Merthyr strengthened their position at the top of the Principality Premiership this weekend, as they brushed aside Pontypridd in a second consecutive inter-region derby. Meanwhile, Cardiff came away with two bonus points following a narrow defeat to Llandovery at Church Bank.
Merthyr 30 Pontypridd 21
Following last week's win over Cardiff, Merthyr rolled into Saturday's inter-region derby with momentum and confidence, and this was evident to see in the opening affairs.
Pontypridd were pinned at the scrum inside their own half, allowing Matthew Jarvis to step up and open the scoring from the boot.
The fiery affair of a local derby was clear to see, and tempers boiled over with only 15 minutes on the clock, as a brawl broke out on the half way line.
This resulted in both sides being reduced to 14 men, with Pontypridd prop, Corey Domachowski, shown a red card, while Merthyr's Craig Locke was sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes.
However, as play resumed, the visitors found themselves crossing the whitewash for the game's opening try, with Dale Stuckey diving over in the corner and former Wales international, Ceri Sweeney, converting from out wide.
With Pontypridd temporarily down to 13 men, as scrum half Wayne Evans received treatment, Merthyr regained the lead in clincal fashion, creating an overlap out wide for Richard Carter to cross over.
The hosts extended that lead before the break, as an inside pass from former Cardiff Blues outside half, Gareth Davies, released wing Alex Howman clear to race in. Jarvis' conversion made it 15-7 at the interval.
When play continued for the second half, Pontypridd were clearly motivated to work their way back into the game. Chris Dicomidis crossed the whitewash for the visitors, only to be denied by referee Ben Whitehouse, who ruled a forward pass in the build up.
The decision proved costly for the visitors, as Merthyr broke from the resulting scrum through Josh Martin, who put an inch-perfect hack through for Howman to gather for his second score of the afternoon.
Morgan Sieniawski struck back for Ponty, following good work by Sweeney and Cardiff Blues academy's Alun Lawrence in the build-up.
But the trademark power of the Merthyr pack was effective, and a driving line-out sent Nathan Trevett over the line to seal the bonus point victory.
A Geraint Walsh try seemed to have salvaged a losing bonus point for the visitors, but a late Jarvis penalty was a bitter blow for Ponty, who left the Wern empty-handed.
Llandovery 26 Cardiff 24
Cardiff looked to bounce back from last week's derby defeat to Merthyr, as they travelled to Church Bank to take on Llandovery.
The visitors were fastest out of the starting blocks, as a dominating opening 10-minutes saw Will Rees-Hole run in under the posts.
Gareth Thompson added the conversion, but the Blue and Blacks were soon over for their second try of the afternoon, as they created the space for Dan Fish, who continues his comeback from injury, to cross over out wide.
Thompson's conversion struck the uprights on this occasion. Llandovery got on the scoreboard through a pair of Jack Maynard penalties, with Fraser Young being sent to the sin bin, after Cardiff were repeatedly penalised.
An error from Llandovery, who attempted to play from deep, allowed Rees-Hole to scoop up loose possession and feed Adam Jones through for a score. But another penalty - and another yellow card, this time for Rory Pitman - allowed Maynard to close the gap to 19-9 as the teams went in for half time.
Llandovery took advantage of the two-man advantage early in the second half, with Richard Brooks going over for an early score. The hosts enjoyed a period of dominance, which evenutally saw Lee Williams breaking past the Cardiff defence to give his side the lead.
Maynard added another penalty to extend his side's lead, but in the dying minutes of the game, Rees-Hole found a way over the line to seal his side a bonus point and gave them hope of salvaging a draw. However, Thompson's conversion was off-target, and Cardiff left Church Bank with two bonus points.
Upcoming Fixtures
- Cardiff v Neath (Cardiff Arms Park, 24/02, 11.30am)
- Newport v Pontypridd (Rodney Parade, 24/02, 11.30am)
- Ebbw Vale v Merthyr (Eugene Cross Park, 25/02, 2.30pm)