As St Peter’s coach said at the end the score did Monmouth little justice for the excellent way they played when they chose to do so. In the cold light of day this related to an intense 45 minute period of attacking rugby which saw Monmouth come from 12-0 behind to 12-14 ahead and had St Peter’s on the rack with good passing and an expansive game. Admittedly this included a spell when the home team was reduced to 14 men for a professional foul, but Monmouth deserved this because St Peter’s were well practised in this aspect of play and got away with murder on the day thanks to a tolerant referee. As usual Monmouth seemed to still be settled in the warmth of the bus for the first 20 minutes or so. The late arrival of half the team due to motorway congestion thanks to a combination of an Oasis Concert with Christmas shopping crowds certainly did not help but nor did the apparent previous night’s revelries by a few. Two soft tries gifted by specific examples of weak defence interspersed by an increasing rumble from the Monmouth forwards, the sharpness of Morgan at scrum-half and one certain try missed from a dropped final pass, left Monmouth 12-0 down after the first 35 minutes. This was harsh because Monmouth created pressure and positions only for last ditch errors resulting in the home side taking play back to the other end and safety. Just before half-time after two quick penalties and yet another bout of St Peter’s attempting to slow play down, fly-half Frost, whose competence and commitment steadied the ship throughout, punished St Peter’s with a well taken penalty for a 12-3 half-time score. St Peter’s obviously still felt comfortable and were quite taken aback as Monmouth mounted attack after attack regularly resorting to killing the ball as a defence until the referee eventually found and used his yellow card and Frost brought his side up 6 points. Monmouth’s forwards were now charging at the St Peter’s gaps led stirringly by Hirst who had a fine game, and supported well by the almost unstoppable Ricketts. The mauls ere working well with everyone playing their part until hooker Phillips sneaked out of the touchline side of one to run in an excellent try from around 25 yards into the left hand corner. The kick from so far out was beyond Frost but with the score now at 12-11 it was only a matter of time it seemed before Monmouth would take the lead. St Peter’s managed to hold out a range of attacks until their eagerness overtook them and Monmouth scored a further penalty for offside to take the lead 12-14 but then disaster. Almost immediately Monmouth relaxed and St Peter’s realising they could be in difficulty raised their game. It seemed that anything Monmouth tried was picked up on technicalities whilst the rub of the green ran St Peter’s way again. In the space of ten minutes St Peter’s had recovered their composure with their pacey kick and chase left winger proving to be the main threat. The Rocks as they like to be known were now determined to maintain their superior league position and it should not have been unexpected when their burly and very experienced scrum half forced his way over near the end to widen the gap to a winning 24-14. Monmouth did not give up but it was significant that from the ensuing half way drop-out that St Peter’s were able to get the ball across the Monmouth line again only this time for the speedy covering back of Morgan to save any further score. Having shaken out the moths of 6 weeks without play Monmouth again showed what potentially they can do, so the challenge now is can they beat Nantyglo who visit the Sports Ground next Saturday at 2.30pm. Thoughts of Christmas and the New Year must not cloud their resolve to make progress on the field, but it needs to be said that live entertainment has been booked for Boxing Day (apart from the two games against Usk that is!). Why not join us for a lively next 4 weeks including a visit by Gwent Dragons on Tuesday 17 January to make up a panel for a sporting Q&A session and a few orange juices or two for the professionals, that is? Oh, and don’t forget to place your 6 Nations orders before the end of December, too!
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