23 Nov BRIDGEND 29-29 SWANSEA

There was late drama at the newly named Electric Brewery Field, which saw Swansea snatch a late draw in an enthralling encounter with Bridgend Ravens.

Bridgend were denied a hard-fought victory at the Electric Brewery Field as a dramatic late surge by Swansea saw the visitors level the match at 29-29 with the last play of the game to earn a share of the spoils.

The Ravens had built and maintained a significant lead for much of the evening, but injuries, a powerful Swansea maul and late red card proved costly for the hosts.

Bridgend made a flying start, taking an early 7-0 lead in the 7th minute. A great move saw Ben Evans break the line, offloading for Joseph Gatt to cross the whitewash. Price added the conversion.

The home side doubled their advantage in the 25th minute when a Price’s cross-kick found Ben Evans, who cleverly hacked the ball ahead and managed to gather it to score a try. Price added the conversion to make it 14-0.

Swansea found their way back into the game through their powerful maul, scoring before half-time, though the conversion was missed, leaving the score 14-5 at the break. A major concern for Bridgend heading into the second half was the loss of both Captain Zac O’Driscoll and try-scorer Ben Evans to injury before the interval.

HT Bridgend Ravens 14-5 Swansea RFC

Bridgend started the second half strongly when half-time replacement Lloyd Wilkins got over the line after good work out wide in the 8th minute of the half. Price slotted the conversion from out wide to extend the lead to 21-5.

Swansea hit back through the maul again, as their line-out drive continued to cause problems. A penalty try in the 51st minute, which also saw Bridgend’s Alfie Thomas shown a yellow card and edged the visitors back into the game.

A quick penalty from Price two minutes later, following a Swansea knock-on, gave the Ravens some breathing room at 24-12.

Swansea continued to claw the game back with another score, but Bridgend looked to have sealed the win in the 78th minute.

Weathering a Swansea storm, a short line-out allowed Corey Lewis to find Chris Williams, who stepped and offloaded back to Lewis for the bonus point try. Fraser Jones’ conversion went wide, leaving the score at 29-17.

The final minutes were fraught with drama, as Dylan Burrows was shown a yellow card for halting a quick Swansea tap penalty, before Alfie Thomas received a second yellow card, resulting in a red card for the Bridgend player.

Swansea got over the line deep into added time through Ospreys hooker Logan Lloyd, but there was still time to play, and the visitors hunted for a winning score.

The Whites found gaps on the 13-man Bridgend defence, where the excellent Lewis Edwards found space out wide for the try. Josh Phillips conversion would have sealed 5 points for the visitors but the fly halves effort was poor, seeing Bridgend hang on for a draw and three points thanks to the try bonus point.

There’s a break from Super Rygbi Cymru action for Scott Baldwin’s side next weekend, before they take on Carmarthen in a fortnight time at Carmarthen Park.