Monmouth Druids 38 Machen RFC 52

CHRISTMAS cobwebs may have been expected, but a surprisingly large crowd saw the quick-off-the-mark Druids centre Tom Tedstone run the full length of the field to put them seven points up after only four minutes of play on Saturday.

But Machen came alive and within five minutes had bamboozled the Monmouth defence to draw level 7-7.

The game swung the visitors’ way with a succession of converted tries bringing a half-time lead of 7-28 to the Caerphilly side.

Despite the score, the Druids had shown some individual flare during the half, not least of all from the rampaging runs of prop Charlie Rogers, who was sadly the victim of a try-saving tackle from behind and suffered a fractured ankle as his reward.

Given the lengthy delay for treatment, the referee sensibly blew up for an early half-time, following which, and a rousing team talk, scrum-half Dan Dunmore led the way, narrowing the deficit to 14 points almost from the restart.

Suitably inspired, the Druids pounded the visitors line and No. 8 Elliot ‘Elmo’ Phillips narrowed the score further.

A forward pass prevented Machen from quickly lengthening their score, but Dunmore then broke away in response finding Phillips inside to draw the scores level 28-28.

And a quick penalty by a Monmouth forward then took play towards the bottom right corner, where a poor chip kick ahead brought a defender’s fumble, with Phillips again on hand to take a 33-28 lead, soon extended to 38-28 by a try again from a ruck near the line.

But the hosts started to flag somewhat from this point, and Machen used this to create several overlaps and score three more tries in a rampaging finish to secure a 52-38 away win.

A sunny if chilly opportunity for fresh air and some fast and open rugby for players and spectators alike to welcome in 2026.