Llanelli feel the heat as Ironmen get act together

MERTHYR ........................... 46 LLANELLI ............................ 22

A STRANGE week in the life of Merthyr RFC at least ended on a high with a seven-try triumph over Llanelli that moved the Ironmen up to third in the Indigo Group Premiership.

The previous weekend a lastgasp try had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for Pontypridd against their closest rivals at Sardis Road.

Then, during the week, Dale Mcintosh announced he would be stepping down along with fellow coaches Gavin Stacey and Rob Sidoli at the end of the season.

“We will continue to work tirelessly until the end of the season to reinforce the pride in the jersey and ensure we go out with the integrity we came with,” Mcintosh told supporters.

The players certainly reacted positively to the news, running in seven tries to secure maximum points.

One of those tries came from centre Arron Pinches on his 101st appearance, while fly-half Gareth Davies reached his century for the club.

Alex Webber opened the scoring for the hosts when he powered over from close range before lock Callum Bradbury scored in the corner.

Llanelli forced their way into the contest as they hit back with tries of their own courtesy of Nathan Hart and Ellis Thomas, before Paddy Mcbride bagged a third for the home side to hoist them into a 20-10 interval lead.

Merthyr were entirely dominant after the break as their forwards forced Llanelli into conceding several penalties. Pinches ran in unopposed from 35 metres and the home tries kept flowing from Ashley Norton and Rhys Williams.

To their credit, Llanelli refused to throw in the towel and tries from Harrison Button and Amir Jawa Walij earned them a try bonus point.

Ben Jones scored the final try for the Ironmen and he also kicked 11 points.

The defeat leaves Llanelli, who have just one league win to their name this season, back in 10th place in the table.

Paul Fisher’s men are next in action on Friday evening when they make the trip to the Talbot Athletic Ground to face Aberavon (7.15pm).

MERTHYR  Tries: A Webber, C Bradbury, P Mcbride, A Pinches, A Norton, R Williams, B Jones. Cons: B Jones (4). Pen: B Jones. LLANELLI  Tries: N Hart, E Thomas, H Button, A Jawa Walij. Con: I Evans.