Rugby: Record falls as title secured

May 1 2008 by David Williams, Merthyr Express

Bedlinog 15
Gilfach Goch 22

IT HAD to happen sometime, and with the championship already won you couldn’t blame the Bedlinog players for having an off day – even if it did mean their 45-match unbeaten run coming to an end.

With the Division Three South East title and promotion already in the bag, the Foxes were second best to Gilfach, who deserved their victory.

Other than one or two spells of pressure in the second half, Bedlinog never really looked like breaking through a well-marshalled Gilfach defence.

They took the lead during the opening minute as the hosts were penalised at the first breakdown and outside-half Gareth Walters made it 3-0 with the boot.

His opposite number Richard Heath drew Bedlinog level soon after, but just as the home forwards were beginning to show themselves, the visitors took the lead.

The ball found its way to outside-centre Michael Hughes, who cut through to cross. Walters converted.

Up front, Gilfach had the upper hand for most of the match as they were powerful in the scrum and disrupted the Bedlinog lineout on numerous occasions.

The rest of the half was a battle between the two No 10s, with Walters and Heath trading kick for kick.

Two Walters kicks made it 16-3, before a Heath double brought it back to 16-9. Five minutes before the break it went to 16-12.

After a break by the Gilfach scrum-half on halfway led to a penalty for holding on, the Foxes looked to have lost the advantage with a poor kick to touch, but back-chat from Gilfach gave Heath the chance and he slotted his fourth kick.

Bedlinog centre Scott Giles thought he was in for a try just after half-time, but he couldn’t get past the last man.

A drop-goal by Walters extended the lead to 19-12, before Heath brought it back to 19-15, and the hosts could sniff a win.

Another Walters penalty made it 22-15, and for the last 10 minutes and the whole of the seven minutes of injury time, the Foxes tried everything to draw level.

But knock-on after knock-on, and stern Gilfach tackling, spelt the end of the Foxes’ long unbeaten league run.