News

Match Report

Firstly we are glad to announce that Shane ‘Chewy’ Jones is alive, slightly fatter and slower, but back in familiar territory on the wing. Welcome home Chewy we’ve missed you.

Fresh off an impressive 43-5 win away to Whitchurch last week, Hirwaun were looking to make it 2 from 2 at home to old foes, Llanrumney RFC. However, they would have to do it without the rampaging Nicky Bailey (Injured). This meant there was a first start to Chucky Curtis in the centre - someone who had trained very hard during preseason and deserved the start. There was also first starts of the season to Calum Rossiter, Michael ‘Spike’ Law, Craig Lewis and fresh off the plane Brandon ‘B-Dog’ Shaw. Llanrumney on the other hand were looking to build on narrowly missing out on promotion with their first win of this campaign.

From the first whistle Llanrumney took the game to Hirwaun with a combination of direct running and intelligent kicking by their outside half (Wearing the no 8 jersey?!) pinning Hirwaun in their 22. Both sides showed excellent discipline, Llanrumney continuously attacking the fringes, with their lively scrumhalf looking to pounce on any weakness. Hirwaun tackling like demons and they can take credit in their defence because after a 10 minute onesided onslaught Lewys Blayney, digging like a demented mole, managed to win a turnover and the lines were cleared. By this point both set pieces functioned well, B-Dog relishing being back in the Brocks jersey after jetting off to Florida for a couple of weeks. An infringement at the break down gave Jamie Price a shot at 3 points from the 10 metre line. He converted with ease finally breaking the deadlock deservedly or not 3-0.

From the restart Llanrumney’s no 8 reasserted his dominance with the boot sending a high dropkick with pin point accuracy which bedazzled Sean Forward and Joe Fenlon, causing a knock on. Both players standing there like that guy from American Beauty watching a bag float in the wind. Llanrumney started to assert themselves and from the next scrum onwards they continuously kept Hirwaun on the back foot and could easily have gone 2/3 tries up if it wasn’t for the final pass to go astray. Some overzealous defending by Brett Law found him in hot water and the ref did not hesitate to send him to the bin for a cool down. The Llanrumney scrumhalf took full advantage of this and his darting and weaving finally exploited the Brocks defence, releasing the permitted loose head prop to trundle over for an unconverted try making it 3-5.

A poor defensive line along with strong running by the Llanrumney 11 meant that it wasn’t long before Llanrumney were camped back inside Hirwaun’s 22 and some good hands sent Llanrumney in to the far corner again for another unconverted try 3-10.

It was clear to see there was discontent amongst the Hirwaun ranks, perhaps the realisation sunk in that they took this game too lightly and as a result the set piece began to falter. Llanrumney’s loose head using a somewhat questionable technique decided to give B-Dog his own personal version of Tower of Terror lifting him a good few feet off the floor. The referee somehow decided it was safe, so let’s play ball. Fortunately, this finally sparked a bit of life from the Hirwaun side and they finally started to show glimmers of last week’s performance. Unfortunately Gareth Robinson found himself in a familiar territory, wasting another 2-1 by attempting the extravagant dummy but fooling no one but himself. They do say third time lucky so some dopey bugger from Cardiff Met will probably fall for it next week. Conveniently for Hirwaun, the referee picked up on the persistent fouling at the breakdown and rewarded Hirwaun a penalty which Jamie Price slotted over. Half Time 6-10

The introduction of Dai ‘Neck’ and Matt Price in the pack brought back a bit stability and it wasn’t look before Hirwaun began to turn the screw and Llanrumney left the referee no option but to send their captain to the bin. With Llanrumney down to 14 men Hirwaun opted for a scrum. A solid platform from the front five sent Brett Law down the blind and releasing Gosha to do his own take on Neil Morrissey’s character from Up and Under and score a try in the corner. Clearly distracted with the on-going Brexit negotiations Craig Lewis voiced his concerns whether Teresa May is the right person to lead us and after much debate Matt Price reminded him that even though a ‘Brexiteer’ would be more suited to guide us through these murky waters, we need stability and that another party leadership election would throw the country and the deal into turmoil. Jamie missed the conversion but the Brocks finally regained the lead 11-10.

With the score not reflecting their dominance overall, Llanrumney threw the kitchen sink at Hirwaun. Some clever play by backs and forwards found themselves back in the familiar territory of Hirwaun’s 22. Regrettably for the replacement prop, it was one clever play too many and he soon found out what it was like to be hit by Matt Price’s old arthritic shoulders - Some say it was nearly as big a hit as Bunny did on Lewys Blayney in training. A dodgy lineout, a dodgy scrum and dodgy line speed allowed Llanrumney to finally cross the line and gain a well-deserved victory. Their no 8 capped off a superb performance with the boot making the score 11-17.

Final Score 11-17

There seems to be a growing trend these days as for the 2nd week in a row, a referee has commented on how poor a field was. Who cuts grass but leaves all the cuttings behind? Despite many players losing their footing during the game we should look at the positive, RCT finally cut our grass. Anyway…

What a difference a week makes. We cannot afford to be this disjointed again. We arrive at the pitch on time, we warm up together and most importantly we play for each other. If there’s a genuine reason you cannot train then no problem but at the end of the day, as a Wiseman once told to me “You can only piss with the dick you got”.

Let’s get back training and put this right. No more bickering, no more finger pointing and this goes for players and supporters alike. Let’s get behind the Brocks and get back to winning ways next week.

Remember, and this is no disrespect to Llanrumney’s performance. They thoroughly deserved to win. But we played absolutely dog shite against a side who will be in the top 4 come end of the season and we only lost by 6 points.

We’re in WRU National Bowl action this coming Saturday 16th September, away to Cardiff Met 2nds at Cyncoed Campus kick off 15.00pm.

Post Game Clubhouse – Traditional Welsh Rugby Club with a couple of large screens to watch the rugby and a large function room upstairs available for weddings/engagement parties, retirements etc. For more details, contact 07908 726 634.

Food – Back to sausage and chips, however there was an alternative in chicken curry…apparently.

Beer – Less than £3 a pint. All the usual tipples with the added Carling Black Fruits and Caffrey’s on tap.

Hirwaun RFC – Starting XV 1. Ashley ‘Bash’ Moss 2. Sean Forward © 3. Brandon ‘B-Dog’ Shaw 4. Joe Fenlon 5. Calum Rossiter 6. Lewys Blayney 7. Jamie Price 8. Michael ‘Spike’ Law 9. Brett Law 10. Craig Lewis 11. Rhys Coxley 12. Chucky Curtis 13. Jarad Lee Williams 14. Shane ‘Chewy’ Jones 15. Gareth Robinson

Subs From: Matt Price, Morgan ‘Stumpy’ Siddley, Dai ‘Neck’ Norwell, Shaun Blakemore, Michael ‘Gosha’ Bailey, Gareth ‘Dent’ Howard