Essential Win for Youth - 20/02/2010

LLANHARAN YOUTH 21 RHIWBINA 3
This was the one that Llanharan had to win to take over at the top of the table from their Cardiff opponents.
It was essential also to restore the reputation that had been somewhat dented by a 37-15 reverse in Rhiwbina back in September, the young Dairymen’s only upset in the league to date..
However, coach Jeff Pick built up confidence going into the game by stressing to his young team that they had improved greatly in the intervening period, and Zach O’Driscoll’s men emphasised the point with a telling start.
A precise kick off from Chris Williams allowed Scott Malone to put in a big hit, creating the penalty that Harley Thomson put over.
Although Rhiwbina had their own share of pressure, Llanharan’s defence was sound, illustrating the benefit of a lot of work on the training field.
At the other end they scored a good try, Keegan Rees doing damage in midfield and Thomson supporting on his shoulder to finish off.
He later added another penalty and with the visitors’ only response a penalty of their own, it was Llanharan who went in to halftime with a useful 11-3 lead, allowing Rhiwbina a solitary penalty.
Victory was assured by two more tries after the restart. First the home pack pushed their opponents off the ball allowing replacement Scott Jones to beat men and send Malone over.
Then, a series of drives ended with a free kick from which Jordan Jones burrowed his way to he line.
The score seemed to signal a loss of composure by the Cardiff team and it was just as well the final whistle soon sounded although Llanharan showing admirable discipline in front of a big crowd.

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