20 Nov Bridgend 14-10 RGC

Bridgend Ravens made it back to back wins with victory at the Dunraven Brewery Field against RGC on Saturday. 

Kick off was delayed until 4pm with RGC late in arriving at Bridgend due to transport issues, but there was a healthy crowd which saw an even match shaded by Tom Smith’s side.

The returning Paul Short and in-form Cameron Ellis were the heroes for the men in blue and white. Short slotted three penalties, while Ellis capped a Supporters’ Man of the Match performance with a try late on. Despite a last minute try from the North Walians, the Ravens were able to hold on and pick up a win which moved them up to seventh place in the league standings.

It was a tense opening to exchanges with the visitors having the larger share of possession. Bridgend’s defence was heroic at times and they were able to repel everything that RGC threw at them. In an uneventful first half, it was Paul Short’s penalty that proved to be the only points as the Ravens went into the break with a slim advantage.

HT Bridgend 3-0 RGC 

The second half was a more even affair with both sides having chances which were ultimately not taken. The Ravens started the half better and got their reward with a second Short penalty from distance just three minutes into the second half.

As the half dragged on, it looked like there would be very little action which might trouble the scorers. RGC finally got on the board with a beautifully struck penalty from Sam Earl-Jones from just inside his own half, but proceedings remained tense until the final ten minutes when the game really came to life.

Following another dominant Bridgend attack in which the away side were penalised for offside, Paul Short nailed another three points from wide to extend his side’s advantage. With just six minutes to go, Bridgend looked to play the territorial game to keep the North Walians penned in their own half.

RGC coughed up possession in Bridgend’s half and when Alex George regathered, he was able to release the ball to fullback Edd Howley to send a searching kick into the RGC 22. The kick was fielded by Sam Earl-Jones, but the fullback threw a speculative pass inside which was gratefully collected by Cameron Ellis. The wide man made no mistake and crossed for his fifth try of the campaign. The resulting conversion was missed by Short, who was replaced by Bridgend College product George Richards, making his Indigo Premiership debut, just moments after.

There was still time for a fightback from a resilient RGC side. Impressive replacement scrum half Ollie Wynn darted over from close range. Sam Earl-Jones’ successful conversion was the last kick of the encounter as Bridgend secured all four points and victory.

There’s another home game for the Ravens this Saturday as they welcome high flying Pontypool to the Dunraven Brewery Field, kick off 2:30pm.