WRU East One

Monmouth RFC 24 Nelson 46

ON a windless afternoon, Monmouth entertained league leaders Nelson knowing the scale of the task facing them, reports PETE WALTERS.

The first half was a revelation though, with Nelson only staying in the game by feeding off mistakes.

And at half-time, with a 21-17 lead, and the hosts having scored almost as many points as Nelson had conceded in the whole of their previous three winning matches, the signs were good.

Initially, both sides engaged in “ping-pong“ with long kicks into each other’s territories, but then a wild pass by Nelson saw centre Harry Whelan grab the opportunity to run in from 40m for the opening score at the end of the first quarter, which full-back Matt Tabb converted.

Some misjudgment in the Monmouth defence then saw scrum-half Ollie Scriven caught in possession though, and a spillage over the goal line made for an easy visitors’ try, although the conversion was missed (7-5).

A long Nelson kick up-field next resulted in further mishandling and took Nelson into a 12-7 lead.

But the hosts responded and after numerous rucks on the Nelson line the visitors cracked with Whelan going over again and Tabb converting (14-12).

Fly-half Lewis Bates, whose kicking was long and deep, then broke out to launch an excellent move, with much slick inter-passing amongst the Monmouth backs, complemented by an excellent jink inside out on the right wing.

And a few more winning phases saw second row Connor Cadle go over with the try converted for a 21-12 lead.

Wing Dan Dunmore was next to sparkle, but his lengthy break found no support when tackled, which possibly proved the “oh what might have been“ moment of the game.

And Nelson then kicked to the corner for touch and ground their way over with a driving maul to narrow the difference to four points at the break.

Prop Tom Green and back-rower Ollie Parks had carried well in the first half, but Nelson turned up the forward power to push Monmouth back in the second half, providing less opportunity, while the hosts were not helped by some disappointing line-out play.

And as a result Nelson went 24-21 ahead in the first 10 minutes, a lead which was never to be overturned.

While the weather was excellent in terms of pitch condition and the elements, excellent attacking skills were denied by a struggle to catch high balls.

And with defences being stretched, a penalty was awarded against Monmouth for a deliberate knock down, only for the strength of Amosa Nove in the centre to bring respite with a good break and a penalty gained at the ensuing ruck, which Tabb converted to tie the scores at 24-24.

But Nelson responded almost immediately, playing to their strengths by driving over in the corner from a maul following a line out.

Flanker Adam Roberts was noticeably putting himself about, but there was now some occasional casualness in defence, and as the players tired, Nelson used their forward power to control possession and then stretch the home defence with wide passing.

And the visitors added four more tries to stretch the winning margin to 46-24, leaving Monmouth disappointed given their good first half performance.

But there's no let up to the challenge, with the visit of high-flying Bedlinog this Saturday (October 18).