Tuesday 21^st March 2017.

Cup despair for Gowerton.

Gowerton year 11: 13 Olchfa year 11: 20.

Clayfield brace not enough as yr 11 bow out with pride

Captain Iwan Jones waits for possession at a ruck.

            Gowerton’s year 11 hosted neighbours Olchfa in the quarter finals of the Swansea schools’ cup and in a very keenly contested game it was the visitors who came out on top and progressed to a semi final tie away to Bishopston.

Will Griffiths competes for possession at a lineout.

       The recent poor weather meant that the game had been in doubt until kick off, but the excellent surface at Gowerton RFC meant that conditions underfoot were good and encouraged running rugby.

The hosts were on the front foot from the start with scrum half and captain Iwan Jones prompting his team intelligently from the base of the scrum and with the front row of hooker Tom McCann, props Ethan Truelove and Tom Clarke and lock Ben Grunhut all carrying strongly they dominated territory for the first quarter. They had opportunities to score on several occasions but a combination of indifferent running angles and committed defence from the visitors with hooker Jaime Fairbrini and No.8 Jaxon James both prominent, kept their line intact.

With confidence boosted by their strong defensive effort, the visitors came into their own and with No.8 James dominating the contact area and a constant threat with ball in hand they pressed for the opening score and it was Gowerton’s turn to have to defend. They did so with a real commitment of their own and with the back row of Leon Bevan, Lewis Grove and Will Griffiths all tackling resolutely Olchfa were initially denied. However, they continued to press and, despite the wind and squally showers, crossed in the 21^st minute when impressive handling in the difficult conditions allowed hooker Fairbrini to score.

Preparing to scrum down.

       Gowerton responded impressively and fly half Cameron Clayfield scored a brace of tries in a three minute period as half time approached. The first came after the excellent running angles of full back Tom Barrington and wing Jacob Williams set up a position in the visitors 22, quick ball was won at the ruck and Clayfield spotted a gap in the defensive line and darted through to tie the scores. Then he won a turnover on halfway, kicked ahead and won the chase to ground the ball for a score that looked likely to give his side the lead at the break. However, Olchfa had other ideas. They attacked from the kick off and hooker Fairbrini grabbed his second try when he powered over in the corner. Full back Finn’s excellent touchline conversion gave his side a 12-10 advantage at the interval.

Gowerton’s defensive line was well organised.

       The second period was a tense affair with the wind and rain making handling difficult and defences on top. For Gowerton, the kicking of scrum half Jones regularly gained his side territory, but the key players were the visitors’ hooker Fairbrini and No.8 James whose dynamic display earned him the man of the match award-both tackled and carried aggressively to give their side the edge. The visitors stretched their lead with a penalty with 13 minutes to go and then strong running centre Ollie Winchester put Olchfa two scores clear with 10 minutes left when he sprinted clear from 40 metres.

A late penalty from scrum half Jones gave the hosts hope, but Olchfa deservedly held out to progress to the semi-final.