Gogs enjoying high life
RGC will travel to fourth-place Llanelli this Saturday seeking the win which can keep them top of the Principality Premiership West table.
The Gogs hit the summit with a superb 24-7 home victory over previous leaders Llandovery last weekend.
It was sweet revenge for Mark Jones’ side, who had lost 31-10 away to the Drovers at the start of the season.
The South Walians arrived at Stadiwm Zip World sitting proudly at the summit and looking to do the double over RGC.
Home nerves were settled after just two minutes when winger Harri Evans touched down, and the boot of Jacob Botica added the conversion.
Seconds later RGC were reduced to 14 men when Tiaan Loots was given a yellow card and Llandovery cranked up the pressure with a number of scrums. The RGC defence stood strong and the relief was felt in the stands after Tom Hughes picked up the turnover ball and cleared it 50 yards.
It was important that Llandovery failed to score when the hosts were a man down, but RGC went one better when Botica hit a penalty just before Loots returned to the play. The fly-half knocked over another penalty to add to his tally.
The visitors did have plenty of ball and moved through the phases, but they were not going anywhere and that frustration ended in some knock-ons.
Tom Hughes and Afon Bagshaw were proving to be a useful outlet for RGC making some important runs to ease the pressure. Botica extended the lead to 16-0 with another penalty, and the North Walians were clinical in making sure they got some points when they had an opportunity.
While the Drovers still dominated possession and territory, full credit to RGC who were disciplined in the tackle area.
The second half at Colwyn Bay never really got going, and when Botica made it four out of four penalties, the game started to slip away from Llandovery. Harri Evans was making some good runs down the wing, and Evan Yardley went close to scoring.
The highlight of the second half was a Tom Hughes try. It was started in the RGC half when Dion Jones made a break before offloading to Hughes and the centre powered on the evade the tackles and score.
Llandovery picked up a try when Mathew Moore crossed the whitewash and the conversion was successful as well.
The pace of the game ebbed away in the final 10 minutes, with a few niggles from both sides which interrupted any flow and momentum. RGC finished the game with 14 men when replacement Jordan Scott was yellow-carded. The game became more scrappy and the final play of the game was a yellow for Llandovery’s captain Richard Brooks.