Konica Minolta Cup 2007-2008
Round 3
The Memorial Ground, Ely, Cardiff
Saturday 15th December 2007, k.o. 2.30 pm
| WRU Cup 2nd Round 1985-86 | Glam. Wands | 16 | Rumney | 06 |
| Brains Cup Semi Final 06.05.99 | Rumney | 36 | Glam. Wands. | 10 |
| 02.09.00 | Glam. Wands | 28 | Rumney | 16 |
| 23.12.00 | Rumney | 27 | Glam. Wands | 21 |
| 03.11.01 | Rumney | 24 | Glam. Wands | 18 |
| 30.03.02 | Glam. Wands | 19 | Rumney | 14 |
| 31.08.02 | Glam. Wands | 43 | Rumney | 00 |
| 17.12.02 | Rumney | 24 | Glam. Wands | 47 |
| 13.09.03 | Glam. Wands | 23 | Rumney | 13 |
| 24.03.04 | Rumney | 19 | Glam. Wands | 23 |
Rumney : 15.A.Carlson 14.L.Fox 13.G.Bowen 12.A.Jones 11.T.Daly 10.A.Solomon 9.G.Manning 1.J.Leadbeatter 2.M.Feneck (Capt) 3.C.Fitzpatrick 4.J.Mills 5.M.Kelly 6.R.Fenton 7.R.Sutton 8.D.Rees Replacements : M.Catris C.Milton M.Way A.Wilson J.Russell
Scorers for Glamorgan Wanderers : J.Jones try, H.Williams try, A.Murphy try, G.Knight try, M.Grimes try, A.James 3 conversions
Referee : Mike Cox, Abertillery
With Glamorgan Wanderers riding high near
the top of the WRU Principality Premier Division, this was always going to be
a hard game for Rumney but it proved to be an exciting and fiercely contested
local derby that was enjoyed by everybody on a freezing afternoon at The Memorial
Ground. From the start both sides decided to spread the ball wide but the Wanderers
high speed attacks were stopped by a determined defence, Rumney centre Gareth
Bowen in particular stopping two very threatening movements with decisive tackles.
The visitors were forced into turnovers and errors and in the tenth minute home
scrum half Harry Trelawny took a tap penalty to release his threequarters and
impressive centre Jamie Jones cut through for the opening try. Handling mistakes
and loose kicks allowed the Wanderers to quickly return to the offensive but
found Bowen and co-centre Anthony Jones blockading the midfield and winger Tom
Daley and scrum half Geraint Manning elusive and dangerous on the counterattack.
The Rumney pack was the equal of the home side's heavier set of forwards and
No8 Dyfrig Rees, prop Craig Fitzpatrick and second row Joe Mills took play to
the opposition and drove through repeatedly to set up second phases but in the
twenty fifth minute the visitors suffered a major setback when lineout ace Ryan
Sutton had to leave the field with an ankle injury. In the thirty sixth minute
the Wanderers pounced on another loose kic
k to counterattack in their traditional manner and
a sweeping handling movement between forwards and backs ended with fast prop
Alex Murphy selling a huge dummy to score under the posts. Centre Aled James
added the conversion to give the home side a 12 - 0 lead and they were soon
driving forward again but excellent tackling by flankers Anthony Wilson and
Ryan Fenton and prop John Leadbeatter stopped the drives and gave Rumney some
turnover ball. Visiting outside half Anthony Solomon and full back Andrew Carlson
looked dangerous when given room but the home side's defence was good and as
half time approached the Wanderers continued to spin the ball allowing powerful
winger Huw Williams to make a fine break down the tramlines for a well taken
solo try and an interval scoreline of Glamorgan Wanderers 17 Rumney 0.
The second half started at the same high pace but Rumney were finding more gaps for Daley, winger Lewis Fox and Mills to exploit, and there followed a lengthy spell of forward pressure where Leadbeatter, hooker Michael Feneck and second row Michael Kelly controlled play close to the home try line until a turnover allowed the Wanderers to break out and gain seventy metres. With a change of tactics the home side decided to keep play mostly in the forwards with fly half Mark Roper dictating the game behind, and after a period when they held the ball in a tightly marshalled drive, second row Gareth Knight crossed for a try, James slotting the conversion to extend the lead to 24 - 0. Hooker Mike Catris, flanker Matthew Way and scrum half Chris Milton came on from Rumney and continued to pressurise the home pack, leading to another good period for the forwards, but in the seventieth minute the Wanderers forwards again took possession of the ball and kept it for a twenty two metre contolled drive, finished off with a try by No8 Mike Grimes. The final ten minutes were as action packed as the earlier phases of the game but there was to be no more scoring and the Wanderers progressed to the fourth round with the scoreboard reading Glamorgan Wanderers 31 Rumney 0.
Steve Ford, Coach Rumney 1st XV : "We knew that today was going to be a big step up for the boys, playing against a top premiership side. The Wanderers were a bit more organised than us but we always knew that we would be alright in the set piece and actually the set pieces were very good. We lost a few lineouts but in general that was quite good too, even though we lost our main lineout jumpr early on with a sprained ankle. We didn't have a lot of possession, the Wanderers kept the ball very well so we had to defend for long periods and did it quite comfortably, but we needed more ball, they had seventy percent of it. Sometimes you have to look at the performance rather than the result and we actually performed very well, but we lost out on experience. You can not take anything away from the boys, they battled hard and the game was a lot closer than the score suggests. Lewis Fox did a lot of work, Joe Mills carried well and Gareth Bowen was the Man of the Match."
Lewis Fox, wing Rumney 1st XV : "It was tough, freezing cold conditions and a big challenge against a top premiership side. It was a big local derby and it was good to have a game to go for and enjoy, I tried to come in looking for a bit of work and it was a good game, the pack fronted up well. Joe Mills and Michael Feneck carried well and there was excellent work at the breakdown from the back row. Anthony Solomon did a good job with the ball he had and Gareth Bowen marshalled the backs well."