Rugby Notes

Pinched straight from EyeJay's report on The Steel Daffodil...

"A wonderful afternoon's rugby at a windy Eugene Cross Park saw Ebbw Vale overcome the self styled Welsh All Blacks by 29 points to 10.
Perhaps a more accurate description would be Ebbw Vale 29 Neil Ballard 10, as quite frankly Neath got their points from persistent help from the dreadful official. Does he know any of the laws at the scrummage? 90 degrees, binding, popping up etc., etc.

"Let's not take anything away, however, from a superb Ebbw Vale performance: rock solid tackling, chances taken opportunistically, and massive commitment. It's difficult to single out individual players in such a wonderful team display, but Simon Pengelly at 7 was immense and Aaron Bramwell makes ground every time he has the ball.

"It's all the more sweet when you overcome such an over confident and arrogant bunch as Neath, who seem to think that you can just buy the league. To see 20 of their supporters stroll up the bank at half time in full expectation of our 22 being the centre of the 2nd half action is just too damned cocky for my liking, and belongs 20 miles further west. I don't dislike Neath as much as, say, Llanelli, but they don't half have a superior attitude to Ebbw Vale."

Here, here.

My Man of the Match: Open side flanker Simon Pengelly, the honorary Welshman from Cornwall, who was everywhere and made countless tackles as part of the in-your-face defence that kept Neath at bay.

Scorers: Two tries for Kristian Owen and yet another interception try for James Lewis (his dad looked happy), a conversion and three penalties for ever-improving Aaron Bramwell, and a penalty for late substitute Andrew Williams.

Team: Andrew McLaughlan, James Lewis, Kristian Owen (c), Aaron Bramwell, Andrew Bevan; Andrew Williams, Robert Lewis; Aaron Coundley, Richard Wilkes, Anthony Lott; Gavin Lucas, Nick Eaves; Jonathan Griffiths, Simon Pengelly, Rhys Jenkins. Subs: Mathew WIlliams, Marc Jones, Craig Jones, Dale Newell, Shaun Powell, Ieuan Evans, Ieuan Coombes.

Next Saturday Ebbw travel to Swansea, 2:30 kickoff, where I will be joined by a busload of Ebbw fans and one man and his dog supporting Swansea.