Ivor Jones Cup semi-final

Monmouth Druids 30 Abergavenny Quins 29

THERE was a whirlwind start to the Ivor Jones Cup semi-final between Monmouth Druids and Abergavenny Quins on Thursday evening, with the hosts racing into a 17-11 lead courtesy of tries from Ollie Park, Liam Churches and Ajay Hodges, with Josh Murphy converting one, reports PETE WALTERS.

But the Quins hit back as their wing went down the left and cut inside for a converted try near the posts for an 18-17 half-time advantage.

A good crowd exceeded what one might normally see for a first XV game and the support for both sides was very apparent.

Quins were fired up by their half-time talk and quickly extended the lead to 23-17 by again spreading the ball wide to the left.

Monmouth made their best gains by speedy long carries from the likes of Park and Joe Impey, and having then moved play to within 10m of the visitors’ line, a stolen line-out set Jack Churches on an unstoppable charge to again take the lead (24-23).

Abergavenny ran the ball back from the restart and were all but certain of scoring when they knocked on.

Play see-sawed dramatically with an exchange of successful penalty kicks, and although the referee was having to put up with some abuse for what were perceived to be partisan and strange decisions, it was clear he was doing his best to play it as he saw it.

The touch judge helped persuade him to change the second penalty decision, awarding Monmouth a simple shot in front of the posts instead, to move the scores to 27-26.

But when Quins edged in front 29-27, it seemed all was over as the final whistle approached.

That is until deep in extra time, Monmouth secured another penalty which Harley Thorpe with the final kick converted to seal a dramatic 30-29 win.

The final is on Saturday,, May 10, at Pontypool United against Crickhowell, who also squeezed home 27-26 at Abersychan.

Monmouth Youth 10 Ebbw Vale Youth 31

MONMOUTH Youth XV on their first competitive outing since their formation earlier in the season were immediately put under pressure by a substantial Vale squad.

In no time their line was threatened but an attempted cross kick was called back for a penalty which resulted in a line-out and a driving maul and they were driven over the line to trail 7-0.

After some early scrum resets and a little bit of “afters“, play settled and the Monmouth pack began giving as good as they got, showing that their weeks of practice had worked out, with a try credited to tighthead prop Freddie Hicks, driven over from a line-out, though the two extra points went begging.

A quick penalty moved fast through the hands to the right then saw the visitors lead 14-5 at half-time.

The hosts’ pack were putting the visitors under pressure at some of the set pieces, and fly-half Rowan Watson showed how to exploit a dog-leg defence with an excellent break, making 35m before being dragged into touch.

Vale were undoubtedly the larger and stronger though, and recovered by moving the ball fast to the left wing and over the line to make it 19-5.

Despite causing the visitors to collapse scrums, Vale’s power secured another score from a penalty near the line (26-5).

Monmouth found their way back up field and another penalty secured a line out in the corner which they successfully drove over for another unconverted try, this time from hooker Arthur Watson-Miller.

Leading by example, captain and centre Josh Meredith made a great run out of defence, from which a quick penalty gained another 20m only for a lack of support.

Players were giving their all, but Vale had the final say squeezing in one more unconverted try for a 31-10 win.

The visitors were obviously more seasoned as a team, and had far greater numbers, but there were great examples of individual talent along with an obvious good team spirit and determination.

Well done Monmouth Youth XV.