WRU East Division One

Senghenydd RFC 18 
Monmouth 1st XV 15

Days of pouring rain left those journeying from Monmouth to Senghenydd on Saturday anxious for fear of flooded roads and a waterlogged pitch, reports PETE WALTERS.

But apart from those who had to divert because of a fallen tree in Crumlin, the weather was fine, even sunny, but turning to cold later, and the playing surface was fine, reports PETE WALTERS.

Monmouth kicked off, with a penalty soon resulting for holding onto the ball after a tackle, but soon play was in the visitors’ half as it was for a large proportion of the game.

One of many deep kicks by both teams was fielded by scrum-half Lewis Ryan near his 22 and having wrong- footed several chasers made a good 30-metre run down the touch-line before being shoulder-charged into touch.

It did his ribs no good but gained a talking to to the offender and a penalty kick.

Some mishandling by both teams made for exciting moments, but frustration, too.

But after one such fumble, Ryan was involved again by hacking the loose ball on and winning the race for a touchdown which fly-half Harry Johnson failed to convert.

Senghenydd were spurred on by Monmouth taking a 5-0 lead, and quickly showed the threat their two pacey wings represented, with a deep outside break on the left, thwarted only by a strong tackle by his opposing wing.

Pressure now was all courtesy of the home team and Monmouth did well rebuffing close quarter attack after attack with frequent tackles and with Johnson being relied upon to put in clearing kicks.

The visitors’ scrummaging was superior with line-outs fairly even, but the next incident of note was when Monmouth moved the ball out of their half and fullback Dan White came into the line.

A further pass would have possibly put his wing away, but he cut back inside and then kicked into Senghenydd strength which they capitalised upon, running over 50m for their first score for an unconverted try to draw level at 5-5.

The referee was fortunately on the ball as both the home touch judge and what looked like a dog walker flagged up the kick, whilst the Monmouth man rightly flagged it down.

Senghenydd’s open side flanker was a talented and physical force to reckon with throughout, dummying several defenders in one go and making 50 metres upfield on one occasion.

When stopped, a penalty led to touch in the left hand corner and from the maul that followed with two minutes to the break, Monmouth fell 10-5 behind.

Half-time brought the intervention of the musical chimes of the local ice-cream van summoning only the hardiest to buy, but to little avail as some were already affixed to yet another of their extra cool lagers.

Right wing Matt Tabb was soon buzzing after the restart with a piercing elusive run of some 25 metres including a hop and a skip over a prone body.

But Senghenydd responded with a phase of strong carries and offloads to pin the visitors in their own half until Monmouth mounted two attacks in succession, ending with three points from a relatively easy penalty for Johnson for an offside offence to make it 10-8 as players defended desperately.

Play returned with avengeance deep into the Monmouth half, where Tabb defending stoically could not resist an opportunity to grab the No 9 at the back of a ruck, incurring an inevitable penalty which led to a period of pressure which before long saw the score widen to 13-8.

Strangely now Monmouth began to substitute players for little obvious reason as far as supporters could see.

But then White received the ball in midfield and he spotted a gap and split the field apart to outrun defenders for a seven point score near the posts.

Monmouth led 15-13 with ten minutes to go, and with the visitors’ scrum resilient, a grubber kick to touch by Johnson regained territory once again.

Close to time, prop Luke Hunter suffered an ear injury and left the field right, whereupon, at the very next scrum Monmouth were driven back.

Senghenydd then moved the ball left along their backs and then switched it right for their winger to display remarkable hands to steal the game 18-15 with a try in the corner.

The hosts was jubilant at their win in this battle between those holding up the table and to their credit they just deserved it.

But it left one wondering whether or not Monmouth rely too heavily on high kicks, hoping for mistakes by their opponents even when they prove to be less error prone than one might hope.

Blaenavon at home this Saturday afternoon (January 21) will be a further test of such tactics and the enduring spirit of Monmouth’s players.

Usk lost 47-31 at home to Abertillery BG and will hope to bounce back when they host Blaina this Saturday.

Chepstow’s home match with Newport Saracens was rained off and they travel to Bedwellty at the weekend.