This week we welcomed St Julian’s, a team who we have already faced in pre-season. Despite a convincing result in that fixture Aber knew they were about to face a different animal this time round.
Aber were looking to make it 3 from 3, and St Julian’s were coming off the back of a very good win against Markham, so we were expecting a tight affair between two teams with a very big sets of forwards.
St Julian’s were first to strike. After a penalty at the breakdown the St Julian’s 10 kicked superbly into the corner to give the travelling side a great opportunity early on. As expected, the lineout was well taken and St Julian’s got their maul game going early on. A fantastic defensive effort by the Aber pack repelled what looked like a certain try and forced St Julian’s to present the ball back to their 9 so he could summons his backs into play. A simple but effective dummy switch saw the Aber three quarters part like the red sea and the 10 strolled through like he was Moses.
0-7
There was a real arm wrestle going on up front, with every breakdown fiercely contested – neither pack wanting to give an inch. Momentum was swinging back and fore and both teams were struggling build pressure. Finally Aber got their rewards after a period of possession and were awarded a penalty after St Julian’s infringed at the ruck. After a brief consultation, Aber decided to take the 3 hard earned points.
3-7
Again from the kick off both sets of forwards were going at it like hammer and tongs. Aber slowly but surely seemed to be getting the edge and began making yards to go along with their lion share of possession. Abers backline up to this point seemed to be merely onlookers, but it takes centre Clarkey not even half a chance and he finds the smallest of gaps for a clean line break, he pins his ears back and gasses covering defence to cross the line.
HT – 10-7.
There was a miscommunication in the St Julian’s ranks from the kick off which saw the ball knocked on and Aber were awarded a scrum on the 10 meter line. An area of the game which had been evenly contested was about to see Aber gain full control. A powerhouse of a scrum by Aber saw them marching the visiting team back to Newport it seemed – with the penalty won Aber had a free play and number 8 Tracy picks the ball up and goes on a barnstorming run, shrugging off several tackles and shows a clean pair of heels to cross the line. A fantastic forward effort brilliantly finished off and Aber finally had some breathing space.
15-7
This seemed to rattle St Julians who began to lose their composure and consequently lost their discipline. An act of foul play resulted in a yellow card being shown, which was compounded by another yellow for chatting to the referee. Aber had a 2 man advantage for the next 10 minutes and had their eye set on gaining the 4 try bonus point.
Another powerful run from skipper Tracy saw how break through a week tackle but he still had a lot to do and showed a good turn of pace to cross over for Abers 3rd.
22-7
With time running out on the sin bins Aber were desperate to get the 4th, St Julians to their credit snuffed out any opportunity Aber created and were now back up to full compliment.
Aber were to find themselves on the back foot for the remaining 10 minutes as the referee seemed adamant on dishing out his full quota of yellow cards for the season in 1 half of rugby. A bit of hand bags on the Aber 22 saw replacement back row Boat run a good 30 meters to throw the feeblest punch ever, hitting no one, and nearly tripping over his own feet. I asked him about this afterwards, and I quote “well, I ran all that way I and I was there then wern I” Nevertheless the intent was there and the referee had no option other than to reach for the pocket. Skipper Tracy then tried to ask ref a question, probably wondering how you can yellow card someone for an air punch, unfortunately this also earned the skipper a yellow card. Within 1 minute at the next breakdown, replacement prop Jeff was penalised for hitting a ruck with a swinging arm, and before we knew it Aber were down to 12 men.
From going for the bonus point, Abers main objective now was to keep St Julians from crossing the whitewash. Being over 2 tries clear the game was all but won, but after leaking in soft tries in earlier games Aber showed enormous pride in their defence and was adamant not to let St Julians get passed even with a 3 man deficit. From 1 – 15 (or 1 – 12), the boys dug in and defended manfully and turned a negative situation with 3 yellows into a positive by not conceding.
FT – 22-7
There were a number of contenders for MOTM this week, however in such a close game, the turning point seemed to be that big scrum just after half time. After a lengthy discussion all 3 coaches chose Lewis Bevan as man of the match.
There is no league game next week, however we have secured a friendly against Crumlin. This will be great preparation for the week after where we face Llanhileth who have started the season with a bang.