Rugby: Scrappy effort sees Beaufort lose by point

May 1 2008 by Our Correspondent, Gwent Gazette

Beaufort RFC 7 Caerleon RFC 8

THIS was the first of two league encounters Beaufort were due to play against Caerleon in the coming weeks to finish their season.

It was a scrappy and unsatisfactory match for the home side, whose performance was riddled with mistakes and missed scoring opportunities.

They had by far the lion’s share of the possession and despite playing against a strong first-half wind, kept their opponents locked inside their own territory.

They were unlucky not to have been awarded what appeared to be a good try early on and came tantalisingly close several times, only to be held up on the line. However, they were at times one-dimensional, without a Plan B to deliver on the day.

The visitors then came out of their shells to outwit the Beaufort defence for a corner try against the run of play. They almost did it again moments later, but for a courageous tackle from Kyle Purnell which stopped a certain try.

Beaufort made changes after the break and soon had the Caerleon scrum reeling backward, but it just wasn’t their day. When the next score came it was from the visitors, who converted a penalty for offside.

Some consolation came in the final quarter from a driving scrummage that allowed Jason Coombes to snatch a try. Matthew Jordan’s excellent touchline conversion separated the teams by only the narrowest of margins.

There were some fine individual efforts from Beaufort who could now sense victory within their grasp. Mike Vaughan was constantly keeping the visitors’ defence occupied in a series of explosive bursts.

Mike White, now switched to standoff, stepped his way through the cover defence, only to be pulled up short, while flanker Justin Bennett came frustratingly close following a typical storming run.

Unfortunately, the vital score eluded them, leaving the visitors, who kept their composure throughout, to sit on their slim lead to ride down the game clock.