Athletic 2022-23

Llantwit Fardre Away

The Athletic bounce back to winning ways with a volatile performance against a good Llantwit team.

Merthyr started at a ferocious pace with the inclusion of Uni Boys Mehmet and Josh Williams a timely boost with several players unable to travel. A further boost came from the return of rugged prop Tyler and two further Uni converts – Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.

In the early exchanges Merthyr seemed to hold several keys that could unlock the Llantwit defence. Jones at 12 provided power, with the pace of Williams outside him and the elusive and electric Davies at fullback. This was further bolstered with Thomas (7) entering the line on several occasions with timely picked passes from Jones (10). Exciting as it was Merthyr often played in the wrong parts of the pitch and eventual turnovers from their endeavour placed themselves under pressure.

Some positive early exchanges saw, Davies (15) and Jones (10) connecting well, a quick lineout and Jones pinpoint kick allowed Merthyr to gain some territory and add some pressure. Barnstorming runs from Davies (8), Caviel and Jones (12) lead to what Merthyr felt was the first score only for Caviel to be held up over the line. Continued pressure eventually led to the first try with a selection of pick and drives piercing the Llantwit pack, the beneficiary was Jones (12).

Merthyr’s second try was an absolute pearl, Llantwit kicked long, Jones (10) put Davies into space, Davies danced, twirled and even pirouetted at one point through the would be Llantwit tacklers, a cheeky out the back offload to Mullins – Mullins added a trademark dummy and swerved over 10-0 to Merthyr and a clear dominance could be seen.

Merthyr continued to attack from deep – often too many times, after a Llantwit turnover in the Merthyr half, robust and brave defence was required, Davies (15) not caring for his own safety lunged at a chip kick only to get clattered in the process and damage his knee, sadly that was his last contribution to the game. We wish him a speedy recover. Calvin Klein was introduced to the clash and with some positive early touches looked a decent replacement.

Having escaped without leaking a try Merthyr sought their way downfield. The pressure continued as Merthyr tails were up. Penalty awarded five meters out Mullins taps quickly and feeds a charging Davies (8) to smash his way over. 17-0 at half-time and Merthyr in full control. It was five meters despite rumours started by Davies (8) it was nearly fifty meters.

The talk at half-time was much about focus. Caviel ranted to remain in control by increasing the intensity. With the slope to their advantage Llantwit fought back into the game, despite this the first points of the second period came from the boot of Jones (10) with a well taken penalty 20-0 and surely no way back.

Some ill-discipline and poor decision making helped Llantwit along. Soon enough they scored and at 20-5 the flow of the game was clearly against Merthyr. A late tackle by Jones (12) resulted in a penalty, Llantwit attempted to take it early, a cheeky tap of the ball by Jones (10) the referee felt this was unjust and sent him to the bin. Llantwit tails were up and Merthyr had lost their Maestro – the self-destruct button had been pressed. Llantwit scored again to make it 20-12 and Merthyr seemed rudderless. Caviel rallied the jaded bunch, Murphy and Hilfiger entered the fray to try give a boost of energy. It was crucial the Merthyr held out, some robust tackling was demanded along with some scramble defence, this was led by Thomas (9) who produced some quality tackles, he was supported well by Tyler, Jones (4) and Thomas (7), Merthyr clung on. Jones re-entered the game with Merthyr still 8 ahead. A loose kick by Llantwit gave Klein a chance to show his elusive running – that is exactly what he did. Followed by a perfectly timed pass to Thomas (7) who dived over in the corner 25-12 and some breathing space going into the last ten minutes. Llantwit continued to pressurise and broke through once more 25-19 with minutes to play. Gladly Merthyr held firm and enjoyed getting back to winning ways.

Man of the Match was another tough choice – Thomas (7) again performing well. Tyler showing his class with his first return – Welcome Home Rhys! Jones (12) had probably his best game so far – think it was the early bang on the head! This week though Davies (8) not having played competitive rugby for some time after a serious injury produced a colossal performance with both ball in hand and with some crunching tackles in defence – Well Done Chopper! Donkey of the Day – Cai Jones for a Cheeky Tap that saw Yellow.

 

The fancy dress like the game showed inconsistencies – some good some poor some awful but all good fun!