Fixture

Pwllheli RFC | 1st Team 21 - 20 Nant Conwy RFC | 1st Team

Match Report
18 March 2018 / Team News

Pwllheli RFC 21 Nant Conwy RFC 20

 
This long awaited Conwy Landrover North Wales Cup semi final match took place in freezing conditions and on a saturated pitch which was made playable following hard work the previous day. Though support for both sides somewhat diminished by the weather and the attraction of three consecutive 6 Nations matches on the television the lower than usual numbers made up for it by their vocal support for their respective teams.
Pwllheli started the stronger. After only two minutes they went ahead with a penalty kick by Osian Parry Jones as Nant were adjudged to have killed the ball in a ruck. Pwllheli then dominated possession but they were thwarted by solid defence and a high penalty count against them. Nant  gradually came into the game and began utilising their potent back line. Their half backs managed their game well. With the packs cancelling each other out and both sets of players wholly committed to their cause it needed something special to break the impasse.In the twenty fourth minutes Nant break through the Pwllheli midfeld. They made ground and despite Pwllheli's efforts prop Gwynfor Morris crashed over to score. The reliable boot of full back Arthur Lennon added the conversion. The penalty count against Pwllheli continued and it was no surprise when Lennon slotted a penalty to  increase his team's lead.
Half time - Pwllheli 3 Nant Conwy 10.
We saw a rejuvenated Pwllheli after the half time break.They began edging both the lines out and the set scrums. Nant remained a huge threat on the counter and this is what happened ten minutes into the half. They attacked Pwllheli from deep and breached the Pwllheli cover. Centre Ifan Lloyd Jones was on hand to receive an inside pass to score a fine try. Full back Lennon added the kick to give his team a healthy seventeen points to three lead. Pwllheli had to respond and this is precisely what they did. They patiently went through the phases and made ground deep into the Nant twenty two. They recycled the ball time and again and their patience paid off when hooker Kevin Morris forced his way over under the posts.The conversion took the score to seventeen to ten in Nant's favour.Immediately after the score Pwllheli changed both props with ex- Nant captain Elgan Davies and Tudur Griffiths to give their pack fresh impetus.
Pwllheli now had the bit between their teeth. Awarded a penalty on twenty minutes they decided to go for goal rather than frantically chasing the game. The decision was validated as Osian Parry Jones' kick reduced the deficit by a further three points. Both teams dug deep as the tension increased. It was not until the thirty fifth minute that the seemingly decisive break came when centre Ianto Parry broke from deep. He made over thirty metres before passing to the supporting left wing Robin Hughes Jones. The winger outpaced the despairing cover to touch down wide of the left. The missed conversion meant that Pwllheli now had a tenuous one point lead.
Nant threw the kitchen sink at Pwllheli and their efforts seemed to have been rewarded when ,on forty minutes, when a penalty was awarded against Pwllheli. Nant's players and supporters were understandably elated as Lennon's kick gave them a twenty to eighteen lead. Pwllheli knew that the clock was against them and that any error was likely to mean defeat. They kicked deep. Nant's relieving kick gave Pwllheli the line out. They took the ball cleanly in the line and edged towards the try line. The coup de grace came in the forty fourth minute of the second half.With Pwllheli hammering at Nant's line but with the Nant  defenders putting their bodies of the line Pwllheli's half backs saw the opportunity to win the game. With Nan't defensive line lying flat a quick pass from scrum half Butterworth gave outside half Mathew Parry the time needed to slot a neat and well taken match winning drop goal. The whistle for time went seconds later for Pwllheli to claim a hard earned win which takes them to their second consecutive North Wales Cup Final .
The Conwy Landrover Man of the Match was awarded Pwllheli veteran second row Geraint Parry who was proudly watched by his son Now as he received the bottle of champagne.
The other semi finalists in the Cup ,Bala and Llangefni, are yet to play and the date for the final has not been set. The match will be played at a neutral venue,not at the Zip World pitch in Colwyn Bay, but the venue  will not be determined until Bala and Llangefni have played.
Pwllheli now face a difficult task on Saturday as they travel to Llanrwst in a key North Wales Division 1 fixture. Both sides will be desperate to win as the result will likely play a large part in determining this season's North Wales Champions.
Pwllheli's rearranged League match against Dolgellau has now been re-arranged for the evening  Wednesday March 28. The precise kick off time to follow.
Players Fixture player info not published.
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