28 Dec RGC 19-38 BRIDGEND

Bridgend Ravens delivered the 80 minute performance that Head Coach Scott Baldwin had demanded from them in the lead up to Saturday’s game, picking up a hugely impressive six point win at Stadiwm CSM against RGC.

Narrowly beaten by the same opposition a week earlier, Bridgend bounced back from that defeat to register a comfortable win against the Gogs. There were five tries in total for Baldwin’s side from Mccauley Rowley (2), Cameron Ellis, Thomas Jevons and Corey Lewis that secured all six points for Bridgend. Luke Price, an early replacement for Ben Burnell, was the star of the show, orchestrating the game from 10 and kicking five conversions from five attempts.

RGC started the better of the two sides, but Bridgend’s defence held firm and allowed their attack to strike for two devastating scores in quick succession.

The first came from a perfectly weighted pass from Price that set away Mccauley Rowley along the touchline. The wing stepped his way past a few would be challenges to score under the posts. Price converted.

Minutes later, Price was at it again, landing a perfectly weighted cross kick in the path of Cameron Ellis to score Bridgend’s second. He slotted a difficult conversion.

Bridgend showed real resilience for the rest of the half which saw them spend most of it defending. Opportunities to extend their lead were limited, although Tommy Morgan came closest with a neat break from a smart backs move from a scrum. The half time whistle was a welcome relief for Bridgend’s defence as they went in 14 points to the good.

HT RGC 0-14 Bridgend

The Ravens knew that there would be a second half onslaught from their hosts but held them at bay for the opening ten minutes. The Gogs did get their score through Rhodri King shortly after though, with the hooker benefitting from the power of his fellow forwards to score.

Bridgend battled back and scored the try of the game soon after. A loose kick from the home side saw Edd Howley make an initial break before feeding to Luke Price who in turn, tapped the ball on to Thomas Jevons to score. Price added the simple conversion.

The away side wrapped the game up five minutes later and it was the S4C Man of the Match, Luke Price, who was at the heart of the move again. The former Ospreys man picked off a loose pass in midfield and broke away before feeding a well timed grubber kick through for Mccauley Rowley to score his second of the afternoon. Flawless from the tee all evening, Price added two more.

With the game now seemingly over, the home side showed endeavour of their own which resulted in a try for centre Harri Hughes. McBryde made no mistake with the conversion this time.

As the game drew to a close, Scott Baldwin made the most of his powerful bench and the changes brought their rewards when Corey Lewis bagged his side’s fifth try of the evening, again converted by Price. The hooker had been denied just moments earlier, with referee Mike English adjudging he had been held up over the line but was not to be stopped at the second time of asking.

The Gogs looked to have had the final say of match as hooker Osian Burt burrowed over for a converted try, but as Bridgend tried to run down the clock, Edd Howley took matters into his own hands and dropped a goal to signal the end of the match and to put the seal on a superb evening for the Ravens.

Bridgend are next in action when Aberavon visit the Dunraven Brewery Field next Saturday 4th January.