ABERGAVENNY travelled to play neighbours Usk in a WRU East Two derby on Saturday, which was well supported by a large crowd.

Usk began the game attacking the Aber line, but a breakdown in the attack allowed wing flyer Anthony Squire to gather the loose ball and race away to score the opening try, converted by Rhys Jones.

Ref takes 10 minutes to set scrum

Later in the first half there was an extraordinary passage of play where the referee insisted on resetting the scrum for a full ten minutes, which was finally ended when Usk were awarded a penalty and scored a try through Sam Cross from the resulting driving line-out, converted by Tom Welford to level the scores at 7-7.

11 points came from the Usk boot
11 Usk points came from the boot of Tom Welford (GarethWRobertsphotography)

Abergavenny were also soon down to 13 men following two yellow cards, a numerical advantage which saw Usk’s Josh Guy go over for a 12-7 half-time lead.

After the restart, Usk continued to pressurise and two further tries soon followed through Welford and Gethin Thomas, taking them into a 22 -7 lead.

Morgan King then came on for the visitors and soon made an impact and was rewarded with a try, converted by Jones (22-14).

Abergavenny clear the ball under pressure from Usk
Abergavenny clear the ball under pressure from Usk (GarethWRobertsphotography)

Having secured their try bonus point, Usk now kicked for goal at every opportunity, and three Welford penalty conversions extended their lead to 31-14.

Ryan Lewis in his first game for Abergavenny then made an immediate impact scoring their third try converted by Jones to conclude the scoring, resulting In a 31-21 win for Usk, lifting them above their rivals to sixth.

Monmouth RFC players sweated in 70 degree temperatures in the sauna
Monmouth RFC players sweated in 70 degree temperatures in the sauna (Monmouth RFC)

Monmouth didn’t play at the weekend, but had a “great recovery and wellbeing session” at Stone rock lodge in Chepstow saw players experience temperatures of 70 degrees in the sauna and 5 degrees in water.

Monmouth players’ sauna-cold dip session

The sauna-cold dip session assisted with physical recovery, relaxation, and allowed players to learn the benefits of contrast therapy, including resilience and breath-work.

A chilled out player in the ice bath
A chilled out player in the ice bath (Monmouth RFC)

And the evening was rounded off with pizzas all round at the Stone Rock Restaurant.

Teams now have a few weeks off during the Nations Championship international break, with Wales hosting Japan in Cardiff this Saturday (November 7), kick-off 4.40pm.