PRINCIPALITY PREMIERSHIP SIX TRIES, BUT EMYR SALUTES QUINS DEFENCE
CARM QUINS......................44 BRIDGEND............................6
CARMARTHEN Quins coach Emyr Phillips praised his side’s resolute defence as they scored six tries to thrash Bridgend.
Tries from Nick Reynolds, Dale Ford, Gethin Robinson, Matthew John, Thomas Ball and Dylan Morgan plus 14 points from the boots of Aled Thomas and Steffan Marshall gave them an easy victory.
But despite scoring some scintillating tries, Phillips was happier with how his side defended.
“With the quality of player we’ve got behind the scrum we are always a team that’s going to score tries, so we’ve put a lot of emphasis on our defence in training,” said the former Wales international.
“We’ve performed really well over the last two weeks and it’s been based on our defence which has been excellent. Before the last couple of weeks we hadn’t quite clicked as a side but we’ve now turned a corner.
“I thought our set-piece was outstanding and we were able to get on top of Bridgend physically.”
Former Scarlets centre Reynolds opened the scoring as he beat three defenders for the opening try. His fellow back Ford got in on the act when he crossed courtesy of a 20-metre driving line-out.
Robinson also benefitted from a powerful maul for his score, while the final three tries were as a result of the Quins’ impressive back division.
Bridgend head coach Matt Silva was disappointed with his side’s performances.
He said: “We weren’t at the races and to be honest Carmarthen were better than us in every aspect.
“Last weekend’s performance against Newport took a lot out of us and if you are 20 per cent off your best you are going to get punished in this league. But we’ve got to pick ourselves up and get ready for a tough game away at Bargoed.” Pontlliw Primary School have unveiled their first official rugby team. Children from Years 5 and 6 have joined together to train every Tuesday after school in preparation for their first game after half term. The team have been lucky enough to secure sponsorship from local businessman Doug Healion, who runs Technical Care Solutions, a company who specialise in patient lifting equipment across the care sector. Teacher Mr Matthew Stonham thanked him for his sponsorship upon delivery of the kit to the school. “We are extremely grateful for this extraordinary generosity from a great local company,” he said. “The children are extremely proud of their new kit and cannot wait to represent the school in it.” No one in the team has played rugby prior to this season, but as a result of the school team starting, five boys have already signed up with local clubs Gorseinon, Pontarddulais and Gowerton. Mr Healion added: “I am happy to help the local community in any way I can. I wish the team every success in their upcoming games.”