IT ALL ADDS UP FOR QUINS IN 10S TROPHY
FOR the third and final qualifying round of the Cwm Llynfi 10s Rugby tournament, Maesteg Celtic played Nantyffyllon and Maesteg Quins faced Maesteg.
Although it would have taken a series of miraculous results to prevent table leaders Nantyfyllon from qualifying for the toptwo final, Quins and Celtic were also in contention.
Firstly, Celtic had to beat Blosse Street’s finest. A hard task indeed given Nanty’s fine form. Yet Celtic took great heart in the knowledge of their young side holding the Quins for 60 per cent of the match a week earlier, before finally succumbing.
Nantyffyllon were missing a number of key players, but still had potent performers at their disposal, in what turned out to be a tight but thoroughly enjoyable contest.
Celtic took the lead with a Connor Thomas try early in proceedings. Amid many uncharacteristic handling errors, a somewhat jittery Nantyffyllon coughed up possession. Some of these errors were unforced but Celtic’s ferocious tackling, usually led by Lee Arthur was a key feature of the match.
A second Celtic try just before half-time put daylight between the teams.
The second half belonged to Nantyffyllon, as they dominated possession and territory. However, in the face of hostile tackling, they were kept at bay.
When ‘Nanty’ did get within striking distance, they fluffed their lines. Until one magical moment brought their first score from Callum Powell, Rhodri Davies converted.
Nanty tried for another score, but after fine defence, Jake Harris’ chasing proved decisive when the young back touched down for Celtic’s third try.
In order to put themselves into the top two final, Celtic needed to rack up another twenty-five points without conceding. In such a finely balanced, competitive match, this was unlikely to happen and the match ended 15-7 in Celtic’s favour.
Defeat for Nantyffyllon meant no club completed the qualifying rounds undefeated, but they had still qualified for the main final.
Celtic had put themselves in a good position and awaited the result of Quins and Maesteg match-up. If Maesteg avoided defeat, Celtic would be facing Nantyffyllon again.
Quite simply, Quins had to beat Maesteg to qualify for the higher tier-final, and they did so, as tries from Alex Griffiths (2), Harry Morgan-Grant (2), Brandon Huntley, Kieron Watkins, Ryan Lovett, Lewis Tutt, Nathan Smith saw them home.
Conversions came from Lewis Evans (4), Huntley (2) and Morgan-Grant (2).
In third & fourth place playoff. Maesteg gave as good as they got in what was a real mud wrestle against Celtic.
It was no mean feat to spread the ball in difficult conditions, yet the Celts managed it and Lee Arthur scurried over and under the posts. Jake Harris converted.
Celtic’s next try came, as surrounded by a whole host of bodies. Gethin Tremlett kept an attack alive, and Dewi Freeman cut the line at an acute angle to score. Harris converted to finsih the scoring at 14-0.
In the top-tier final, conditions certainly disrupted Nanty’s plans, the greasy ball being no help.
Quins’ indiscipline gave Nantyffyllon a foothold, only for their hands to let them down multiple times.
The scoring began when prop Lewis Francis, finsing himself playing as impromptu scrumhalf, picked up, dummied a disbelieving defence and raced over for a great try. McGuckin converted.
A cross-kick chase then led to a foot race to the in-goal area, which Kieron Watkins won but pushed the ball forward while executing his aqua-plane dive, rather than put downward pressure on the ball.
The second-half was undoubtedly Nantyffyllon’s in terms of territory. Cameron Powell seemed likely to reach the tryline until Owen Richards used all his grappling skills to out Powell into touch.
Suddenly, the Quins burst into life, with Lewis Evans, Richards, Huntley and McGuckin combining to put Ryan Lovett through a wide gap to score and seal a 12-0 victory.
This was the final score of the competition and Quins 10s skipper Jakob Williams had the distinction of being the first person to raise the Cwm Llynfi 10s Trophy.