 22 and quickly sent the ball out to the right wing where Jay Baker made short work of scything through the Bridgend defence. James Davies added the extras with a fine conversion, then five minutes later added a penalty goal. His opposite number Luke Price responded in kind to reduce the arrears, and then the scores were suddenly level when Bridgend centre Rhys Williams somehow scrambled his way over at the posts for Price to convert.

With half-time drawing near, an Aberavon attack was launched from deep with the ball passing through numerous pairs of hands and given momentum with some great running by Baker, before Casey Williams popped up to finish things off, with Davies’ conversion ultimately giving the Wizards a 10-17 lead at the interval.

From the restart the third quarter, in terms of scoring, at least, belonged to the home side. While both teams had their moments, a further penalty from Price and a try from scrum-half Chris Williams saw Bridgend go ahead for the first time in the match 18-17, with a half-hour left to play.

Indeed, but for some resolute defence things may have been a great deal worse for the Wizards as Bridgend sought to pull away and secure the win. The visitors somehow hung in there, however, with one memorable moment exemplifying their determination – as Bridgend sought to drive a five-metre lineout over the try-line, Aberavon hooker Luke Davies somehow got his hands on the ball, ripped it out from the maul and went bursting up the touchline before putting in a long kick and seconds later being on hand to put in a tackle some fifty metres upfield.

Gage’s heroic effort, coming at the tail end of a contest in which he must have covered every blade of grass as he led by example, was set up by Hemmings, who burst away from a maul, committing two defenders before handing on to Gage, whose pace and strength took him through the home defence and over for the crucial winning score.

Bridgend redoubled their efforts as the clock ran down but were unable to find a way through the Wizards’ defence, and ultimately it was the visitors who seized possession, holding on to the ball and taking it through phase after phase before sending it off the field for the final whistle to sound.

Paul Williams (Pontypool Programme Notes)

The Long Wait

If it seems like years since we saw once-regular visitors Pontypool at the Talbot Athletic Ground, it is because that’s exactly what it has been… and they have been sorely missed. Going back to those good old days when Welsh club rugby ruled the roost, great Pooler teams would arrive here on a Saturday towards the end of November, and we would be treated to a battle royal in which the legendary Faulkner-Windsor-Price front row would do battle with the likes of Clive Williams, Morton Howells or Billy James, John Richardson or Barrie Lewis, while behind them Allan Martin and Billy Mainwaring would face up to John Perkins and Steve Sutton. The respective back-rows were similarly matched; Chris Huish, Jeff Squire and Mark Brown versus Ogwyn Alexander, Phil Clarke and Richie Davies. The result of those encounters was, not surprisingly, a case of two great packs battling for every scrap of possession and the result almost inevitably decided by no more than two or three points. No quarter was asked, none was given, either on the field of play or in the clubhouse afterwards.

Sadly the wind of change that has blown through our sport since those days has seen the club game suffer what in human terms would be classed as life-changing injuries, and Pontypool RFC, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, suffered more than most. A costly dispute with the WRU was followed by a series of table-topping seasons in a lower division, with promotion being denied by a series of rule-changes until, at long last, they have arrived back amongst the top tier of the club game. For the time being, at least, as we now face the prospect of another tier as the latest shake up draws ever nearer.

All of the above, of course, is so familiar to those of us who’ve been around Aberavon RFC for two or more decades, as the process endured by Pooler and their long-suffering supporters runs parallel to what we went through prior to the creation of regional rugby, hailed at the time by a certain Mr Moffat as being the panacea to put right all that was wrong in Welsh rugby… hmm. Back here in the real world, it’s been a long wait (punctuated only by a disappointing promotion/relegation playoff) but today we have Pontypool and their loyal followers here at long last.

