22 Apr Bridgend 76-35 Merthyr

Bridgend Ravens put in a stunning display of attacking rugby in the Dunraven Brewery Field sunshine to beat Merthyr on Saturday afternoon.

Scoring 12 tries in total, Tom Smith’s side put last weekend’s heavy defeat at Newport behind them to thrash the Ironmen and mark the end of the season at home in style.

It was an emotional affair with home hooker Gareth Harvey leading the side on his final home game for the club after six seasons with the Ravens, and scrum half Connor Tantum making his 100th appearance on a landmark afternoon.

Bridgend got off to the perfect start with a sublime length of the field team try from Cameron Ellis, converted by Luke Price playing his first match since returning from injury.

Six minutes later, it was Dafi Davies who capitalised on a strong Bridgend attack to charge over from close range. Price’s conversion slipped wide.

Chaos in the visitors defence saw a charged down kick land at the feet of Davies who nudged ahead to dot down for his second try, also unconverted after 14 minutes.

Merthyr got back into the game soon after with two quick fire tries of their own, both converted by the impressive Gareth Thompson, but the comeback wasn’t to last long. Bridgend’s top try scorer this campaign, Edd Howley, picked up the ball in acres of space and was able to find his way over in the corner despite the attentions of a number of Merthyr defenders. Price nailed the extras from the touchline.

The scoring was far from over – prop Liam Tobias was next on the scoresheet, proving unstoppable from close range.

The see-saw match saw Merthyr dig back once again with young centre Tom Hughes on the end of a flowing backs move for a score converted by Thompson.

With time ticking away on a breathless first forty, Luke Price’s soft hands put Corum Nott over for a try in the corner which was expertly converted by Price.

HT: Bridgend 36-21 Merthyr

Merthyr weren’t going away any time soon and Kian Evans picked up their bonus point score with the first meaningful act of the season half, converted again by Thompson.

That sparked Bridgend back into life and Connor Tantum marked his 100th appearance with a converted try soon after.

The Ravens had their tails up now, and some more enterprising play put Joseph Gatt through for a smart try which went unconverted.

Merthyr’s last score came after 52 minutes when Ben Rhodes reached over, before Bridgend began to pull away on the scoreboard with some stunning tries.