Keen to make the most of a home fixture in reasonably good conditions, Monmouth planned to reverse the early season loss away against Risca and with the prevailing wind, slight slope and fresh legs they had more of the game and but for some ungenerous decisions by the referee and taking some wrong options they would have turned round in the lead. Instead however they were made to rue their inability to turn dominance into points and fell foul of a late in the half Risca resurgence and the three point penalty they kicked minutes before half-time. Early on, they camped on the Risca line and when at last they spun it wide and left it was a questionably offside tackle that disrupted what should have been the first score of the game. When next heavily pressured again Risca conceded a penalty but Monmoputh failed to convert the relatively easy penalty. Waves of committed forward play saw advantage again going Monmouth’s way and they once again camped on the visitors’ line. And then a chance of a score when a Risca knocked down a pass from an offside position as Monmouth threatened strongly saw the referee dodge the possibility of a penalty try and/or a yellow card, giving a penalty under the posts instead. The decision to scrummage again instead of taking the kick was to prove costly as after several collapsed and generally disrupted scrums Risca broke out and the pressure was relieved. The game became more balanced now and when the inevitable yellow card came hopes were high the earlier dominance would bring points. Their undoubted commitment throughout the first half deserved a score but no points other than the three point penalty by Risca came before half-time leaving Risca exalted at having weathered the storm and run the steam out of some of the home pack. Forty minutes against the strong breeze and the slope now presented a stern challenge and the only encouragement the team could be offered was that all was not lost but would require some really hard work. Individual commitment aplenty there may be but to expect the same standard from the ageing and injured front five was expecting a lot and so it proved. Risca’s burly right wing was used to good effect with barrelling charges into the Monmouth defence but the tackles were good and it was almost ten minutes before they became stretched enough to let a prop in under the posts to take the score to 0-10. Monmouth rallied and having worked their way to the other end kicked their only points of the game through a penalty by full back Dave Brace. Beginning to feel the strain Monmouth were next penalised for handling on the floor of a ruck to slip further behind and then with hope at this stage still springing eternal, left wing Gareth Jones ‘skinned’ his opposing winger and made a good 40 yards along the touchline before being tackled into touch. With 20 minutes still to go, Druid prop Craig Nicholas joined the game as a substitute and made useful yardage when first he handled the ball and despite being surrounded by the bulk of the opposing pack showed his strength in managing to retain the ball. Portents of the future perhaps? But Risca started to throw the ball around now and the legs deserted the cover defenders a agps falore appeared but not least of all on the outside. First a try from an overlap and then a ruch and then a driving maul followed by another from yet another overlap saw a further 19 points in the last 19 minutes. Heads were down at this 3-32 loss but Risca deserved their win and there were many sterling individual performances to reflect upon, which is just as well because there are three more home games to come and Monmouth still need to win some if not all of them to be safe for another season. Another case of so near, and yet so far, as scores desert them. Roll on Machen next week, same time, same place but hopefully with a better rub of the green?
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