Wednesday 21^st October 2015.

Effort aplenty but no reward for 1st XV.

Gowerton School 1^st XV: 7 Christ College, Brecon 1^st XV: 41

The Gowerton and Christ College Brecon teams pictured with Robert’s widow Pam Evans (in the centre).

Gowerton School’s 1^st XV entertained Christ College, Brecon in the 5^th annual Memorial game. The match was played in memory of the school’s former Head of PE, Robert Evans. Robert was a highly respected member of the local community who was remembered as a very talented sportsman who had played both rugby and cricket to representative level. More importantly he was respected for the values of honesty, integrity, humility and sportsmanship that he epitomised both on and off the field of play.

At the final whistle, the visitors were comfortable victors on the scoreboard, but the final result didn’t reflect the very competitive nature of the game and in the second half the visitors had to withstand long periods of pressure in their 22.

Gowerton applied the early pressure and were twice held up over the visitors’ line in the early minutes. However, in the 4^th minute their talented fly half Phil Jones, who has been playing senior rugby with Swansea RFC this season, was injured making a tackle and had to be stretchered off. It was confirmed after the game that he had fractured his jaw.

Initially the hosts were rocked by the severity of the injury and with the visitors running powerfully and offloading impressively they scored three tries in the next quarter with flanker and captain Alex Ryan, centre Fred Davies and No.8 Sam Maggs all crossing. Centre James Newey converted all three.

The hosts gradually came to terms with the loss of their fly half and responded with a try 5 minutes before half time. Scrum half Milo Fleming and centre Steffan Tyrrell both made ground before offloading to full back Tom Ham who scored a try that wing Olly Smith converted.

In the second half, the visitors applied the early pressure and increased their lead in the 40^th minute when No.8 Maggs attacked the blind side and fly half Will Holloway crossed. Three minutes later they increased their lead when Newey kicked a penalty after the hosts failed to release in their 22.

For the next ten minutes, Gowerton enjoyed a period of pressure deep inside the visitors’ half with captain and prop Tom Northey and hooker Ben Brown both carrying strongly and Tyrrell, Ham, Fleming and centre Jordan Richards all probed for openings but Christ College’s defence, with hooker Trystan Williams to the fore, was both well organised and unyielding and refused to be breached.

With 15 minutes remaining, the visitors turned the ball over under their posts and showed their pace on the counter attack for wing Oliver Davies-Poulson to cross in the corner. From the kick off, Gowerton pressed forward again with lock Jason Stagg and wing Adam Beddow both doing well, but again, there was no way through Christ College’s impressive defensive line and again when they turned the ball over on their try line, their pace allowed them to counter attack. Initially, they were denied by a fantastic tackle by Tom Ham, but when the ball was recycled wing Davies-Poulson crossed a second time, centre Newey added the extras to complete the scoring.

At full time, the visitors were deserving winners, but the game had been a fitting tribute to the hosts’ former Head of PE who would have been encouraged by the skill and power of the visitors, but just as importantly by the resilience, determination and never-say-die attitude of the hosts.