RGC hammer Llanelli to kick off 2022 in style
DION Jones’ 21-point haul – a try and seven successful kicks at goal – helped RGC to a thoroughly deserved 8-41 victory over Llanelli at Parc y Scarlets on Monday night.
The north Walians took maximum points from the first Indigo Group Premiership match of 2022.
The visitors began the brighter and opened the scoring after five minutes when Rhodri King was on the end of a rolling maul from a short range line-out. Llanelli were unable to stop RGC’S forward momentum and the hooker came up with the ball under a pile of bodies. Former Scarlets Academy product Dion Jones had no problem adding the extras.
RGC continued to turn pressure into points when wing Rhys Tudur slid over in the corner after a slick move involving backs and forwards. Jones’ excellent conversion put RGC 0-14 in front after 16 minutes.
Llanelli finally got on the scoreboard when hooker Llew Phillips Taylor rumbled over but Jones’ boot took RGC out to a 5-17 advantage midway through the first half.
Jones made it four from four attempts as RGC began to pull away from Llanelli with 10 minutes remaining of the first half.
Llanelli then battered away at the RGC try-line but on three separate occasions the home side couldn’t get the ball over the whitewash.
RGC’S scrum was then dismantled by the Llanelli pack which gifted fly half Llew Smith an easy three points just before the break.
Llanelli would have wanted to score first in the second half to reduce the arrears but RGC put a spanner in the works when Dan Owens powered over. Jones added the extras before piling on the misery for the home side when he scored the bonus point try for RGC when finishing off a sweeping move. Jones’ conversion left Llanelli trailing 8-34 and with a mountain to climb.
Zach Clow stunned Llanelli with a superb solo try when he scorched and dummied his way down the touchline to score a brilliant individual try. Jones’ seventh success of the night with the boot left Llanelli trailing 8-41.
Llanelli simply couldn’t get a foothold in the game as basic errors riddled their attempts to have an impact on the game to leave RGC fully deserving of their maximum haul of points from the game.
Speaking ahead of the game, RGC’S Ceri Jones said he believed he was coaching the most committed rugby players in Wales.
The former Dragons coach, who began his stint at the Colwyn Baybased outfit in early September, says he has been re-energised by the scale of the Indigo Premiership club’s ambition for the area.
RGC clock up more miles than anyone else in their league and the nine-hour round trip they faced for the New Year clash with Llanelli is something of a fortnightly ritual.
Throw in the added complications of Covid restrictions and former Wales and Harlequins prop Jones could be forgiven for yearning for the simpler life he enjoyed at Rodney Parade.
But he insists he couldn’t be happier and is relishing his role in charge of a club he believes can become a northern powerhouse for the domestic game.
“I really enjoyed my time at the Dragons,” says Jones, the region’s former forwards coach who stepped into the breach as head coach between Bernard Jackman and Dean Ryan.
“It was a great opportunity with Kingsley (Jones) and then Bernard.
“I had a stint at it myself, which was hard work - but given that we had no managing director or head coach, and I was also taking the forwards, I was fighting fires on all sides.
“Dean then came in and I respected that he would want to bring in his own people and do his own thing. There is no sour grapes from me, whatsover.
“In fact, I’ve had meetings with Dean about forging a relationship between us and them.
“But this is a great opportunity for me to build something and see where it goes. If we can push on and be sustainable, then we have the potential to be a region, no doubt.”
RGC enjoyed away wins at both Newport and Jones’ former club Ebbw Vale in the Premiership Cup recently, but before Monday night had managed only one game so far in the Premiership - an away defeat at a Llandovery side bolstered by Scarlets players in search of match action.
But Jones is convinced the future for RGC is a bright one, in both the short and long term.
Not only is the 44-year-old busy developing a cohesive understanding with the four regions that will provide a pathway into the full blown professional game for his RGC youngsters, but he also tapped into the college and university sector. Feelers have been put out to Cardiff Met, whilst closer to their Parc Eirias Stadium, RGC have developed close ties with Bangor University which has seen eight of their academy players combine playing deals with their studies.
“We think this is the correct pathway,” adds Jones.
“Players get an education, they have accommodation, and they can develop interests outside of rugby.
“The facilities here are second to none.
“I would say they are as good, if not better than some of the regions.
“We are now looking to develop the academy and look at players at an earlier age, with hubs in different areas throughout North Wales.
“It’s a massive area, but there is not as much rugby to stretch the players as there is down south. We need to get them playing better opposition more often.”
That is for the long haul. For the time being, the club are looking to secure their place in a league structure that appears to change almost every season, but which almost everyone agrees should include a force from the north.
“We have put some different systems in place and the players have responded well,” says Jones.
“Their workrate is phenomenal. I don’t think there is a more committed bunch of rugby players in Wales, in terms of the sacrifices they have to go through.
“These guys drive over an hour to training, twice a week, and then every other weekend they are basically giving up their whole weekend to travel south.
“It’s a huge commitment to play in this league.
“Some of the South Wales clubs complain about coming up here once or twice a year, but we are doing it in the opposite direction every other weekend.
“I can’t speak highly enough of the players.”*