LLANELLI .......................... 22 ABERAVON ....................... 28
ABERAVON coach Jason Hyatt is getting plenty of chances to test the strength of his squad and the results so far have been pretty good.
The Wizards may have had a slightly uncomfortable second half at Parc y Scarlets, losing it 17-7 compared to a 21-5 winning first 40 minutes, but they were still good enough to go home with another bonus point to stay one point clear of Llandovery at the top of the Premiership Cup West division.
“We always knew that after 18 months without any rugby there were going to be more injuries than usual. We’ve got a fair number of players ruled out at the moment, but we’re happy with our strength in depth,” said Hyatt.
“We believe we have at least two top-class Premiership players in every position and we also have some good youngsters coming through like outside-half Dan Edwards and hooker Cam Lewis.
“Going to Llanelli was always going to be a challenge for us, but we came through with five points in the end.”
A week after losing their unbeaten record at home to Llandovery, the Wizards started strongly and had secured their try bonus point a minute into the second half.
For Llanelli, it was another rearguard action that saw them score three second-half tries and pick up two bonus points in a narrow home defeat for the second weekend in a row.
They are still without a win, but if they can upset Bridgend in their next game on November 5 they could leapfrog the Ravens and finally move off the bottom.
Teenage outside-half Dan Edwards gave the visitors a flying start when he cut through to score at the posts in the 11th minute. He also added the extras and then converted a second try from prop Geraint James seven minutes later.
That made it 14-0, and when scrum-half Rhodri Cole scampered over for a third Aberavon try, which Edwards once again improved, the visitors were almost scoring at a point a minute.
Llanelli then finally got to grips with the power of the Aberavon pack and hooker Rhys Cherry threw them a lifeline with a try from close range on the stroke of half-time. Former Wales Sevens man Lloyd Evans then grabbed the bonus-point try for the Wizard a minute after the restart.
Edwards added a fourth conversion, but that was it from the visitors. Instead, Llanelli grew in confidence, moved the ball and bagged a further three tries to end on a high.
Scrum-half Archie Hughes got the first, which Josh Phillips converted, Cherry picked up his second and prop Alex Jefferies went in for the bonus-point score 10 minutes from time.
LLANELLI: Tries: R Cherry (2), A Hughes, A Jefferies. Con: J Phillips.
ABERAVON: Tries: D Edwards, G James, R Cole, L Evans. Cons: D Edwards (4).