Match Report

Cardiff 22 - Neath 20

Arms Park, Tue 22nd Sep 09 KO: 19.15

Match report courtesy of Rob Goodman 

Cardiff RFC 22 Neath RFC 20

Cardiff Tries : D Ryan
Neath Tries : A Lott, Penalty Try

Cardiff Pens: G Davies (4)
Neath Pens: A Thomas (2)

Cardiff Conv: G Davies
Neath Conv : A Thomas (2)

Drop Goals : G Davies

Yellow Cards : G Gravell (Neath) Rhys James (Cardiff)

It was last gasp agony in the rain for the All Blacks as they succumbed to a final minute drop goal at the Arms Park. It was harsh on the away team as they thought they had won the game with a 82nd minute penalty from Arwel Thomas, but it was not enough as Cardiff immediately responded with a drop goal from their reliable fly half Gareth Davies which condemned Neath to their first loss of the season.

After winning at Pontypool on Saturday, coach Patrick Horgan continued to rotate his squad for what was the teams 5th away trip of the season. Coming back in to the starting 15 were centre Luke Ford and scrum half Kevin Farrell, while in the pack were the returning second row pair of Euros Evans and Peter Sidoli with Mike Collins and Gareth Gravell came into the back row. Also on the bench was John Bowd, who had a twenty minute run out in the victory over Pontypool and seems to be heading towards full fitness.

For a midweek game there was a healthy crowd in the Arms Park and one which was made up of a sizeable, vocal Neath following. As you would expect from any Cardiff Neath game, the atmosphere was intense and was building nicely as kick off approached.

Unfortunately the conditions for the game were not conducive for free flowing rugby. The rain poured down and it made it a struggle for both sets of players to make their mark on the first half. After two early Gareth Davies penalties, Arwel Thomas reduced the deficit with a simple penalty.

The second quarter of the scrappy first half continued to be bogged down by the difficult weather - both teams were guilty of kicking away too much ball and were unable to generate any quick ball to unleash the talent of the two back lines. The All Blacks struggled to gain any sort of territorial advantage and as the unremarkable first half was drawing to a close, ex Cardiff captain Gareth Gravell was carded for killing the ball. From the next lineout, Davies, who was at the centre of everything good about the Cardiff game, broke through the Neath defence and off loaded neatly to Darren Ryan who slid over. The hosts led 13 -3 at half time and it was clear that Neath needed to up their game.

Whatever the coaching staff said at half time worked. In a second half which more than made up for the first, Neath started with an intensity which at times Cardiff struggled to live with. The power of the All Black pack dragged them back into the game as Cardiff ball was disrupted from the scrum and lineout and provided the platform which had been missing from the game in the first half.

For the majority of the second half, Neath were camped inside the Cardiff 22 and were rewarded for the forwards effort with a penalty try due to Cardiff being unable to cope with the Neath scrum. After the conversion from Thomas, the rampaging pack were at it again, winning the lineout just outside Cardiff's 22 and driving up to the 5 meter line. It was an enormous effort and one which signalled the intent of Neath.

Cardiff were clearly rattled and conceded another try shortly after with Anthony Lott crossing after another powerful scrum resulted in Neath overturning the ball. In the space of twenty minutes Neath had scored 14 unanswered points and were 13 - 17 up. The game was almost unrecognisable from the first half showing but the real drama was to come in the final quarter.

Immediately from the restart, Neath didn't deal with the kick off and Cardiff were awarded a penalty for holding on. Again, up stepped Davies who, from an improbable angle, curled the ball between the posts. If that had the Cardiff fans showing their appreciation the next penalty Davies slotted over was even better, struck from the 10 metre line and five metres in from touch. Cardiff lead by a single point and with 10 minutes remaining, Neath again came forward looking for the decisive score.

With the scrum forcing Cardiff to kick to touch form their own 22, Kevin Morgan sliced through the broken field to start another phase of Neath pressure. The desperate Cardiff defence were too quick for the referee James Jones who gave the offside decision to the delight of the vocal Neath fans. Thomas again made sure of the three points and Neath led with what the Neath outside-half believed was the last play to come.

It was not to be however, Gravell gathered the kick off, slow ball found its way to Thomas who sliced to touch believing that would end the game. However, the referee deemed time for another lineout. Cardiff won it, established position and that man Davies broke Neath hearts. His sweetly struck drop goal was enough to ensure that Cardiff condemned Neath to their first defeat of the season.

It was a remarkable end to a remarkable game, one which eventually lived up to the two teams great rivalry and history. The All Blacks will be looking for quick revenge when they welcome those from the capital to The Gnoll in October !

