Ravens dish out another big beating at Builth

Jan 28 2008 by Anthony Woolford, South Wales Echo

HAVING seen off local rivals Bryncethin in round three, racking up over 60 points in the process, Bridgend dished out similar punishment to mid-Wales hopefuls Builth Wells.

The Division Two East side came into the match on the back of an indifferent campaign which sees them fifth bottom of their division, while the Ravens have gone from strength to strength since the end of November.

The status of the sides was soon evident as the visitors took a commanding 24-3 lead into the interval.

It all started hopefully for Builth when they crept into an early lead thanks to a penalty by John Thurston.

But that was their only joy to the break, although Thurston capped an impressive individual performance with a second half try that made it all worthwhile for the home supporters.

Despite their bravery, the hosts were firmly put in their place by the confident Ravens, although their director of rugby Justin Lewis stood proudly at the end.

“I thought we did the division proud,” he said. “We worked hard against a very well organised side.”

Bridgend player-coach Chris Stephens agreed.

“Builth deserve all the credit for the fight they put up. These games are always difficult for the fancied sides and there will be tougher battles ahead,” he said.

An interested spectator was Wales and Scarlets wing Mark Jones, a son of Builth, who saw Bridgend run in three tries in the final quarter to stretch their advantage.

The visitors ran in six tries in all, while skipper Gareth David had a field day, converting all of them, adding a penalty and also crossing once.

Wing Dan Connolly was first over for the Ravens, other tries coming from hooker Ieuan Dobbs, centres Gareth Howells and David Bishop and scrum-half Lee Ronan.

Having three times reached the semi-final stage of the competition in the last four years, Stephens will be looking to end a disappointing campaign on a high note.