HIGH MOTIVE GLAMORGAN COUNTY SILVER BALL QUARTER-FINAL

TREORCHY .................. 24 PENALLTA ................... 14

TREORCHY are the first club through to the High Motive Glamorgan County Silver Ball semi-finals after a 25-14 victory against Penallta at Caerphilly RFC on Wednesday, March 8.

In front of a good crowd it was a dominant scrum, with loose head Simon Collins outstanding, that laid the foundation in the first half.

Two early scrum penalties, kicked by captain Jordan Lloyd, gave Treorchy an early 6-0 lead.

Penallta tried to put the ball across their back line at every opportunity but good Treorchy defence forced the Pitmen into too many errors.

After 20 minutes, it was Treorchy who finished off a good attack with right wing Alex Green stepping in off his right foot to score the first try.

At a 5m scrum, excellent referee Justin Evans eventually ran out of patience and awarded the Zebras a penalty try, converted by Lloyd to stretch the lead to 18-0.

Off quick ruck ball, Treorchy’s backs also looked dangerous, and on the stroke of half-time an inside pass by centre Celyn Ashton enabled No 8 Rhys Gillard to gallop over for a converted try to give Treorchy a 25-0 half-time lead.

A change in the Penallta front row towards the end of the first half had steadied the scrum and as the second half progressed the Pitmen controlled the ball and territory.

However an hour had passed before centre Andrew Jenkins ghosted through a gap to open the scoring with a converted try. Lloyd Rowlands “dummied” his way over to double Penallta’s points on 70 minutes.

The efforts of Saturday’s first league defeat of the season were taking its toll on a tired looking Treorchy side but their defence held firm until the final whistle to gain a 25-14 victory.

Treorchy look forward to a semi-final against either Dinas Powis or Tondu who play off at Llanharan RFC on Wednesday, March 15.