TYLORSTOWN LADIES RFC 10 – 7 BLAENAU GWENT

With all the talk in the past week being about Lions, Sir Clive could’ve been forgiven for selecting a few Tigress’s for his trip to New Zealand after this gritty performance. A sizeable and vocal crowd turned out in force to witness what was a very gutsy performance from the Tylorstown girls on a pitch that resembled Barry beach.

The game started at a frantic pace with all thirty girls trying to keep warm in what was a cross between  monsoon and arctic conditions. Blaenau Gwent were first on the score board with a well worked try by their backs, which resulted in their pacey winger going over under the posts which was duly converted. However, this proved to be her last threat in attack as she was soon well marshalled by Tylorstown’s own speed machine, Wendy Gibbins. Although this remained the only score of the first half, Tylorstown were beginning to take total control of the game, dominating the set pieces with the Blaenau Gwent scrummage retreating like a dragster stuck in reverse.

After a quick change of blouses at the interval, the warmer Tylorstown girls came out like a bunch of deranged banshees. Straight from the kick off they tackled everything that moved in a red shirt and forced their opposition into giving away a penalty that was kicked by Stacey Saunders to reduce the deficit to 7-3. For the next 15 minutes Tylorstown were camped in the Blaenau Gwent half  and looked like they were going to score at any time, but only for some minor indiscretion or drop pass to let them down. However Tylorstown soon scored a cracking try. Jayne “nails” Edwards lept like a leaping salmon to secure good line out ball, this was quickly passed to hooker Laura Kelland who peeled around and went on a run like a marauding wildebeest. When she was eventually brought down, scrum half Rhian Adams managed to get the ball away to Stacey Saunders who found the narrowest of gaps to skip through two would be tacklers and slide over near the posts and convert her own try.

This try seemed to wake up the Blaenau Gwent girls who were forced into making tackle after tackle, usually on Louise Daniels who was regularly leaving bodies scattered over Penrhys Park from her surging runs.

However, the final whistle eventually came and both teams gave a huge sigh of relief and made a quick exit to the showers to rinse the mud and sand from their battered and frozen bodies. Although Tylorstown won by 10-7, they surely should’ve won by more. Special mention should go to Mel Lewis and Julia Newton who made huge contributions to this win after being away from the game for far too long.

This league win leaves Tylorstown in mid table but with two games to play, next up is a trip to Waunarlwydd in the Swansea valley where Tylorstown will be hoping for another league double.