Monmouth Druids showed signs of returning confidence this week despite losing to Cathays Old Boys. A late start to the game due to country boys getting ‘lost in the big city’, did not help their cause. The druids started well with an early try by Adams, which subsequently relaxed them to such an extent that they went to sleep. Monmouth then allowed the Cardiff boys to score two free and easy tries, before realising they had to dig deep to have any chance of staying in the game.The obvious lack of confidence within the side shone through and time and again the ‘rush’ defence of Cathays caused Monmouth to make numerous mistakes. In the second half the druids improved, helped by the wind and slope. Building on improved phase play, Tatham scored a well worked pressure try and confidence grew within the side. The under pressure scrum creaked and groaned but certainly improved with the introduction of Matt Hurst. From a disjointed scrum, which Monmouth lost, the pack broke up, stole the ball and Homer drove over for a deserved try. Rob Frost chipped in with two conversions to leave a score line of 30-19, which didn’t do justice to an improved performance. This season has seen an introduction of a number of younger players, which bears well for the future, but meantime the druids have to go through the building process, which should not take too long.
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