IRONMEN MAKE EASY PROGRESS IN CUP
WRU NATIONAL CUP ROUND ONE NEWCASTLE EMLYN ... 0 MERTHYR .................... 59
MERTHYR eased into the second round of this season’s WRU Cup after running in nine tries against Championship side Newcastle Emyln with wing man Alex Howman racing in for a hat-trick and full back Matthew Jarvis finishing the game with 24 points from two tries and seven conversions.
It took a while for the Merthyr side to adjust to the very heavy going of the Newcastle Emlyn ground which was ankle deep in mud. It was once again the Merthyr pack that after a quiet start began to take control of the cup tie. Backrow man Osian Davies was first onto the scoresheet as he latched onto a cleaver chip-kick from outside half Gareth Davies, full back Matthew Jarvis converting. Straight from the restart centre Josh Martin collected the kick and set off down field with pace to beat several tackles to race in under the posts, Jarvis converted to give the Ironmen a 0-14 lead.
The greasy ball was causing both sides handling errors with both sides guilty of dropping the ball. Merthyr extended their lead further when several phases of good handling from the Merthyr forwards saw No 8 Phil Rees, prop Nathan Trevett, and Osian Davies handling well and when the ball reached young second row Jarryd Davies, who was making his first team debut, he showed his strength and power to beat off several tacklers to race away under the posts, Jarvis converted and the Ironmen had raced into a 0-21 half-time lead.
Both sides were then reduced to 14 men early in the second half, following a punch-up in midfield which saw referee Dewi Phillips issue red cards to Merthyr prop Rhys James and his opposite number. However, Merthyr then began to take full control of the cup tie as they started to move the ball around on the heavy conditions and soon wing man Alex Howman was put in space to race away for the first of his three tries, Jarvis converted for a 0-28 lead.
The home side began to tire after the constant pressure from the Merthyr pack. A penalty kick was turned down and slotted into touch just outside the Newcastle Emlyn 22. From the lineout, the Merthyr forwards drove the home eight backwards over their own line with replacement hooker Richard Wilkes claiming the try, Jarvis converted. It was now all Merthyr and it was not long before Howman raced in to score two ties in a space of five minutes to extend the lead further 0-45. Further scores came from a brace of tries from full back Matthew Jarvis of which he converted both to bring the final score 0-59.
It was once again the Merthyr pack that took control of the game with captain Craig Locke leading by example, a good performance from young second row Jarryd Davies who looks to have a bright future with the Ironmen and his highly rated by the coaching staff. The back row of Siggery, Rees and Davies were once again always in control of the loose ball. Behind the scrum half backs James and Davies linked well together in the slippery conditions, wing man Howman showed his pace and strength to score his three tries, and full back Jarvis ending the day with 24 points which puts him closer to 1,000 points for the club in three seasons.
Merthyr now await the draw on Tuesday for the next round, with both last season’s finalists, RGC 1404 and Pontypridd, going out in the first round. Merthyr now take a short break due to the British and Irish cup, two weeks on a trot before round two of the WRU Cup on Saturday, January 27.