Drovers go on the rampage
LLANDOVERY racked up more than a century of points as they thrashed Beddau at Church Bank to progress into the second round of the WRU National Cup.
Euros Evans’s side crossed for 16 tries to humiliate the Championship outfit. Scarlets and Wales Under-20s wing Corey Baldwin was the star of the show as he ran in four tries.
Lock Joe Powell, centre Carwyn Evans and fly-half Kristian Jones all bagged braces, while Rhodri Jones, Dino Dallavalle, Lee Rees, Llew Smith, Brandon Wood and Lewis Ellis Jones also scored tries.
No. 10 Jones added 12 conversions to end with a haul of 34 points.
Drovers assistant coach Simon Davies said: “You prepare the same for any game but it ended up a bit more comfortable than we anticipated.
“Having spoken to some of their players and committee at the end of game, we understood that they were without a lot of first-team players. But they played until the end and bought into the spirit of things and tried to play as much as possible.
“We had spoken about being as ruthless and adventurous as possible and the boys responded well.”
Powell’s brace came within six minutes with both of his tries coming from close range as the
LLANDOVERY...............104 BEDDAU.............................0
visitors struggled to cope with Llandovery’s physicality.
Evans, Dallavalle and lively scrum-half Rees scored further tries to give the hosts a 54-0 interval lead.
The pick of the bunch was Baldwin’s third try with the wing hitting a terrific angle to run in unopposed from 40 metres out.
Replacement Smith also had a strong game after coming on, with the playmaker making an incisive break to pierce Beddau’s defence for his try.
The Drovers have happy memories of this competition. They won it for the first time back in 2007 with a 20-18 victory over Cardiff and were also winners in 2016 when they defeated Carmarthen Quins 25-18.
Davies added: “The league is the main focus for everybody. But having experienced a cup run and also winning it, it is a great occasion, and there are still quite a few boys in our squad who were part of that cup-winning team and they are very keen to do as well as possible this year as well.”
LLANDOVERY – Tries: C Baldwin (4), J Powell (2), C Evans (2), K Jones (2), R Jones, D Dallavalle, L Rees, L Smith, B Wood, L EllisJones; Cons: K Jones (12).