Fixture

Betws hosted an eager Lampeter side in their second home game of the season, looking to keep their 100% record intact. Unlike the horrible weather down in New Dock last week, the sun was out today and promised a fast, free-flowing game of rugby. 

The game started with a few dubious calls from man in the middle who seemed to want to stamp his authority early, which left both sides a little frustrated at the start and stop nature of the game. Lampeter had the first opportunity to get on the scoreboard with a penalty just outside Betws’ 22, but Lampeter’s Outside-half pulled the kick, giving Betws a get out of jail free card for their early indiscipline (0-0). 

Lampeter kept piling on the pressure and enjoyed a period of possession where they eventually found themselves back in Betws’ 22 once again. A nice lineout and a few passes later nearly saw Lampeter cross for the first try of the game but a strong defensive effort by Betws lead to a knock on and a chance to clear their lines. A strong scrum by the Betws pack gave Skipper Gareth Comley a nice platform to pick and go, and like last week, he saw a gap and went for it. Breaking the line and finding himself one on one with the Lampeter fullback, he seized the opportunity that he was denied last week and steam trained over the poor bugger, but Betws were unable to make anything of the play.

After some lose phases and back and fore rugby, Lampeter picked up a stray kick and attacked Betws on the counter, breaking the first line of defence. Betws had to scramble back and Flanker, Nathan Jeffries, made an early tackle on a Lampeter player before he was able to catch the ball which thankfully for Betws stopped a probable try. However, the referee was having none of it, and even after multiple pleas from Betws about how ‘out of character’ the foul play was for the Flanker, the referee had no option but to send him to the bin for 10 minutes. 

Betws were un-phased by being a man down after playing with only 14 men for 80 minutes last week. This showed as pressure by Betws lead to multiple penalties but the choice of going for goal proved unfruitful on two occasions with Outside-half, Adrain Thomas, just missing the uprights. However, he was rewarded for his persistence on the stroke of half time as he slotted a nice penalty in front of the sticks to take Betws into the half 3-0 up. 

Half Time

After what promised to be an entertaining first half considering the glorious weather, Betws were determined to put on a show in the second half, coming out of the break the stronger side. Great darts by Hooker Matthew Madge and lovely distribution by Scrum-half Nathan Peters got Betws on the front foot from the off. A brilliant run by powerhouse Second-row, Daniel Morgans, opened up the Lampeter defence and created a lovely overlap which looked like a certain try, but the referee had other ideas. His verdict... crossing. Nevertheless, Betws dominated territory for the first 20 minutes of the second half, with Lampeter hardly seeing Betws’ half. However, this was not translating into points and when Lampeter saw an opportunity to attack, they were able to work their way up into Betws’ 22 where they won a penalty in front of goal. The boot of their Outside half tied the game up, 3-3. 

Betws were keen to regain the lead, and when they took back their own kick off, they started to turn up the pressure. Within a minute of the game being tied, Betws found themselves in an attacking position close to the Lampeter line. A lovely step and fend by Gareth Comley saw the Lampeter defence splinter and the Number 8 went over for a well worked try. Adrian Thomas added the extras (10-3). 

Lampeter then enjoyed a period of possession and looked very strong in the lose but were unable to break the Betws defence. Great work rate by the Betws Flankers made sure Lampeter had no clean ball, with Rhydian Jones and Ashley Jones being nuisances at the breakdown. 

With only 5 minutes left on the clock, Betws were awarded a penalty on the half way line and opted to go for goal to put the game out of sight. Eventhough the kick was ambitious, Adrian Thomas struck the ball lovely and sent it soring towards the sticks, when, out of nowhere, a head wind seemed to picked up and the pace on the ball seemed to stop, resulting in it dropping just a yard short of putting Betws two scores clear. Thankfully, Betws were able to regain possession and close the game out very well with the forwards carrying the ball hard. With seconds remaining, Gareth Comley again saw himself break Lampeter’s defence and tried offloading the ball yards from the line to fellow back rower, Rhydian Jones, who was unable to get on the end of the pass. The knock on signalled the end of a hard-fought game by both sides, and meant that Betws’ perfect start to the season goes on. 

Betws now stand in 4th place with 4 wins from 4 in the league. Their attention now turns to the Bowl where next week they will take the short trip up the Amman Valley to Division 3 West Central A’s Cwmgors, who according to the Betws scouting team looked impressive in their 49-3 win over Glais this weekend.