RHYDYFELIN PROMOTED TO CHAMPIONSHIP
DIVISION 1 PLAY-OFF FIRST LEG RHYDYFELIN 42 TREORCHY 24
ON Saturday, May 6 Treorchy, Division 1 East Central champions, made the trip down the Rhondda Valley to face Division 1 East winners Rhydyfelin in a double-headed playoff for promotion to the Championship.
The Zebras made the better start but the home defence limited them to only a penalty, converted by Jordan Lloyd for a 0-3 lead.
The Village soon got a foothold in the game and it was a break from centre Ross Lucas that opened the visiting defence, with flanker Sam Studley on hand to receive the offload and cross for the game’s first try. The conversion by David Gratton was however soon cancelled out by a second successful penalty converted by Lloyd.
Unfortunately around the 20-minute mark Treorchy were reduced to 14 men when a cover tackle hit winger Jordan Rees high around the head, resulting in a straight red card. It wasn’t long before Rhydyfelin capitalised on the numerical advantage with a second try.
After a period of pressure on the Treorchy tryline, the ball was cleared up field only to be returned by the onrushing David Gratton. Gratton beat the first few defenders before putting wing Liam Watton clear. Watton crashed through the visiting full back to dive over out wide. The difficult conversion proved no trouble for Gratton who added the extras.
While it was Rhydyfelin taking the chances, ill discipline kept the visitors in the game and the boot of Lloyd was again proving 100% accurate as he slotted over two more penalties before the break. A fifth successful penalty put the Zerbas 14-15 up after the break but the lead was short lived.
A clearance kick from Rhydyfelin deep in their own 22 was half charged down and the bounce of the ball fell in to the lap of winger Liam Watton who had the acceleration to break away all of 70m and round under the posts for a try.
The final 30 minutes mirrored what had gone before, as Rhydyfelin ran in a further three tries through flanker Sam Studley, second row Marc Jones and wing Jordan Rees, however the trusty boot of Lloyd kept the Division 1 East Central champions in the tie with another three penalty conversions.
SECOND LEG TREORCHY 13 RHYDYFELIN 10
THE second leg took place on Saturday, May 13, at the Oval in Treorchy.
On a sunny afternoon a large crowd turned out for what promised to be an entertaining fixture, with the hosts needing to overturn an 18-point deficit.
Early Rhydyfelin pressure could not provide the first score of the afternoon and it was the visitors who hit first after just seven minutes.
A poor kick chase from the Village allowed full back Jacob Lloyd to break the defence and supply outside half Jordan Lloyd with the try. Lloyd superbly converted the extra points continuing his 100% record from the first leg.
A number of infringements through the first quarter of the game allowed Treorchy to reach a 13-0 lead, just five points behind on aggregate. With the large home crowd behind them the unlikely comeback was on.
Having not started well however, the Division 1 East champions Rhydyfelin began to gain territory and possession only to fall short on a couple of occasions to a solid home defence.
With the half-time whistle fast approaching a key moment in the game unfolded. Treorchy stole possession and looked to spread the ball wide, however an onrushing defence was closing down the space out wide. A decision was made to chip kick over the defence only for Luke Rees to read the decision and make the interception. Rees had open field in front of him and made the 35m sprint to the try line for a crucial score.
The conversion from Gratton made the halftime score Treorchy 13 Rhydyfelin 7 (37-49 on aggregate).
The second half showed how evenly matched the two sides were at times, with both making very few chances and defences coming out on top. It wasn’t until the final five minutes when Rhydyfelin were awarded a penalty 40m out that the first attempt at goal was made. The successful kick opened the aggregate score to 37-52, crucially three scores between the sides.
A series of late penalties were kicked to touch by the home side however the Rhydyfelin defence was solid, securing turnovers and very nearly resulting in a second try with the last couple of passages of the game.
The full-time whistle was greeted with cheers from the Rhydyfelin faithful, who celebrated promotion to the Championship, the highest level the club has ever been in its 112-year history.
Next weekend, Rhydyfelin have one final fixture as they travel to Bridgend’s Brewery Field where they face Tondu in the final of the Glamorgan County Silver Ball competition, kick-off 2.30pm.