Succession Planning

Meanwhile, here at Aberavon, we’re at the start of what will be something of a transitional phase with new faces appearing in the Wizards’ lineup, all of whom have emerged with credit from our opening two matches. With several long-serving squad members having hung up their boots the coaching staff have evidently been busy during the close-season filling those vacancies while staying true to the Aberavon tradition of encouraging and developing young talent, which is what is expected of us by the powers that be. As supporters, we should be applauding this while tempering our expectations as what is now a much younger squad settles in and begins to flourish. Focusing on the here and now is all very well, but squad recruitment is essential for the long-term future well-being of the club. I shall cite just one example of that policy paying off. If a certain youthful hooker hadn’t been picked up straight from youth rugby several years ago, the “warrior” (to quote a Jason Hyatt description of him earlier this week) that is Luke Davies would undoubtedly have been plying his trade elsewhere. Anyone who witnessed his single-handed destruction of a Bridgend driving maul, followed immediately by his burst up the touchline, long clearance kick and follow-up tackle, would surely agree that that would have been a crying shame!

Team v Pontypool

The Aberavon team to face Pontypool at the Talbot Athletic Ground on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. is…

Aberavon Starting XV:
Scott Delnevo; Jay Baker, Frankie Jones, Joe Gage (capt), Stef Andrews; James Davies, Aron Hemmings; Jordan Walters, Cameron Lewis, Geraint James, Shay Smallman, Rhodri Hughes, Rhys Thomas, Travis Huntley, Casey Williams.

Replacements:
Iwan Temblett, Aled Thomas, Bradley Roderick, Joe Tomalin-Reeves, Luke Davies, Sam Pailor, Rowan Jenkins, Rhys Fawcett.

Preview: Aberavon v Pontypool

This Saturday, the Talbot Athletic Ground will be the setting as Aberavon hosts Pontypool in the Indigo Group Premiership. The action is set to kick off at 2:30 p.m.

Pooler earned the WRU Championship title last season, going through the season unbeaten, gaining themselves promotion to the Premiership alongside Neath, who secured the runner-up spot.

Pontypool had a couple of pre-season games, both against other Premiership teams. First, they faced Pontypridd that ended in a 21-28 defeat. During the game, Pooler scored tries through centre Joel Mahoney, hooker Will Griffiths, and back row Ben Moa, with outside-half Matthew Jarvis successfully converting all three. Ponty responded with four tries of their own.

In their last pre-season clash at Pontypool Park, Pontypool fell to Merthyr 21-31. Pooler notched three tries, with scrum-half Morgan Lloyd bagging two and a penalty try, complemented by two conversions by outside-half Matthew Jarvis. The visitors scored five tries, three successfully converted, securing the win.

In their opening Premiership match, Pontypool faced a 27-38 loss against Newport. Pooler led 20-12 after half an hour with tries from wing Ewan Rosser and centre Joel Mahoney, both converted by outside-half Matthew Jarvis, who also added two penalties. However, Newport mounted a comeback just before halftime, scoring three converted tries to go ahead 33-20. In the second half, prop Sam Cochrane scored Pooler’s third try, with Jarvis converting to narrow Newport’s lead to six points. Nevertheless, the Black and Ambers had the final say with an unconverted try.

Pontypool defeated Swansea 20-17 at Pontypool Park last weekend. The home team took a 14-10 lead at halftime, courtesy of tries by wing Huw Anderson and flanker Scott Matthews, both converted by outside-half Matthew Jarvis. Swansea scored a converted try and added a penalty. In the second half, the teams were deadlocked at 17-17 with ten minutes to go after a Jarvis penalty and a Whites converted try. However, Jarvis sealed the match with a match-winning penalty in the 75th minute.

Looking at their history, Aberavon and Pontypool have met 30 times in the Welsh National League. Currently, Aberavon leads with 18 wins to Pontypool’s 11, with one game resulting in a draw. At the Talbot Athletic Ground, Aberavon holds a strong record of 13 wins to Pontypool’s 2, including a run of seven consecutive victories at this venue. They last met at the ground in the league twelve seasons ago with the Wizards securing a 40-16 victory.

The game on Saturday will be officiated by Ben Connor as the referee, with support from Jason Bessant and Rhodri Morgan in the roles of assistants.

