Three first half tries were enough to earn Brynley Toms and his Bedwas teammates a 22 – 10 victory in the penultimate game of the East Conference which will see the clubs all come together to form One Division from the 29th of December.
This victory secures third place for Bedwas and with two players (who had contrasting fortune on the night) reaching the milestone of 100 appearances for the club there was good reason to celebrate.
The match started at a fast pace and as Bedwas attacked Mathew John’s joy at reaching the 100 club was cruelly taken away as a serious looking knee injury after 7 minutes paid a premature end to his evening. Lewis Evans returning from injury replaced him.
Both sides looked for the elusive first score but it was Bedwas who gained it. Mike Callow broke through a tackle to see up the supporting Andrew Waite who ran in from 40 metres to put his side ahead. Steffan Jones adding the conversion.
Cardiff’s efforts to get back into the game were marred by unforced errors and it was no surprise when Bedwas scored their second of the evening after 25 minutes. The ball was quickly moved left and the second member of the 100 club prop forward Toms squeezed in at the corner. Jones’ difficult conversion went wide.
Cardiff responded with a close range penalty from Josh Fly after 29 minutes but on the stroke of half time Bedwas extended their lead with a try for Lewis Evans being fitting reward for his determination to cross the line. Steffan Jones’ conversion extended the lead to 22 points to 3.
Bedwas worked hard in attack to try and gain that elusive fourth and bonus point securing try but despite everyone’s efforts it could not be secured. Steffan Jones landed a penalty just before the hour to quell any thoughts of a Cardiff comeback and he and his colleagues defended superbly to deny Cardiff any space when attacking.
With time ticking away Cardiff continued to attack and got their reward with a try from replacement Tom Daley, converted by replacement James Dixon. There was insufficient time for further scoring as Bedwas comfortably held onto for the win.
