CUP FINAL – South Wales Jets 62 Aberavon Fighting Irish 26
Ian Golden at The Gnoll
South Wales Jets scored a record points haul in a Welsh Final on Saturday, beating Aberavon Fighting Irish 62-26, to lift the first WRL Conference Cup.
The winning margin was just four points short of that particular record, achieved by Bridgend Blue Bulls in 2005, making this the biggest win in a final for 21 years.
Jets had already clinched the league title, which has earned them a spot in next year’s RFL Challenge Cup, but this outstanding win kept their unbeaten record for the season.
They didn’t have it all their own way in the first half, with Aberavon making sure that Jets knew they were in a match, but after half-time, Jets’ fitness kicked in, and this, coupled with some injuries to Fighting Irish players, helped the Jets to victory.
Darrel Moyle gave Jets the lead in under three minutes with a try under the sticks. Kavan Phillips converted.
The Jets also defended well at the start. Despite giving away three penalties in as many minutes, their defence stayed firm.
They scored their second on 17 minutes, when player of the match Zak Williams showed a glimpse of his recent semi-professional game past by zooming through the Aberavon line and scoring under the sticks. Phillips converted.
Aberavon got into the game on 23 minutes when Owen Thomas used his strength to power over the line. The kick was missed.
And when Shane Lee saw yellow for a high tackle, Aberavon struck back again, with Sean Waldeck finding a gap to score and converting his own try.
However, despite still being down to 12, Jets were next on the board. George Groves dived over from dummy half, with the conversion attempt hitting the post.
Then from kick-off, whilst still a player down, Dai Hooper jigged through the Aberavon players to ground. Phillips converted to put the score on to 22-10 at half-time.
With Lee back on the pitch, Jets continued to shine. Jamie Marsh made it look easy as he glided his way through to score. Phillips added the goal to give Jets a three-try cushion.
From kick-off, Ben Pinnock slipped through a gap for the next try, with Marsh adding the extras this time.
But after an error gave them the ball back, Aberavon scored their third, Conor O’Callaghan went in under the sticks, and Waldeck converted.
Owen Thomas followed that up with an unconverted try, and Aberavon were back to being 14 points adrift.
But Aberavon’s injury toll increased, and Jets took advantage. Pinnock scored in the corner, but Marsh missed the kick.
Captain Dean Higgs increased the lead by scoring under the sticks. Marsh converted.
Aberavon did hit back again through Cody Rees, with that try giving him the award for the top try scorer in the league this year, with Waldeck converting to bring the score back to 44-26.
Higgs then went through for his second of the match, with Jamie Marsh’s goal not only bringing up the half-century but giving him the award for the league’s top points scorer this season.
Craig Lewis scored Jets’ tenth try, then Groves rubbed it in with the 11th, with Marsh extending his points record with two further goals.
SHIELD FINAL – BRIDGEND BLUE BULLS 30 RHONDDA OUTLAWS 28
Ian Golden at The Gnoll
Bridgend looked to be cruising to a win at half-time when they went in 18-0 up, but they didn’t count on a Rhondda comeback that turned the second half of this Welsh Shield Final into a classic.
After a tight first ten minutes, Bridgend took the lead when Llewellyn Hawkes picked up a loose ball to run in under the sticks. He converted his own try.
Alex Green thought he’d scored a second before the 20-minute mark, but his try was chalked off for a forward pass.
And after successive penalties, Outlaws’ youngster Jamie Allen acrobatically dived in the corner for a potential try, only for him to be judged to have been tackled into touch before grounding.
From the restart, Bridgend played a good set, and Hawkes again scored under the posts and converting it himself to put the score on to 12-0.
Then Green did get him try, again an under-the-posts effort, with Hawkes adding the goal to put the half-time score on to 18-0.
Outlaws were first on the board in the second half. Cameran Hawkins scored a well-worked try, grounding in the corner. Kalem McCarthy converted.
Oli Owen got another try back for Outlaws, doing well to force his way under the posts. Ruben Main converted, and the score was back to 18-12.
Then, on the hour mark, Owen dived over again to score his second and Outlaws’ third. McCarthy converted to level the scores.
But Bridgend regained the lead, with Hawkes getting his hat-trick, as he made a clean break, running 40 metres to score under the posts and convert himself.
Rhondda struck back again. McCarthy ran well and scored in the corner. He couldn’t convert the try, the first kick missed in the match, so with seven minutes remaining, Bridgend held a two-point lead.
Hawkes extended his side’s lead further with his fourth try and fifth goal a few minutes before the end, and it looked to be settled until Jamie Allen scored a try in the corner with Jordan Williams converting, but Bridgend held on for the final minute to take the trophy.
