Rhymney home 1st March 2008
Croesyceiliog 29 Rhymney 14
After the disappointment of the draw at Pontllanfraith and a week off because of the 6 Nations, Croesy returned to winning ways with a good performance against a plucky Rhymney team which battled hard throughout and never let Croesy get too far away. Croesy were on the front foot from the kick off and a sustained period of pressure brought its reward with an excellent try by Steve Thomas following a strong run, converted by Matthew Entwistle. Rhymney then started to come back into the game and following a period in the Croesy half cut the lead with two penalties. The game was evenly poised but it was Croesy who got the next score. As Rhymney attacked near the halfway line, Matthew Entwistle intercepted a pass for a 50 metre run-in, just touching down before being caught by Rhymney's right wing. The conversion was unsuccessful. The rest of the half was balanced with both sides kicking penalty goals. The half-time score being 15-9 to Croesyceiliog.
The second half began with Croesy again on the front foot, playing with confidence and with a bit of luck, could have increased the lead before Tim Hanks finished off a period of pressure with a typical forceful run down the left wing, brushing off defenders to touch down in the corner. The try was well converted by Matthew Entwistle. Croesy were now looking for their bonus point try and this followed with another try for replacement flanker Gavin Howells, his 6th of the season. The try was again converted by Matthew Entwistle. Rhymney did not give up though and scored a well-deserved late consolation unconverted try. Croesy's victory was well-deserved and hopefully will set us up for a good run-in to the end of the season