Fixture

WRU LEAGUE DIVISION 1 EAST

Dowlais: 24

Risca: 3

A much-needed return to form for Dowlais this week with an excellent bonus point win at home against Risca.

With unfavourable muddy conditions and rain bearing down on them all game, Dowlais spent all but a few minutes of the first half on the defensive in their own half and twenty-two, perhaps even more than usual, Dowlais defended exceptionally well this half, spending basically the entire forty minutes under heavy pressure in their own twenty-two without conceding a single try. After failing to score from multiple previous five yard line scrums, Risca seemingly were ready to take whatever they could get points-wise and kicked a penalty to end the half at a meagre 3-0 lead.

However, if they expected Dowlais to have anywhere near the same troubles they had scoring tries, they were sorely mistaken. With the wind and rain finally at their backs, Dowlais’ attacking prowess came out for the first time in the match and earned them a try within the opening minutes of the half, touched down by Joel Braddock and converted by Steve James.

With the first try’s momentum behind them, Dowlais soon followed one try up with another, scored by Darrell Jenkins but unconverted. By the fifty minute mark, it seemed the roles had reversed, Risca now the ones unable to escape their twenty-two and consistently hounded by heavy pressure. With the muddy conditions of the one half of the pitch now worsening and the rain hammering down, Risca’s chance of getting the ball to their backs worsened and found themselves constantly dragged back to the Dowlais pack, stopping them in their tracks.

After a close miss of a try following an interception from Dowlais’ Cameron Trowbridge, Dowlais piled on the pressure again as the game reached its final quarter, earning a third try, touched down by Shane Chambers, unconverted again. With a 17-3 lead, Dowlais’ attention turned to earning themselves a bonus point, a feat obtained shortly after the following kick-off, with one final try touched down by Luke Price and converted by Steve James.

Effectively defeated, down 24-3 and no doubt worn down by the relentless conditions a final frustrated kick to touch from Risca ended the game and secured Dowlais their bonus point victory.

If there were any worries that Dowlais’ previous hammering to Newbridge would have caused any kind of rough patch for them, this week’s match hopefully put those fears to rest, with Dowlais showing their usual defensive prowess, along with real attacking power to back it up.

Next week Dowlais play Nelson Away.