With a thoroughly decisive second half display, Monmouth beat Nantyglo for the second time this season to draw level with them on third position in the league. This rearranged game was always going to be a big contest and so it proved as both teams struggled for breath in the unseasonal heat as well as the pace of the game. The voluble crowd swelled by a goodly number of visitors were treated to an all action game when it often seemed the group that shouted loudest were in with the best chance of a decision going their way, but there was no doubt about the first penalty which Monmouth’s full-back Matt King converted after ‘a lazy runner’ obstructed play as he rejoined his side. 3-0 after only two minutes boded well although it was already apparent the sun would make high balls difficult as well as test fitness to the extreme. In the seventh minute Nantyglo evened things up following a ruck transgression, but soon scrum-half Gareth Morgan baffled the visiting backs, as he has in various other games this season, by racing flat across the face of the encroaching defence dummying as he went, and then cutting in at right angles to cross the line near the posts. King again converted and then stretched the lead by a further three points when Morgan took a quick penalty for killing the ball only to be hauled down well before the ten yards allowance. 13-3 at the end of the first quarter looked most promising but when Monmouth strayed offside the referee was quick to penalise them even though it could be argued he had been most lenient in this respect up until then as far as the visitors were concerned. But 13-6 it was.though Monmouth were not to be outdone and Morgan who was on dazzling form engineered a long break on the right flank throwing a long overhead but difficult inside pass which the supporting flanker Ollie Gray just failed to grasp in mis-field when a try was all but certain if he could have reached it. But the pressure remained and King was annoyed with himself when he missed the next penalty offering. Tiredness began to tell and Nantyglo, and Monmouth’s luck, changed somewhat as first a further penalty was awarded and then reversed as tempers began to fray, and then an excellent move to the left involving Morgan, prop Julian Powell and fly-half Andrew Davies had Nantyglo tracking back just in time to force Davies into touch. The final score in the first half was another King penalty providing a 16-6 cushion which was quickly added to as both sides tore into each other in the first minutes of the second half, but then the pressures grew disaster potentially struck as Monmouth captain Kelly Lehmann was yellow-carded for allegedly slowing the ball down at a ruck. Nantyglo play a good mauling game and quickly took advantage of Monmouth’s reduced number forcing their way over the Monmouth line after many minutes of attrition but the home team was to hold out for the remaining suspension time displaying great courage in the process. Substitutions came and fresh legs enlivened the game some more resulting in right wing Gareth Jones breaking away on the blind side of a ruck to almost make the corer before he was cut off by desperate defence as he tried to step inside the tackler. From the ensuing maul prop Julian Powell used his power to crash over and King again added the two extra points with ten minutes remaining. Nantyglo were now throwing caution to the wind in their desire to regain field position and Monmouth had to do all they could to defend their line. To and fro the game went until from a line-out near the Nantyglo line hooker Mark Jones gathered a knock down from the line to feed first Gareth Morgan and then the supporting second row Harvey Morgan who sealed the visitors’ fate by scoring near the post for King to obtain his fifteenth point of the day with another cleanly struck conversion and a 30-13 lead with just a few minutes left. But play had not ended and Nantyglo gave their all in trying to breach the Monmouth line again but today was not a day for the faint-hearted as earlier tackles by second row John Powell and centres David Brace had typified. One last surge and despite a rather risky incomplete attempted touch kick by prop Powell they were to be denied, although it was not clear whether the referee had decided time was up or was merely trying to prevent a Nantyglo ball-carrier suffering worse than defeat as Powell summoned a final burst of speed and aggression to compensate for his faltering fly-half imitation after such a fine personal performance which earned him the man of the match accolade. The crowd and the players were jubilant at the end of a season which could have brought promotion with a little more luck but for a side which was nearly relegated last season the old-timers have excelled themselves whilst giving the youngsters the chance to mature and give as good as they get in a disciplined and exciting manner. We, and I am sure they, look forward to next season with great anticipation. |