Match Report: Bridgend 18 – 24 Aberavon
by Paul Williams

The Wizards registered their second league victory of the season in a tough encounter at the Brewery Field, the result of which hung in the balance right up until the final whistle. Aberavon skipper Joe Gage put his team ahead with the ultimate captain’s try some eight minutes from time, but the Wizards had to endure some tense moments before eventually running down the clock until the ball could be booted off the field to bring down the curtain on a hard-fought match.

The Wizards are still having to manage without certain key players, particularly in the pack, but this has provided the chance to run the rule over several young newcomers who are seizing the opportunity to stake their claim for a regular place in the club’s matchday squad.

Flanker Casey Williams made his debut at the tail end of last season, and the flanker continues to impress. Very much a typical traditional open-side flanker, reliant on speed about the field and strength over the ball, he was on hand to finish off a fine team try on this occasion, dummying over in the left-hand corner for a first-half touchdown.

Other new faces to impress were full-back Scott Delnevo, fly-half James Davies and scrum-half Aaron Hemmings, whose addition to the Wizards’ collection of scrum-halves has come at a crucial time with the popular and experienced Rhodri Cole currently out of action with a broken collarbone. At the same time the Wizards handed a debut to back row man Travis Huntley, who came off the bench in the second half to make his mark with some powerful ball-carrying.

As a tentative opening ten minutes unfolded, there was little to choose between the two sides until the Wizards gained a foothold in the home 22 and quickly sent the ball out to the right wing where Jay Baker made short work of scything through the Bridgend defence. James Davies added the extras with a fine conversion, then five minutes later added a penalty goal. His opposite number Luke Price responded in kind to reduce the arrears, and then the scores were suddenly level when Bridgend centre Rhys Williams somehow scrambled his way over at the posts for Price to convert.

With half-time drawing near, an Aberavon attack was launched from deep with the ball passing through numerous pairs of hands and given momentum with some great running by Baker, before Casey Williams popped up to finish things off, with Davies’ conversion ultimately giving the Wizards a 10-17 lead at the interval.

From the restart the third quarter, in terms of scoring, at least, belonged to the home side. While both teams had their moments, a further penalty from Price and a try from scrum-half Chris Williams saw Bridgend go ahead for the first time in the match 18-17, with a half-hour left to play.

Indeed, but for some resolute defence things may have been a great deal worse for the Wizards as Bridgend sought to pull away and secure the win. The visitors somehow hung in there, however, with one memorable moment exemplifying their determination – as Bridgend sought to drive a five-metre lineout over the try-line, Aberavon hooker Luke Davies somehow got his hands on the ball, ripped it out from the maul and went bursting up the touchline before putting in a long kick and seconds later being on hand to put in a tackle some fifty metres upfield.

Gage’s heroic effort, coming at the tail end of a contest in which he must have covered every blade of grass as he led by example, was set up by Hemmings, who burst away from a maul, committing two defenders before handing on to Gage, whose pace and strength took him through the home defence and over for the crucial winning score.

Bridgend redoubled their efforts as the clock ran down but were unable to find a way through the Wizards’ defence, and ultimately it was the visitors who seized possession, holding on to the ball and taking it through phase after phase before sending it off the field for the final whistle to sound.

Date:
Saturday September 9th, 2023

Score:
Bridgend 18 – 24 Aberavon

Aberavon Team:
Scott Delnevo; Jay Baker, Frankie Jones (rep Bradley Roderick 67 min), Joe Gage (capt), Stef Andrews; James Davies (rep Aled Thomas 74 min), Aron Hemmings; Rowan Jenkins (rep Jordan Walters 49 min), Luke Davies (rep Cameron Lewis 71 min), Geraint James (rep Rhys Fawcett 49 min), Shay Smallman, Rhodri Hughes, Ben Gregory (rep Travis Huntley 63 min), Rhys Thomas, Casey Williams (rep Joe Tomalin-Reeves 63 min).

Replacement Not Used:
Iwan Temblett.

Notes:
Travis Huntley appeared from Maesteg Harlequins RFC.
Debut game for Travis Huntley for Aberavon RFC.

