Fixture

The initial pressure in this encounter came from the visitors, Aberavon who started very strongly. However, in their eagerness to spread the ball quickly their centre telegraphed a pass to his fellow centre and it was well read by Sports centre Ken Morris who intercepted 10 metres from his own line and ran the length of the pitch to score under the posts. Josh Davies in his role as kicker and captain easily added the points and after less than 10 minutes the Sports had a lucky 7 points lead.

If that try was against the run of play the next was quite the opposite from an initial break by scrum half Scott Callicott, the inside support came from hooker Ryan Wallis who widened the attack intelligently and skipper Josh Davies added some pace to the movement before finding winger Rob Spears out wide and it looked as if he would make the line, but the Aberavon decence was closing in and an overhead pass back to Josh Davies was the best option and Davies scored near the corner for a try that he then converted with a good strike as the Sports extended their lead. This stirred up the visitors and they mounted a good attack resulting in a scrum on the Sports 22 metre line. From the scrum the Sports were caught napping and Thomas Davies seemed to waltz through the Sports threes to score near the posts. Fly half Sean Curran adding the points.

Aberavon continued this phase of attack and Curran trying very hard to get his threes moving, was having a very good game and causing the Sports problems. It was not long before he shortened the Sports lead even more when the home side conceded a penalty on the 22 metre line and the score became 14-10 to the Sports.

The pattern of play so far had been the Sports struggling for quality possession and when they got it, it was deep in their own half. When they did get ball in a good field position, they looked dangerous. And so it proved when from quick lineout ball the threequater line smoothly transferred the ball to the safe hands of Ken Morris who simply timed a neat pass to fullback Jack Laesser, on the burst, and he scored a very professional try to take the score to 19-10. From the kick off there was confusion in the Aberavon defence which resulted in a penalty reversal in favour of the Sports. Further advice was given to the referee by Aberavon which resulted in 10 metres further for the penalty, a yellow card and the chance for Josh Davies to extend the Sports lead on the stroke of half time to 22-10.

As soon as the second half started the Sports also saw yellow, as some handling on the deck was punished by the referee and Cullan he quality kicker he took the chance to shorten the Sports lead to 22-13 with a fine kick. It was Cullan’s kicking that kept the Sports in deep positions, there then followed a series of attacks down the left wing from deep in the Sports half and from one, with good inter-passing between Rob Spears and Josh Davies and help of the Sports’ back row, the Aberavon defence were forced into giving away a penalty. It shows the respect the Sports had for the visitors as they elected for the penalty and not touchline advantage. So extend their lead to 25-13.

The scoreline stayed like this for most of the half with the Sports attacking from deep and the last line of defence for Aberavon proving strong. Then from a break in the centre, Ken Morris chiped through for Keith David on the wing, but as he picked up the ball he was judged, questionably, to have touched the line and an Aberavon lineout was called. Sports prop, Greg Thomas stole the visitors ball and with Andy Gill acting as scrum half he fed the back line and in a simple uncomplicated movement Josh Davies touched down for the bonus point try the Sports had been chasing for twenty minutes. The kick failed and the final whistle blew with Davies having scored 20 of the Sports 30 points and having played a real captains role.

The Sports take a break for Xmas and play Pontycymmer away on the 30th December