Monmouth druids kicked off their start to the new season with a comfortable, but stuttering, win at home against Drybrook. After a very successful previous season “The Druids” were keen to carry on where they left off with their open expansive rugby that is obviously good to play and watch. Drybrook took the game to Monmouth early on with their big and experienced pack that drove up field and were rewarded with a converted penalty to take the lead. This was the wake up call the druids needed and their forwards began to make their phase play pay dividends, only to see the final pass spilled. The new mix of young and old in the Monmouth side eventually showed when Jody Roberts’ scything angled run split the defence to open the try count. This spurred Monmouth to tighten their grip on the game and was awarded a penalty in front of the posts for Greg Wilding to convert. The “leaping salmon” jumpers of Howells and Clemence kept a steady flow of line out ball and the front row of Brains, Donald and Ralph dominated the scrummage and the “super fit, never say die” back row of Homer, Morgan and Jeffs continually regained any lost possession. The game approached half time with Roberts scoring another copycat converted try to settle Monmouth’s nerves before the break. A number of changes to the druids side did little to disrupt their dominance of the game, with their OAPs of Cedric, Tansil and Ridley slotting in without any expected slowing of the game. Dave Morgan’s newly obtained bulk proved crucial in crashing over for their third converted try. The Druids now cut loose with their speedy, visionary backs enjoying their opportunity to show their quality, Gareth Jones showed Roberts that he too can score quality tries with text book back play. Matt King rounded off a classy game with Monmouth’s final try leaving Drybrook on the end off a lesson, with a score line of 38-3 which could have been much more had the referee not disallowed two perfectly good tries through bad positioning, much to the disappointment of the vociferous Monmouth players. Greg Wilding finished a good relaxed game with 14 points and a bright future if he’s able to stay awake. |