Wednesday 23rd September 2015.
Double Ham gives Neath their chips.
Gowerton 1st XV: 36 Neath/Port Talbot Coll: 0
Six tries allow 1st XV to maintain winning start.
Gowerton School 1st XV continued their good start to the season in the Aquazone sponsored Ospreys league when they scored six unanswered tries to defeat the visiting Neath Port Talbot College 36-0.
Try scorer Lewis Hyatt releases his outside backs.
The game was evenly fought up front with Neath hooker Nathan Edwards competing strongly, but the work of flanker Max Harris in the lineout and at the breakdown earned him the man of the match award.
Man of the match Max Harris powers forward.
The hosts took the lead in the 3rd minute, when a slick move behind the scrum allowed fly half Milo Fleming to breach the Neath defensive line, prop Ryan Hughes was on hand to continue the move and when the ball was recycled scrum half Tom Ham showed both power and pace to evade three defenders and cross for a try that full back Olly Smith converted.
Neath then enjoyed a good spell of their own with fly half Jack Jones twice cutting the Gowerton line, but the support was unable to get to him and the visitors were unable to convert the chances.
Gowerton increased their lead in the 15th minute when lock Sam Clark powered into the Neath half, full back Smith fed wing Lewis Hyatt 30 metres out and he still had plenty of work to do to beat the final two defenders, but he did it confidently to score in the corner.
Milo Fleming looks for a way through.
Six minutes later, Gowerton added a third try when hooker Ben Brown took a scrum against the head. Half backs Ham and Fleming attacked the blind side and strong running centre Anthony Osborne powered over.
Sam Clark hands off his opposite number.
A fourth try arrived a minute later and was the result of the impressive work of fly half Fleming who stripped the ball in the tackle on the visitors 10 metre line and sprinted clear to score. In the 31st minute Gowerton’s fifth try arrived and it was again a fine individual effort, this time from scrum half Ham who gathered an overthrown line out from the visitors 40 metres out and brushed aside two would be tacklers to cross beneath the posts for his second try. Full back Smith added the extras and at the break Gowerton held the advantage 29-0.
David Carpanini and Ben Brown double up in the tackle.
In the second period, Gowerton continued to enjoy the better of things with centre Jordan Richards an incisive attacker and No.8 Ethan Harris and lock Jason Stagg both working tirelessly, however Neath’s defence was unflinching with centre Callum Roach particularly impressive. Both teams came close to scoring but it wasn’t until the final minute that either defence was breached, prop David Carpanini driving over from 10 metres. Full back Smith added the extras and the final whistle followed.
Photographs: Steffan Tyrrell yr 13.
