Rugby: Llanharan crush promotion hopes

May 1 2008 by Mari Ropstad, Pontypridd Observer

Llanharan 24 Caerphilly 19

TABLE-TOPPING Caerphilly came to the Dairyfield in search of a win that would have kept their promotion dream alive.

But they came up against an in form Llanharan outfit, and returned to the castle town with just a losing bonus point to their credit.

The Dairymen failed to win a single match in their first eight fixtures, but have since won nine and lost four moving them up to sixth in the table.

The pack has become a force to be reckoned with, and the visitors found the driving mauls orchestrated by experienced scrum half Greg Jones difficult to deal with.

The huge boot of outside half Gethin Worgan was another factor, constantly driving the opposition back towards their own line, whilst alongside him centre James Harris was a constant threat in open play.

Worgan gave Llanharan an early lead with a penalty, but failure to clear the ball saw Caerphilly go for a penalty lineout that resulted in second row Chris Payne driving over.

Steffan Sankala then ran clear on the wing for the visitors, and Dean Watkins' conversion gave the Castlemen a 12-6 half time lead.

But Llanharan started the second half with a flourish, and a nice break from centre Lloyd Thomas led to a try by hard working back row man Justin Jones.

Worgan converted and then added a penalty to create a 16-12 lead and take his seson's tally to 151.

Then, with quarter of an hour to go, Nikki Allen was sent off for Llanharan. And it looked ominous as former Dairyman Steffan Edwards drove over after another kick was ineffectively dealt with, Watkins adding the points to put Caerphilly 19-16 ahead.

But Llanharan went straight back on the attack and alert loose head Adrian Ford pounced on a botched lineout for a crucial score.

Caerphilly tried desperately to respond, but the blitz defence with James and Thomas kept them penned back and Gethin Worgan's drop goal put the seal on a pleasing win.