AN injury-time drop-goal from Cardiff fly-half Gareth Davies sent Neath to a heart-breaking Welsh Premiership defeat at Cardiff Arms Park.
It looked as if an 82nd-minute penalty from Arwel Thomas had done the trick for the Blacks, but it wasn't enough to save their unbeaten record.

Neath failed to get the restart away from their 22 with captain Thomas kicking out on the full.  That set up a lineout 10 metres from the try-line and a rumble from the home forwards led to fly-half Davies knocking over the winning drop-goal.

In the end a draw would have been a fairer result, as the Neath forwards certainly didn't deserve to end on the losing side.
This, however, formed a seventh successive league and cup victory for the Blue and Blacks over the former champions, who last carded a victory over Cardiff back in October 2006.

Having opened up with successive away wins over Bedwas, Llandovery, Carmarthen Quins and Pontypool, the winning streak came to an end at the fifth time of asking.

"Cardiff were the toughest side we have faced this season - and a top effort was needed to succeed," said Neath director of rugby Patrick Horgan.

"Though we came up just a little bit short on the night, four away wins out of five still represents a good start to the season.''

Neath made eight changes from the side that triumphed 39-17 at Pontypool last Saturday with fly-half Arwel Thomas taking over the captaincy from prop Martin Jones.

Drizzly conditions made life difficult for the reigning champions and four-times winners, and it wasn't long before numerous handling errors cropped up.  The game lacked fluency, but two penalties from fly-half Davies gave Cardiff an early advantage.

An Arwel Thomas penalty, struck in the 25th minute, got Neath on the scoreboard, and scrum-half Kevin Farrell was prominent as they got more into the game.

Cardiff fly-half Davies missed a first penalty on the half-hour mark as the stop-start nature showed no signs of abating.

A rolling ball inside their 22 caused the Blacks all kinds of problems in the 34th minute, resulting in Cardiff almost scoring from the subsequent scrum five.  But the ball was lost in the act of touching down by flanker Jamie Ringer - and Neath survived.

But in the final minute of the half, Neath flanker Gareth Gravell was shown a yellow card, and Cardiff soon exploited the extra man.
Neath failed to hold ex-Aberavon centre Darren Ryan, who shot over for a try close to the posts that fly-half Davies goaled.
That left the Blacks 13-3 in arrears at the interval, but on the restart fly-half Thomas set up an opening for centre Luke Ford that wasn't accepted.

However, numbers were evened up with the yellow carding of Cardiff hooker Rhys James in the 46th minute.  And when Neath flanker Gravell returned from the sin bin, scrum pressure led to Cardiff conceding a 52nd-minute penalty try that fly-half Thomas converted.
The Blacks continued to press and the breaking point came in the 57th minute when prop Anthony Lott charged over for a close-range try.

Fly-half Thomas added the extras, and in a complete reversal of fortunes Neath led 17-13.  But Cardiff hit back on the hour with a third penalty from fly-half Davies while his fourth successful penalty in the 70th minute gave Cardiff back the lead on 19-17.

Close to time, a barnstorming run from Neath's starman Lott set up field position for them to go for the winning try.  No 8 Nathan Thomas was held just short of the goal-line, but they continued to press and Cardiff were caught off side.

Thomas landed the 82nd minute penalty only for Cardiff to immediately trump it with the last-gasp Davies drop-goal.

Match stats

Cardiff: C. Morgan; R. Howells, G. Chapman, D. Ryan (repl R. Jones 55), J. Norris; G. Davies, D. Allinson (repl T. Slater 63); I. George, R. James (repl L. Davies 65), P. Osborne, J. Down, A. Sweet, J. Ringer (repl D. Lynch 58), A. Powell (temp repl L. Davies 51-57), R. Shellard (capt)
Scorers: Try - D. Ryan; Con: G. Davies; Pens: G. Davies (4); Drop-goal: G. Davies

Neath: G. King; K. James, W. Mitchell, L. Ford, K. Morgan; A. Thomas (capt), K. Farrell; V. Lott, A. James, M. Jones, P. Sidoli, E. Evans (repl N. Edwards 49), M. Collins (repl J. Bowd 49), N. Thomas, G. Gravell
Scorers: Tries: A. Lott, Pen Try; Cons: A. Thomas (2); Pens: A. Thomas (2)

Yellow cards: Gareth Gravell (Neath) 40, Rhys James (Cardiff) 46

Referee: James Jones (Bridgend)

Neath star choice: Anthony Lott