WEST CENTRAL B
BANWEN ........................ 7
PORTHCAWL ............... 49
PORTHCAWL travelled to Banwen, in a reversal of venues at the request of the home side, coming away with the best win of the season so far, playing some glorious rugby.
The match couldn’t have started better for the Seaweeds as their pack got on top very early and a penalty try inside as many minutes, converted by Josh White triggered an afternoon of free-scoring at 0-7.
When mercurial centre Gareth Rees, already outstanding this season, sensed the opportunity within his own 22, he broke clear and with his sheer speed proving unassailable, covered the length of the pitch for a superb individual try, again improved by White and at 0-14 the foundation was set.
Banwen are a tough nut to crack at home though, constantly taking the game to the opposition and are a young but useful side.
They responded accordingly as Owen Davies secured a deserved try, converted by Mike Smith and they held the visitors to 7-14 at the break.
The second half really saw Porthcawl turn the screw, however as they started to put together rugby of outstanding quality.
Skipper Richard Hnyda, having a good season so far at lock, got on the score sheet with a driving try, converted by White for 7-21, followed by hooker Jack Williams whose try was again improved by White’s outstanding kicking and suddenly 7-28 was more reflective of the visitors’ superiority.
Hnyda’s young side has grown into this season early and has only been complemented further by the outstanding Ross Parsons, returned from playing in France and with his rampant pack assuming full control, he took the match for his own, with a brilliant second half performance.
In three similar situations, Parsons, so strong on his feet, with a swift service and a multitude of skills, put his stamp on matters, grabbing the final three scores himself, with a superb hat-trick of tries.
With White again unfailingly converting all three for a faultless kicking performance, it ended at 7-49 to Porthcawl whose overall display drew much praise, even from home supporters and coaches.
With the team having notched up 143 points in just four league matches, coach Rhys James has got his side working as a complete unit and seven converted tries against Banwen tells its own story.
The only loss for Porthcawl this season has been to Bridgend Sports by 17-20 in the first match, so how fascinating that the two sides have been drawn against each other this coming Saturday in the next round of the WRU Bowl at the Bandstand Field, for what could be an absolute cracker.
PORTHCAWL 2NDS ...... 5
MAESTEG QUINS 2NDS ............................. 14
IT is several seasons since Porthcawl managed to field a second XV let alone play in the league.
However, with Nantymoel having pulled out of the competition, Porthcawl have stepped in and took on the fixture against the 1st Division Quins’ second string at South Road.
In a superbly entertaining match, the Seaweeds side did themselves great credit and forced the more experienced Quins into a tussle for the spoils.
The first half failed to produce any points as the physically smaller home side stood toe to toe with the visitors and threw everything into the match with some good attacking rugby allied to strong defence.
The Quins’ greater strength told in the second half as they secured a converted push-over try from a maul after 60 mins and improving on this with a second some 10 minutes later, again converted, for 0-14 but with Porthcawl pushing them all the way in effort.
With the likes of the returning James Wheatley and Ian O’Keefe setting the example upfront, it was no surprise nor undeserved, when the outstanding Sion Dunkley secured a home try from a great drive for 5-14, which is how it stayed.
The result stands Porthcawl Seconds in good stead for the rest of this season, at a time when many clubs are struggling to put out a second string and is a reflection on the good rugby feeling in the club once more.