Unfortunately, Usk were unable to field a full front row, so the scrums had to be uncontested from the start. What's more, due to injuries and unavailability, there had to be some adjusting of the Monmouth backline, as no regular scrum half was available.
Playing under floodlights did cause a few problems, especially with 'up and unders'. Monmouth gave away a penalty at a ruck after a few minutes, and Usk converted it to take the lead.
After some deep kicks by outside half Haydn Palmer, Monmouth were awarded a penalty, and chose to kick for a lineout in the Usk '22'. Second row Luke Rose made a good catch, a form he maintained throughout the game, being the main source of lineout ball.