RGC 34 Swansea 20
Saturday 29th November 2024
A crowd of 935 braved the Storm Bet to see RGC make it 4 home wins in a row against Swansea at Stadiwm CSM.
The opening minutes had the ball in the air, as both sides looked to test each other with kicks before RGC took the lead with a penalty. Billy McBryde split the posts from a kick inside his own half.
From the restart, the visitors hit back with a driving maul that got over the whitewash. Josh Phillips added the extra 2 points.
It was a fairly stop-start game, though mainly stop, as both sides spilt the ball at times, which meant the referee's whistle was in plenty of use.
RGC started to move through phases and carry hard, but again, the move broke down with a knock-on.
Minutes went by and so did much of the game without much activity before Swansea extended the lead with another Phillips penalty.
A high ball from that, challenged by Dion Cross, panicked the All Whites' defence and sparked the crowd into voice.
The Gogs opted to kick to touch with the penalty and were rewarded when the attacking maul got going and Jac Petch-Jones claimed the try. McBryde was unlucky with the penalty as it struck the upright.
Swansea again went on the front foot from the restart, and shifted the ball well through the phases but RGC managed to do enough to stop them from extending the lead
Sam Stoddard was sent to the sin-bin for the Gogs, with Swansea cranking up the pressure
The Gogs made their best break on the break when scrum-half Connor Dever spotted a gap before setting up McBryde but ended with Swansea penalty.
That lead was extended on the whistle with another McBryde penalty
At the start of the 2nd half RGC continued to keep the score ticking over with a penalty from the boot of McBryde again.
RGC regained the lead as the half-time whistle approached when McBryde hit a penalty to make it 11-10
Dan Owen started to make some good yards with the ball in hand setting up RGC in attack. It was those attacks that the visitors were struggling with and were again penalised. RGC took full advantage with McBryde again successful with the boot.
Swansea hit back with the best move of the game when Phillips split the defence with a run and then passed to Callum Dodd who sailed in for the score.
The game suddenly opened up and Dion Jones made some yards RGC were again on the front foot as Swansea scrambled in defence
RGC picked up the pace around the breakdown and got to the line, before Sam Willaims ran over for the try and McBryde added the extras.
Line speed was also increased from the Gogs, with Rhys Tudor chasing down the ball causing Swansea to force the pass.
The space opened up. Dan Owen broke down the wing, Pedr Jones went close, and McBryde finished and converted it.
RGC were pushing for the BP try, and were camped on the Swansea line but came away empty-handed when it looked like they were over on a couple of occasions
Swansea had another go with the driving maul as it rumbled to the line, but credit to the Gogs defence who put a stop to it as it arrived at the whitewash.
Dion Jones again glided through the tackles and set up another break, as the home side searched for the try.
Swansea continued to attack and winger Dodd sprinted down the wing but was chased and tackled into touch superbly by Sam Stoddard
Sam Willaims was a nuisance at the breakdown, winning turnovers
The All whites did get the score when Gemine strode through the tackles and set up Tremblett for the try on the whistle
Head Coach Josh Leach saw his side push on in the 2nd half “I thought our discipline was poor in the 1st half, and we gave them territory as a result. We had spoken about that pre-game, but after coming in at half time we addressed it and you could see the difference both on the field and scoreboard.
We took the penalties when they were on offer, built the score and also built the momentum, establishing a good lead.
Credit to Dylan Alford who made his debut, and made a huge impact, and it didn’t look like his 1st game in an RGC shirt.
We knew these 4 away games were coming up. The boys are excited about spending some good time together on the bus taking us up to Christmas (their families are fuming!)
It starts with Aberavon next Saturday, and we look forward to getting on the road again”
Follow us:
