WRU East One

Blackwood 44 Monmouth 10

ON an excellent 4G pitch and in bright sunshine, league leaders Blackwood hosted their third game of the season against Monmouth.

The early season friendly saw Monmouth routed, but in the first league game there was encouraging improvement, so how far had the visitors progressed?

Blackwood have obviously developed well, with their slick routines and speedy play complemented by impressive quick thinking all round, and particularly their half-backs.

The hosts’ pace and support play proved key, backed up by a strong defence capable of frustrating the visitors.

Following a try-saving tackle by fullback Ben Evans and then a yellow card against Monmouth for a no-arms tackle, Blackwood made the breakthrough with a 12th-minute try in the corner.

Monmouth dug deep though, and territory was largely shared until 30 minutes in, when Blackwood took a quick penalty to go over for their second unconverted try (10-0).

Second row Shaun Hobbs was a tower of strength for Monmouth however, and he then gained some 35m with a mid-field break, swatting would-be tacklers aside before finding scrum-half Ollie Scriven to score, although fly-half Dan White hooked the conversion (10-5).

The visitors were soon back near the line, with wing Kester Mobbs-Morgan running back a clearance kick, as Monmouth continued pressing.

Blackwood‘s defence was strong though, and when the referee appeared to miss two consecutive host knock-ons, they scored near the posts to lead 17-5 at half-time, which within minutes of the restart, they increased from a penalty kick (20-5).

Both packs eagerly locked horns and there followed penalties on both sides and a yellow card against Blackwood under their posts.

The visitors nearly scored with a move on the left with the wing tackled into touch, but with a try still looking likely, a visiting forward then knocked on.

But Monmouth did then take advantage of the temporary reduction in numbers, centre Dan Dunmore stretching the defence on the right and going over near the corner to narrow the score (20-10).

A charged down clearance kick then saw momentum swing back, as Blackwood won a penalty for a high tackle in defence, which they took quickly to break through and add a further five points (25-10).

Monmouth responded through an excellent break by Scriven before he was illegally tackled, perhaps dangerously so, nearly scoring in the left corner, but unable to capitalise on the penalty due to staunch home defence.

Mistakes now started creeping into Monmouth’s game with a line-out missed and penalties incurred for not releasing.

And proving more adept at shifting the point of play, and with quick hands, Blackwood scored again as the game entered its final stages.

And there was more punishment in the closing minutes: firstly, following a set piece line-out move and then by moving the ball to their tall speedy left-wing to create a try in the corner for a 44-10 final score.

Not the best way to start 2026, but with Blaenavon dropping out of the league last week owing to a lack of players, leaving Monmouth just one place above bottom-side Abergavenny, they’ll hope for a much-needed win at Nelson this Saturday.

Elsewhere, a last-gasp penalty kick cost Chepstow victory by a single point 25-24 at home to high-flying East 3 rivals Caerleon, but stay third, with Machen away this weekend, while Usk host Pontypool United in E2.