Fixture

The Old Firm made it three bonus point wins in succession with this convincing win at Llanharan. Mount played with the wind in the first half and immediately set about attacking the home side. An attack by Llanharan from their own 22, though, when the ball was moved wide skilfully, showed the home team’s capabilities and took play up to the Mount 10 metre line. After a lineout was taken against the throw by Mount second row David Richards – the first of several throughout the game - scrum half Ross Davies moved the ball to the narrow side to set prop James Cowdry sprinting away down the touchline to take play up to the Llanharan 22. Further pressure which took play to just 10 metres out led to a penalty under the posts which wing Will Holley converted to make it 3-0 after 5 minutes. A diagonal well-placed grubber kick by scrum half Davies from a scrum on halfway took Mount into the Llanharan 22. Although the home team cleared the ball to their own 22 metre line and were awarded the throw-in, a lineout take by Mount second row Luke Brennan was driven to 10 metres out where scrum half Ross Davies broke to the blindside, sold a dummy and scored the first try of the game in the corner to make it 8-0. Another attack saw play taken into the Llanharan 22 where a sliced clearance kick gave the Old Firm a lineout 15 metres out. A take and drive up to the home line was stopped illegally. The penalty was moved wide to wing Holley who made a half break and threw the ball wide for what looked like a certain try but a jink inside was stopped by the home team. The let-off was short lived as the ball was moved again, and after being held up a metre from the home line on several occasions, centre Kieron Davies eventually got over to score an unconverted try which made it 13-0 after 24 minutes. The Old Firm were full of running and a quick penalty take by scrum half Davies – who had a superb game overall – saw him outpace the home defence and get away down the touchline, but a chip over a covering defender near the Llanharan 22 was marked by the home full back to stop the move. Although the Old Firm were reduced to 14 men after 28 minutes for an obstruction, it had no real effect on the game, and a break from centre Kieron Davies which took play up to the Llanharan 22 earned a penalty, which Holley judged perfectly with his kick from midway out to make it 16-0. Then came the Old Firm’s best try of the season. After prop James Cowdry had set up a ruck on the Mount 22, the ball was moved to the blindside quickly to wing Holley who burned away down the touchline. With just two defenders in between him and the try line, he drew one and gave a well-timed pass inside to flanker Matthew Rees, who showed a nice piece of skill to take and give the ball in a split second to scrum half Ross Davies, who run in unopposed from 20 metres under the posts to finish off a superb move, Holley converting to make it 23-0. Llanharan responded in determined fashion with some good driving play which took play up to the Mount try line, but they were met by an equally determined defence which gave nothing away as half time was called.

The second half saw Mount playing against the wind and making several changes. The half got more frantic as it progressed. Second row Sean Moore got away a couple of times to take play up to the Llanharan 22. Both sides were keeping the ball in hand with play being like 7s on times. From one such phase of play, a kick up to the Mount 10 metre line was returned to Llanharan in the midfield with the Old Firm’s defence spread-eagled. A sniping 25 metre run by the home scrum half through a disorganised Mount defence ended with the home left wing scoring in the corner to reduce Mount’s lead to 23-5 after 53 minutes. The Old Firm responded immediately, a charging run by second row Jarrod Parfitt taking play up to the home 10 metre line where a couple of penalties saw play taken into the home 22. After a catch and drive at the lineout was driven up to just 5 metres from the Llanharan line, No.8 and Captain Kriss Sanders broke to the blindside of a scrum to put Ross Davies into space for the scrum half to side-step inside a last defender and dive over for a well-deserved hat-trick of tries – his first in senior rugby - and clinch the bonus point fourth try. Holley judged the conversion superbly from the corner to make it 30-5 after 57 minutes. Some sloppy play at the restart when a failure to secure the restart caused and a charged down clearance kick saw immediate pressure on the Mount line, but once again there was no way through for Llanharan. Second row Moore got away once again to take play into the home half, where a penalty 43 metres out was well-judged by Holley to increase the Old Firm’s lead to 33-5 after 70 minutes. It was Llanharan though which had the last scoring chance of the match in the closing minutes, a dropped pass denying them a certain try. It left the Old Firm winners and still in second place in Division 1 East Central, 6 points behind Treorchy with a game in hand.