GALE KEEPS COOL TO BAG FAMOUS WIN
LLANELLI WANDERERS .... 22 GLYNNEATH ...................... 19
NICK Gale kept his cool to kick Llanelli Wanderers to the biggest success in their history as he plundered 17 points to earn his side the Division 1 Cup at the Principality Stadium.
The player-coach, back at his first club after many successful years at Narberth, showed his pedigree by landing five penalties and also converted a try by lock Steff Phillips.
He only missed once on his first visit to the home of Welsh rugby, but made up for that by nervelessly slotting a wide-angled penalty three minutes from time to finally end Glynneath’s stubborn resistance
“I was just glad the boys earned me a shot to win the game in the end, “said Gale, who co-coaches the team alongside his father Sean. “We thought it would go right to the end and it did.
“We talked about putting pressure on them once we got into the lead by waiting for a mistake. Luckily, in the end, they did make a mistake.
“I didn’t know what it was going to be like kicking here – we warmed-up on the Cardiff Arms Park pitch – but luckily there was no wind, which is a luxury.
“My role is to add value in whatever I’m doing and I’m just a part of a pretty special group at the club.
“I’ve returned to my first club, where I first started playing at the age of seven, so to come back and have something to show for it is really special.”
The One West side had only lost once in 16 matches this season and currently sit second in the table following victory for Gorseinon on Saturday afternoon.
In a tight affair, it was Gale’s boot that proved the difference despite a late try from Glynneath’s Josh Morris and a pressure conversion by Dylan Francis that made it level at 19-19.
Glynneath had club president Max Boyce, along with 16 busloads of fans, in attendance and only just fell short after a monumental effort that saw Francis respond to Gale’s goalkicking exploits with 14 points of his own.
The Wanderers opened the scoring through lock Phillips, who gathered a bouncing offload from Gale as they exposed an overlap out wide through Jac Hart. Gale added the conversion.
Gale edged the Wanderers into a seven-point lead with two penalties in five minutes and they dominated territory for much of the first half. But
Glynneath were in no mood to back down from the fight and a third Francis penalty meant they only trailed 13-9 at the break.
Francis added his fourth penalty to again cut the gap to a point. Another Gale penalty added to the tension before a late shoulder charge by Wanderers loosehead prop Keelan Jewell on Francis enabled Glynneath to gain vital territory.
Three rolling maul infringements in a row led to Wanderers skipper and hooker Rhodri Owens being shown a yellow card.
Despite their man advantage, Glynneath failed to take the chance on offer as the resulting maul was turned over.
Gale put some breathing space between the sides with his fourth penalty in the 67th minute after a high tackle. Replacement Josh Morris then crossed from close range as Glynneath got back into the game just before Owens returned.
Francis nailed the tricky conversion to level the scores and set up a thrilling finish.
With extra-time looming, Owens redeemed himself by claiming a turnover penalty on the edge of the Glynneath 22.
Up stepped Gale and over went his fifth penalty that quite rightly earned him the player-of-the match award.