Monmouth exited the Swalec Cup on Saturday when 1st Division Rumney beat them 55-3 but it was not without a degree of honour for the local boys who had the home team worried and almost permanently on the back foot for the first half an hour.

Monmouth have been going through a rough patch because of a large number of injuries to 1st XV players but this time with two Youth players on board and numerous Druids they gave as good as they got but in the periods when fitness began to tell the speed and class of the opposing backs cut them to shreds scoring 9 tries in all to a single but well taken penalty by full back Dave Brace.

With the wind at their backs, Monmouth camped in Rumney's half for a quarter of the game causing them to eventually receive a warning for persistent off-side so desperate were they to keep Monmouth out. But these were crucial minutes during which the visitors needed to cross the line and almost certainly, if they had, it may have been a different result.

But Rumney braved the storm and began to exert pressure of their own. Monmouth's defence creaked a few times but was spared by the too eager errors of the home team until 30 minutes into the game they spread the ball wide to the left and scored their first unconverted try.

Monmouth to their credit bounced right back and were rewarded with a successful kick at goal for stamping which earned Rumney a yellow card and the sight of a well flighted kick on the wind from Brace.

But just as one would have expected Monmouth to capitalise on the forward departure, Rumney took encouragement from their first score and the tiring legs of a Monmouth pack that had played its heart out and ran in three tries in quick succession in the remaining seven minutes before half-time to stretch the score to 26-3.

To have turned around at 5-3 might have given Monmouth the hope they needed but they now had a mountain to climb with a good start needed from the kick-off but what they got instead was an early try against them which made it more a matter of trying to keep the score down.

But the young speedsters in Rumney's three-quarters were now on fire and too elusive for the despairing clutches of Monmouth's defenders. There were flashes of good play by individuals but largely in a defensive mode and it was not surprising to see oldster Stacey Edwards often being the one to steal the ball and take it back to the opponents, and encouraging to see young Rhys Ricketts scrambling the ball into touch to prevent yet another score.

Hopefully this far more committed display will be a turning of the tide for Monmouth, the next test for whom is the traditional Boxing Day derby against Usk where the Druids kick off at 11a.m. followed by the 1st XVs doing battle on the Sports Ground at 2.30p.m. with food and entertainment galore in the clubhouse afterwards to round off the festive break.