Aberavon Scorers:
T – Jay Baker, Casey Williams, Joe Gage
C – James Davies (3)
P – James Davies

Bridgend Scorers:
T – Rhys Williams, Chris Williams
C – Luke Price
P – Luke Price (2)

Referee:
Simon Mills

Man Of The Match:
1 – Luke Davies
2 – Joe Gage
3 – Jay Baker / Casey Williams (tied)

Time Line:
11 min: Aberavon – T – Jay Baker & C – James Davies (0 – 7)
15 min: Aberavon – PG – James Davies (0 – 10)
19 min: Bridgend – PG – Luke Price (3 – 10)
26 min: Bridgend – T – Rhys Williams & C – Luke Price (10 – 10)
34 min: Aberavon – T – Casey Williams & C – James Davies (10 – 17)
40+2 min: Half Time
44 min: Bridgend – PG – Luke Price (13 – 17)
50 min: Bridgend – T – Chris Williams (18 – 17)
73 min: Aberavon – T – Joe Gage & C – James Davies (18 – 24)
80+2 min: Full Time

Team v Bridgend

The Aberavon team to face Bridgend at the Brewery Field on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. is…

Aberavon Starting XV:
Scott Delnevo; Jay Baker, Frankie Jones, Joe Gage (capt), Stef Andrews; James Davies, Aron Hemmings; Rowan Jenkins, Luke Davies, Geraint James, Shay Smallman, Rhodri Hughes, Ben Gregory, Rhys Thomas, Casey Williams.

Replacements:
Iwan Temblett, Aled Thomas, Bradley Roderick, Cameron Lewis, Joe Tomalin-Reeves, Travis Huntley, Jordan Walters, Rhys Fawcett.

Preview: Bridgend v Aberavon

This Saturday, Aberavon hits the road, heading to the Brewery Field to face Bridgend in the Indigo Group Premiership. The match is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m.

Last season, the Ravens secured an eighth-place finish in the Premiership, having notched up wins in 9 out of 22 games.

In the lead-up to the new season, Bridgend had a couple of tune-up games at the Brewery Field.

Their first challenge came against fellow Premiership contenders, Llandovery, resulting in a 26-19 victory for the Ravens. The Drovers held a 14-point lead at halftime, thanks to two first-half tries. But Bridgend staged a comeback in the second half, scoring four tries through Liam Tobias, Aled Evans (twice), and Cameron Ellis. Rhys Williams slotted home a conversion, while replacement George Richards added two more. In the closing stages, the visiting side managed to notch a late try.

In their final pre-season match, Bridgend beat Bournville 34-31. At halftime, the Ravens led 22-9 with tries by Gareth Harvey (2), Edd Howley, and Lewis Hughes, plus a conversion by Luke Price. Bournville added three penalties. In the second half, Bournville scored four tries and a conversion, but Bridgend held on with two tries by Alfie Llewellyn and another Price conversion.

In their opening Premiership match last weekend, Bridgend narrowly clinched a 28-27 victory away at Swansea, sealing the win with a last-minute penalty kick. The All Whites held a 13-9 lead at halftime, with a converted try and two penalties compared to three penalties by Bridgend’s Luke Price. In the second half, the Ravens went ahead, and led 25-20 as the game clock reached 80 minutes, courtesy of a Stuart Floyd Ellis try, Price’s conversion, and three additional penalties, with Swansea having scored a converted try themselves. The home side then briefly took the lead with a converted try, but in the game’s final moment, Luke Price secured Bridgend’s win with his seventh successful penalty kick.

Looking at the history between Aberavon and Bridgend, they’ve squared off 43 times in the Welsh National League. The series currently tilts in favour of the Wizards, who have secured 22 victories to Bridgend’s 19, with two encounters ending in a draw. At the Brewery Field, Bridgend leads 12-9, with one match ending in a draw. Aberavon won in their last league encounter at this venue, sealing an 18-15 victory last season.

This upcoming Saturday game will be overseen by referee Simon Mills, who will be supported by Ben Breakspear and Jason Griffiths in the roles of assistants.

