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WRU NATIONAL BOWL 2017 - Round 2

Unbeaten Porthcawl travelled to Lawrence Park to take on a committed Pontycymer outfit in the WRU Bowl and came away with a resounding victory.

The score may suggest an entirely one-sided affair however Ponty made a game of it, their dogged determination having the Seaweeds under pressure at times. It was the visitors’ irresistible cutting edge in attack that finally told the story of the match.
Porthcawl got off to a great start after 10 minutes when a flowing movement sent the ball along the backs for wing Jake Thomas to fly over at the corner. Josh white’s superb touchline conversion added the extras for 0-7.

No.8 Tom Butcher had to leave the field with a dislocated thumb just minutes later, being replaced by Jake Furness.
From turnover ball on 15 minutes, the Seaweeds recycled quickly and centre Jon Phillips raced through, handing to Thomas who in turn found Furness at his elbow to take the pass and cross at the posts for a lovely try. White converted for 0-14.
Porthcawl’s pack, with skipper Richard Hnyda absent on work duties, still proved to have enough to take the game to Ponty and when second Row Nick Nutman forced another turnover, the ball moved to Thomas out wide and his pass put centre Gareth Rees in at the posts, with White converting for a half-time score of 0-21.

The second half started with a bang as Porthcawl again came out of defence, with Furness superb hands allowing Phillips to utilise the slope to kick ahead, with Rees like lightning to win the race for the touchdown, with White converting for 0-28, effectively putting the match well beyond Pontycymer’s reach.

However, the home pack enjoyed a sustained period of pressure with some determined driving play and they spent a good ten minutes keeping Porthcawl penned in their 22. As they applied scrum pressure, the referee awarded the home side a penalty try for 7-28.

With Jack Williams on for Gavin Williams at hooker, Porthcawl started getting it back together and a brilliant breakout from near their own line saw them score probably the try of the season. Phillips cut the initial break through midfield before finding wing Jordan Fox in support. He made ground to the home 22 before handing on to Furness who kick-stepped the home full-back to cross for a glorious score converted by White and 7-35.

Porthcawl’s tails were now well up and they moved the ball from everywhere as the match entered its closing minutes. Firstly substitute wing Alex Davies scored following superb play by White and Nutman, then Furness finished it all off with his hat-trick try at the posts, both tries converted by White with a flawless seven out of seven conversions and at 7-49, Porthcawl finished up with a fine result at full-time.

The Seaweeds move on, still unbeaten, to meet old rivals Bridgend Sports in a vital league match, at the Bandstand Field on Saturday.