01 Mar LLANDOVERY 50-35 BRIDGEND

Bridgend claimed a try bonus point in their penultimate Super Rygbi Cymru Cup group tie at Church Bank as they took on Pool A table toppers Llandovery.

The defeat ends Bridgend’s slim chances of qualifying for the final as Scott Baldwin’s men were made to pay for a slow opening quarter.

This period started with Ospreys’ second row Will Greatbanks being shown yellow for an offside tackle following a Lee Rees quick tap penalty.

The Drovers took full advantage of the extra man running in 3 tries to lead by 19 points during the 10 minute period. Berian Watkins and two tries from Kian Abraham – two converted by Ioan Hughes gave Llandovery a strong advantage.

Llandovery bagged a bonus point  through Rhodri Jones with 25 minutes played before the Ravens finally kicked into gear and set about closing the gap.

Tommy Morgan crashed over just before the half hour mark as Bridgend finally found some territory. Edd Howley added the extras.

Bridgend struck again just before half time with a breakaway score from Ryan Wilkins. Howley converted to leave Bridgend trailing by 12 at the break.

HT Llandovery RFC 26-14 Bridgend Ravens

Any hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished by the Pool leaders. Hughes kicked a penalty before tries from Ioan Hughes and George MacDonald took the game away from Bridgend.

Bridgend set about another comeback and to their credit, battled back well to take a point from the game. The impressive Ryan Wilkins added his second with just over ten minutes to go, with Harvey Nash converting.

The bonus point score came from Corey Lewis, benefitting from a powerful maul soon after. Nash again nailed the conversion.

Replacement hooker Lewis wasn’t finished yet, picking up his second try on the way to also picking up the Bridgend Ravens Supporters’ Man of the Match Award. The Ravens swept up field with the former Cardiff Met man at hand to round off the move. Nash kicked two more and Bridgend were within 8 points with 5 or so to play.

Bridgend were chasing a score to set up a grandstand finish and looked to have found an edge. Corum Nott broke down his wing and went deep into the Llandovery 22 but excellent covering defence stopped Nott short. Llandovery put the game to bed shortly after, Harri Doel scoring and Maynard converting to end the match.

Bridgend round out their Super Rygbi Cymru Cup group campaign on the 15th March at the Dunraven Brewery Field, where second placed RGC are the visitors.