Match Report: Aberavon 27 – 14 Neath
by Paul Williams

The welcome return of competitive Aberavon-Neath fixtures to the club rugby calendar delivered a spirited encounter in which Neath, despite being horrendously overpowered at the set-pieces, made up for what they lacked in that department with a determined effort that brought them to within a point of the home side at the interval before succumbing to the Wizards’ stronger finish.

It was a match that saw the ideal start from the home side. Directly from the kick-off an attempted clearance from the visitors was fielded near the right-hand touchline. Quick passing across the field, with wing Jay Baker popping up in midfield to create an overlap, allowed full-back Stef Andrews to release Frankie Jones to sprint over in the corner for an unconverted try with only seconds having elapsed.

Shortly afterwards an Aberavon driving lineout, so often a productive area for the Wizards, was brought to ground just short of the goal-line, and referee Ben Breakspear had no hesitation awarding a penalty try and, having adjudged Sion Crocker to have been the transgressor, duly despatched the hooker to the sin-bin.

If the home crowd thought they were going to have things all their way, however, the visitors had other ideas, and after fly-half James Davies had increased the Aberavon lead to 15-nil as the half-hour approached, a determined spell from Neath saw first Joe Hutchings and then Dafydd Howells going over from close range, with two conversions from fly-half Kristian Jones narrowing the margin to just a single point.

The score remained the same until midway through the second half, when the home pack took a hand and marched the visitors backwards over their own line for popular prop Rowan Jenkins to touch down. Davies’ conversion attempt from out wide drifted just outside the uprights, and it was still all to play for going into the final quarter.

It was, fittingly, Frankie Jones who sealed the victory to cap a man-of-the-match performance that saw him at his very best in both attack and defence, bravely leaping high balls, tackling hard and running and passing well. After the home pack had laid siege to the Neath line, with first flanker Ben Gregory and then lock Shay Smallman both hauled down inches short, the ball was worked swiftly out wide where Jones took the ball in full flight to dot it down, with Davies adding the conversion to make it 27-14.

With plenty of time still to play, both sides threw all they had into a frenetic final quarter-hour during which play swung first one way then the other, but neither defence was prepared to give an inch, and the clock eventually ran down with no further scoring.

The Aberavon coaching team will have plenty to ponder ahead of their next outing against Bridgend at the Brewery field. Of concern was the loss of scrum-half Rhodri Cole with what looked to be a serious injury that will keep him out of action for a few weeks, while skipper Joe Gage hobbled off during the closing stages and was seen with an ice-pack on his ankle shortly after the final whistle. On a more positive note, the contribution of some new signings was encouraging. With Ashton Evans, Andrew Waite and Joe Tomalin-Reeves all reduced to a spectator role, a new back-row combination was given a run-out, and the performances of all-action open-side flanker Casey Williams, picking up from where he left off at the tail end of last season, new blind-side flanker Ben Gregory, and a solid return to Aberavon colours for Rhys Thomas, operating at number eight, were high on the list of positives.

Neath, for their part, should rise above the disappointment of an opening-weekend defeat and take satisfaction from the fact that they put in a competitive performance and did themselves credit with their contribution to what was an absorbing encounter.

Date:
Saturday September 2nd, 2023

Score:
Aberavon 27 – 14 Neath

Aberavon Team:
Stef Andrews; Jay Baker, Bradley Roderick, Joe Gage (capt) (rep Scott Delnevo 61 min), Frankie Jones; James Davies (rep Sam Jardine 80+1 min), Rhodri Cole (rep Aron Hemmings 63 min); Rowan Jenkins (rep Jordan Walters 68 min), Luke Davies (rep Cameron Lewis 77 min), Geraint James (rep Rhys Fawcett 68 min), Shay Smallman (rep Sam Pailor 68 min), Rhodri Hughes, Ben Gregory, Rhys Thomas, Casey Williams (rep Cerith Davies 77 min).

Notes:
Sam Jardine appeared from Cwmavon RFC; Cerith Davies appeared from Neath Athletic RFC.

