Fixture

Home, Home at Last!

No, not the range and certainly no dear and antelope playing but Usk Road, despite the efforts of the 'ground staff' the pitch was, however, not unlike the clichéd Serengeti Plain.

So to kick off against a side already relegated and who the team beat last week. The opposition there for the taking? Not a bit of it. Old Illtydians (O.I.) were up for the game from the kick off, displaying a desire and urgency that the home team lacked.

The kick off was well caught but from the ensuing ruck the ball shot out of the back and O.I. retrieved the ball.

Llanishen's defence fast but ultimately a penalty…. for offside, was conceded. The penalty put Llanishen behind after two minutes. Time to wake up? Not yet dear friends.

The error strewn, opening fifteen minutes, saw two five yard line outs squandered and numerous handling errors by both sides. The Llanishen team seemed flat, imagine a 2D world or Stanley, perhaps too many physical games on rock hard surfaces?

O.I. were competing well at the breakdowns and only solid defence kept them out. The team eventually did concede a try, following good driving by the O.I. forwards. The conversion took the score to 0-10 and the Llanishen supporters back three months. Would the real Llanishen, please, stand up!

The Llanishen backs, lacking ball, had mainly defended but when they did get the ball they looked capable of causing problems. The Llanishen forwards chased down the kick off and a good drive led to a penalty being awarded. Rod's kick settled the nerves but not for long.

The scrum, which had been functioning well recently, was under-pressure (not now Freddie) and a scrum, five metres out, resulted in Llanishen being driven back over their line. The converted try took O.I. twelve points clear.

The score seemed to galvanise the team (good old Zn) and after a series of phases a fine run by Charlie brought the opening try and conversion.

Having awoken from their slumber the next attack brought a second try and Milo burst through the middle to score near the posts. The conversion meant the sides were level on points. Normal service resumed?

Don't be silly! O.I. attacked through their fine combative forwards and they forced their way over the line on the stroke of half-time.

Half-Time - Llanishen 15 Old Illtydians 22

The darkening skies, a sign? Not to begin with but, like a butterfly from a chrysalis, a thing of beauty emerged.

A good break by Rhodri took him into open field and a well timed pass put young Chapman away to score.

Rugby, when played well, is a simple game and the last twenty minutes were a pleasure to watch.

A yellow card gave the team more room and an electrifying burst of speed took Joe over the line and put Llanishen in front for the first time.

A forty metre penalty took them further in front and from a well weighted kick, from Rod, Milo was able to retrieve and pass to Chappers. The conversion gave Llanishen an eleven point lead with only a few minutes to go.

Time for another? Indeed their was. A chip through and a kindly bounce allowed Charlie to go on a mazy run. A lovely dummy created space and he went over for his second try.

Full-Time - Llanishen 40 Old Illtydians 22

P.S.

Well played Old Illtydians. If they play like this next season a swift return is on the cards.

Hopefully Noah's ankle is okay.

It was good to see such a young side representing the club and this can only be good for the future success of the club.

Come down and support the team as they take on Dinas this Saturday, in the league winner decider.

Phil

Editor’s note:

A big thank you to Phil for all his match day reports, particularly this one as it was emailed across to our delicious web team at about 6.30 AM this morning.

We look forward to Saturday’s last report of the regular season and to all those match reports for next season. Mr Ivins get an A+ for “Customer Service Experience”