04 Oct Aberavon 26 -36 Bridgend

Bridgend Ravens bounced back from last Thursday’s defeat to Aberavon with a bonus point win against the same opposition at the Talbot Athletic Ground.

It was a tale of two halves, with a strong wind of Storm Amy dictating the momentum of the match. Jason Hyatt’s side were in control at the break, leading 21pts to 5, but an epic second half comeback from the Ravens saw them take the spoils.

Things couldn’t have started in a worse fashion for Bridgend, scrum half Scott Whitlock dotting down following a neat chip from Keillen Cullen. The outside half added the simple extras.

Soon after, it was the turn of Aberavon’s pack and James Clegg the beneficiary of some good work from the pack. Cullen was again on target with the conversion.

Bridgend were able to get a foothold in the game, but with a tough wind making it difficult to get out of their own half or gain any momentum, they were restricted to opportunistic chances running from distance which were repelled by the home side.

They couldn’t hold out for much longer though, with Mccauley Rowley bagging his third try against Aberavon this season after 25 minutes. Fraser Jones’ conversion was into the wind and dropped short.

Aberavon’s pack powered over again just five minutes later through Luke Davies and Cullen made no mistake with the extras.

The Ravens task was made even more difficult when second row Barnaby Waddell was yellow carded in midfield for an off the ball incident. Thankfully for Bridgend, they were able to weather the remainder of the half to trail 21pts to 5 at the interval.

HT Aberavon 21-5 Bridgend 

Bridgend replaced Fraser Jones with Luke Price five minutes into the second half, and the experienced outside half was straight into the action with the Ravens now firmly on the front foot. Benji Williams was the first in blue and white to cross in the second half, although Price’s conversion was missed.

A chaotic phase of play caused panic in the Aberavon defence and the Bridgend backs were able to work the ball to Joseph Gatt to bag a converted score near the posts.

The Ravens had their tails up, and replacement Harry Olding got Bridgend’s third try just six minutes later, and crucially the lead in the match following Price’s excellent conversion.

Matches between the sides often go to the wire, and this one was no different. Just as Bridgend looked to have won it, Tondu product Sam Matthews crashed over to give Aberavon the lead with just nine minutes to go and Bridgend had it all to do again.

The visitors set off in pursuit of reclaiming the lead and turned down the opportunity of kicking a simple three points when Aberavon were called offside just 5m from the try line. This appeared to be a costly error with just two minutes of normal time remaining, but after Bridgend fumbled from the resulting attack, they were able to reclaim possession and hooker Corey Lewis bagged the winner and bonus point try. Price stroked the conversion over.

As Aberavon searched for a winner, they lost the ball and Bridgend hacked clear. Replacement second row James Owen kicked ahead and Chris Williams was on hand to secure victory.

Super Rygbi Cymru takes a break next weekend, with Bridgend next in action with a trip to Pontypool on the 18th October (2:30pm).