Merthyr dig out victory after injuries disrupt Bedwas drive

MERTHYR extended their winning run to 14 games with a hard-fought victory at the Bridgefield.

Bedwas had the better of the first-half chances, but injuries to George Lee and Nathan Hudd halted their momentum, which allowed the Ironmen to take control of the second half.

Lee had already left the field in a sling before Steffan Jones kicked Bedwas ahead. The Wass threw wave after wave of attack at the Merthyr back line, which eventually handed them a penalty try.

Jones kicked another three-pointer soon after, but a serious injury to Hudd led to plenty of added time and Merthyr gave themselves a lifeline as Richard Powell converted Rhys Downes’ try.

A third Jones penalty pushed Bedwas further ahead but a defensive mistake allowed Kristian Phillips to run through and haul Merthyr back into it.

Powell was on target with the resulting conversion and landed two quick-fire penalties a few minutes later to put the Ironmen ahead atlast.

Nathan Trevett came off the bench to seal the result for the champions, with Powell once again gliding his kick through the posts.

Rhys Hutcherson restored some pride with a late effort for the hosts, converted by Jones, but the Ironmen had the last word.

Hooker Rhys Williams touched down to hand Merthyr a bonus point. Matthew Jarvis came off the bench to kick the conversion.