Fixture

What a great advert this game was for Mid District rugby. Hard, uncompromising, exciting, not a punch thrown in anger, and well refereed, it had a local derby feel about it and was great entertainment for the good crowd present. Both teams came into the game at opposite ends of the table, with Mount in 4^th place and Gilfach one off the bottom, but if you didn’t know that was the case, you certainly wouldn’t have guessed it. From the off, the breakdown was fiercely contested, with each side being awarded penalties throughout the game. Gilfach went in front after 15 minutes when sloppiness by Mount in defence saw a charged down kick, a lost lineout and then a missed interception lead to an overlap and a try for wing Macaulley Groves, who run in from 10 metres. A superb conversion from the corner by Gilfach kicker, Conner Davies, made it 7-0 to the visitors after 16 minutes. The Old Firm responded quickly and from a lineout in the Gilfach 22, hooker Josh Davies – who was in the thick of the action all game – charged down an attempted clearance and quickly picked the ball up to be just forced out at the flag. Although the visitors managed to clear the ball to 15 metres out, a simple catch and drive at the lineout saw second row Jarrod Parfitt score Mount’s first try, which went unconverted, to make it 7-5 after 20 minutes. Second row Daniel Phillips had an impressive game in the lineout and around the park, getting through a tremendous amount of work and winning ball for the Old Firm. Further pressure in the Gilfach 22 saw centre Liam Jones kick to the corner, but although wing Curtis Williams did well to get to it, he couldn’t control his kick-on and the ball went dead. One of Gilfach’s main attacking ploys during the game was the driving maul, and from a lineout on halfway, a drive into the Mount 22 led to a penalty which was kicked to 5 metres out. Although held up over the line from a lineout drive, a pushover try for the visitors extended their lead to 12-5 after 31 minutes play. As half time approached, Mount laid siege to the Gilfach line, but determined defence by the visitors held up half a dozen drives. A penalty was conceded though, and wing Jack Roberts converted from 20 metres to bring Mount back to 12-8 down at the break.

Early pressure in the Mount 22 nearly led to a Gilfach try, but a covering defender just about touched the ball down from a kick through. From a kick up to the Mount 22, the ball was thrown in field and a counter attack started which saw second row and captain Jarrod Parfitt dummy his way past an oncoming player and then bounce two other would-be tacklers off to make good ground for Mount. The move was taken on by centre Alex Hughes into the Gilfach half where a penalty to the Old Firm was kicked to the corner. After a lineout catch and several drives, the ball was moved to prop James Cowdry – playing his first game of the season – who drove over in the corner for Mount’s second try of the match after 54 minutes, which put the Old Firm in front for the first time in the match, 13-12. Roberts’ conversion from the corner hit the post. A kickable penalty at a scrum 30 metres out was kicked to 10 metres out by Gilfach and from the lineout take, a driving maul was set up which led to prop Matthew Rutter peeling off from 5 metres out to drive over in the corner for a try which put Gilfach back in front 17-13, the conversion from the touchline just falling short. Prop James Cowdry had a great impact when he came on, and from a powerful run by him into the Gilfach 22, further pressure earned Mount a penalty in front of the posts, just 15 metres out, which Roberts slotted over to reduce Gilfach’s lead to 17-16 after an hour’s play. A long kick out of defence by outside half Hughes saw an unlucky bounce of the ball which sent it bouncing on 25 metres and over the dead ball line. From the scrum back on the Mount 22, a penalty to Gilfach was kicked by Davies to extend the visitors’ lead to 20-16 in the 64^th minute. The Old Firm hit back straight away, and from a superbly placed penalty to touch by Roberts, a take and drive by the Mount pack had Gilfach going backwards, scrum half Ross Davies finishing off the attack by forcing his way over near the corner to put the Old Firm back in front, 21-20, after 66 minutes. The game was far from over and after confusion at the restart led to a knock on, a penalty at the scrum saw Gilfach kick once again kick to the corner. Although losing the lineout, the Mount forwards fought like tigers to stop a drive over and were awarded a penalty for Gilfach not releasing, which turned into an extra 10 metres due to a comment made by a Gilfach forward. The game was in the balance, and with only a few minutes left, another tremendous effort in defence earned Mount another vital penalty just 15 metres out. Jack Roberts was making sure with his penalty kicks to touch for Mount and also put some well-judged penalty kicks into the Gilfach 22. With the clock ticking down, another well-placed penalty by Roberts took play into the visitors’ 22 where second row Adam Parry – who took vital ball when he came on – took the lineout. Centre Alex Hughes ran powerfully to take play to 5 metres out and after the Mount pack was quickly in to secure the ball, scrum half Ross Davies kicked it into touch to bring a pulsating game to an end and clinch victory for the Old Firm.