Rumney : 15.M.O'Neill 14.M.Maclean 13.I.Blackburn 12.P.Niblett (Capt) 11.J.Offside 10.J.Macdonald  9.B.Morris 1.R.Hanmer  2.M.Feneck 3.C.Gale 4.M.Kelly  5.A.Gardner  6.C.Barker 7.R.Sutton 8.C.Jones  Replacements : P.Nash M.Milsom N.Trevett W.Price

Referee : Mike Cox (Abertillery)

Scorers for Rumney : M.Maclean 3 tries and 2 conversions

Scorers for Abercynon : G.Turner try, M.Turner conversion and 2 penalties

Something had to give when Rumney travelled to Y Parc for this top of the table clash with Abercynon and the titanic struggle which followed produced the most exciting and tense match of the season so far. The home side dominated the first fifteen minutes, camping in the visitors' half and keeping things tight using No8 Geraint Turner at the base of the scrum and lock Shannon Rakei in the lineout. After twenty minutes, Rumney locks Andrew Gardner and Michael Kelly, working well together, set up a ruck and scrum half Ben Morris quickly released his backs. Captain and centre Paul Niblett and fullback Paddy O'Neill gained ground and hooker Michael Feneck again set up good second phase for Morris to send out another rapid pass linking with Niblett, outside half James Macdonald and wing Matthew Maclean. The winger then worked a superb loop with Gardner whose perfectly timed pass back gave Maclean the space to race over in the corner for the opening try.

Rumney were now making more incursions into Abercynon territory but still finding the home side dangerous, particularly on the counterattack. Accurate kicking from Morris and Macdonald tended to drive play back down field and allowed the visitors to camp in the opposition half and force errors. Morris's speed at the back of the scrum and his quick delivery continued to create space further out and when a threequarter movement involving Macdonald and Niblett put Feneck through, the hooker made an excellent break and conjured up a flick pass which sent Maclean away on a difficult burst for the line and a second top quality try, which he converted himself. Just before the interval Matthew Turner slotted a penalty for Abercynon giving a half time score of 3 - 12.

Five minutes after the restart Turner kicked another penalty and it was only a magnificent tackle by O'Neill on centre Leighton Winder that prevented Abercynon from scoring again, but in the fifty third minute a loose kick gave the home side possession near the Rumney line and No8 Geraint Turner crossed under the posts. The conversion by his brother Matthew Turner put Abercynon into the lead at 13 - 12 but Rumney came back strongly and were awarded the put in at a scrum on the Abercynon twenty two. Morris's snap pass allowed Macdonald time to fire out a long ball to Niblett whose accurately timed pass sent Maclean through for his hat trick and when the winger was also successful with the difficult conversion Rumney were back in the lead at 13 - 19.

The closing minutes found Abercynon continuing with their tight forward game and Rumney keeping them out with forceful tackling. Despite giving away a number of penalties the visitors' defence held firm and Mike Cox's final whistle was the signal for their celebration of an excellent and hard earned victory.

Gafyn Cooper, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "An absolutely committed performance from every player, from one to nineteen. Our defence was awesome, we took our opportunities well and it was a huge team performance. We really believe in ourselves and are going from strength to strength, Abercynon were a massive hurdle and I am absolutley delighted. Matthew Maclean showed how good a finisher he is and he was voted today's Man of the Match."

Vic Gunstone, Rumney RFC : "Rumney soaked up a lot of pressure in the first fifteen minutes and then Abercynon seemed to run out of ideas once we had a few points on the board. Our defence was brilliant especially Chris Jones' tackle in the last five minutes which saved the game for us. Winger Matthew Maclean was outstanding, scoring a hat trick of excellent tries and he had to work hard for them too, he went looking for action. Paul Niblett and young Paddy O'Neill at fullback also had excellent games."

Vic Gunstone

Above, left to right : Chris Jones, Carl Barker, Ben Morris