Aberavon Scorers:
T – Frankie Jones (2), Penalty Try, Rowan Jenkins
C – James Davies
P – James Davies

Neath Scorers:
T – Joe Hutchings, Dafydd Howells
C – Kristian Jones (2)

Referee:
Ben Breakspear

Man Of The Match:
1 – Frankie Jones
2 – Luke Davies
3 – Joe Gage

Time Line:
01 min: Aberavon – T – Frankie Jones (5 – 0)
08 min: Aberavon – T – Penalty Try (12 – 0)
08 min: Neath – Yellow Card – Sion Crocker
25 min: Aberavon – PG – James Davies (15 – 0)
35 min: Neath – T – Joe Hutchings & C – Kristian Jones (15 – 7)
39 min: Neath – T – Dafydd Howells & C – Kristian Jones (15 – 14)
40+4 min: Half Time
58 min: Aberavon – T – Rowan Jenkins (20 – 14)
66 min: Neath – Yellow Card – Carwyn Sion
67 min: Aberavon – T – Frankie Jones & C – James Davies (27 – 14)
80+9 min: Aberavon – Yellow Card – Cerith Davies
80+9 min: Full Time

Action Replay (Neath Programme Notes)

2022-23… Highs and Lows

Last season kicked off with something of a bang. An opening-day seven-try win over Bridgend (45-14) was followed by a 39-17 Thursday evening victory over Swansea at Saint Helens, with a home 31-24 win over Llanelli bringing down the curtain on September.

October was ushered in with another home win, this time at the expense of Carmarthen Quins by 33-24, which was followed by a memorable performance at Sardis Road that saw Pontypridd beaten 33-18. Merthyr then left the Talbot Athletic Ground after going down 39-32 to the Wizards, and a cup tie at the Brewery field saw another heavy defeat inflicted on the home side as the Wizards ran in another seven tries to emerge 49-14 victors.

However, the winning streak had reached its end – a visit to Newport saw the home side take the spoils 30-20, and worse was to follow as we entered November with a bad-tempered home encounter against Ebbw Vale resulting in a 17-24 defeat after a bright start that featured two superb tries from Liam Seaward. Making matters worse, there was also a series of injuries that would take their toll in the weeks that followed. November’s only other fixture, as domestic rugby fixtures gave way to Autumn internationals, was a trip to North Wales, where RGC emerged victorious 34-26 in a fixture that had, historically, seen the Wizards enjoy considerable success.

December saw the Wizards exit the cup at the hands to Pontypridd, who came to Aberavon and left on the right side of a 24-5 scoreline, but the televised visit of Cardiff the following Thursday saw the Wizards bounce back with a well-deserved 30-23 win that saw the much fancied Cardiff pack absolutely demolished. The Boxing Day match at Bridgend was, in comparison, a muted affair with a narrow 18-15 win making it three out of three against the Ravens.

The new year saw inconsistency proliferate. A 22-8 home win over Swansea was followed by a 10-27 home loss to a determined Pontypridd, then in February an impressive 55-21 win at Parc y Scarlets was followed by defeats at Merthyr (31-38) and Carmarthen (17-28). March saw Newport complete the double (10-17) before the Wizards made the long trip up to Llandovery on a cold, damp Friday night and confounded their critics by producing a superb performance to defeat the eventual champions 25-16.

April saw the season effectively fizzle out, with a home win over RGC (32-15) followed by defeats at Cardiff (15-32), at home to Llandovery (31-48) and at Ebbw Vale (26-38).

Another “Captain Joe”

Looking ahead to this season, we see an Aberavon squad featuring a host of new faces but missing one or two household names who have hung up their boots, and unfortunately must come to terms with a less-than-clean bill of health with a few players still on the injured list. Meanwhile, the captaincy has passed from Joe Tomalin-Reeves to Joe Gage (who deputised admirably on a few occasions). Our thanks go to JTR for his whole-hearted efforts since taking up the role in 2019 after leading the side occasionally prior to that, and our best wishes go to JG as he formally steps up to the role.