Match Report

Llanelli 30 - Neath 25

Parc Y Scarlets, Sat 2nd May 09 KO: 14:30

Llanelli 30
Neath 25

By Tony Poole
At Parc y Scarlets

NEATH could take solace in a combative fight-back against cup final opponents Llanelli during this Welsh Premiership clash at Parc y Scarlets.
The omens looked none too good for the Blacks when they trailed 30-6 midway through the third quarter.
Other sides might well have folded but Neath battled back and if they had been more ruthless finishers, a first visit to Llanelli's new headquarters would have resulted in a win.
But time and again the Blacks flattered only to deceive when it came down to delivering a try-scoring pass.
It all started in the 25th minute when centre Stephen Thomas cut the first line of defence, and captain Lee Beach just failed to make it over the whitewash.
Eight minutes later and it was speed merchant David Evans who made the cut and this time full-back Howard Thomas failed to get over.
Twice during the second period centre Thomas blew the home defence apart but when push came to shove, the Blacks proved charitable finishers.
And in the 73rd minute, Wales U20 scrum-half Tavis Knoyle did get over, but in the act of touching down he lost the ball.
But in fairness to Llanelli their scramble defence was good, and they made more of far less scoring chances.
Two early penalties from Neath fly-half Arwel Thomas were followed by a similar effort from opposite number Richards.
The opening try unfolded in the 28th minute with Llanelli wing Nicky Jones collecting a 42nd in the Welsh Premiership.
Fly-half Richards, who possessed an unblemished goal-kicking record, duly converted and landed a 37th-minute penalty.
That advanced the score onto 13-6 at the break while Llanelli did the damage on the restart, scoring two tries in the space of eight minutes.
Turnover ball inside the home 22 in the 44th minute resulted in a touchline dart from full-back Daniel Newton sending scrum-half Gareth Davies under the posts.
Three minutes later Neath fly-half Thomas was binned for a professional foul and during his absence, fly-half Richards delivered a third penalty.
Relentless pressure eventually led to Llanelli No 8 Godfrey charging over for a close-range try with the third conversion from Richards making it 30-6.
Other sides might have wilted in the spring sunshine, but Neath were made of sterner stuff, and battled back to make a fist of it.
Lockyer, who reverted from wing to centre following the departure of Mitchell, stole over for a 55th-minute try that full-back Howard Thomas goaled from the touchline.
Llanelli went down to 14 men in the 63rd minute with the binning of captain and hooker Craig Hawkins - and soon after Neath captain Lee Beach claimed a pushover try.
The conversion from fly-half Thomas made things interesting on 30-20 while replacement Knoyle failed to ground the ball properly on 73 minutes.
And it wasn't until a minute into time added on that centre Stephen Thomas scored a try against his former club.
The conversion failed and Llanelli clung on to compensate for a 15-13 defeat at The Gnoll before Christmas.

Match summary

Llanelli: D Newton; M Jacobs, N Reynolds (D Ford 78 mins), A Banfield, N Jones; L Richards, G Davies (J James 71); I Jones (S Hopkins 53), C Hawkins (capt), S Gardner (A Hopkins 71), A Powell, A Davies (S Phillips 76), L Jones, D Godfrey, S Peters (G George 63-76)
Scorers: Tries - N Jones, G Davies, D Godfrey; Cons: L Richards (3); Pens: L Richards (3)

Neath: H Thomas; D Lockyer (L Evans 80+2), W Mitchell (K James 36), S Thomas, D Evans; A Thomas (M James 76), G James (T Knoyle 22); N Downs (C Mitchell 53), A Littlehales (A James 53), M Jones, H Pugh, E Evans, C Ruddock, L Beach (capt), G Gravell
Scorers: Tries - D Lockyer, L Beach, S Thomas; Cons: H Thomas, A Thomas; Pens: A Thomas (2)

Referee: David Bodilly (Cardiff)