Finding the South Parade Playing Fields high above Maesteg is a stern test for the most efficient of human or electronic navigators, and the challenge delayed the start of this contest on Saturday afternoon.
When the teams met at Plascrug in October the home side won a comfortable victory due to the total domination of their pack. The Quins had not forgotten that experience and, as confessed in the match programme, they faced the task ahead of them with some apprehension.
Games had been few and far between for both sides over the past few weeks, Aberystwyth having had marginally more match experience recently – the Quins had not played at all since the middle of January. It has been a feature of those recent away games for Aber however that unavailability and late withdrawals have upset their make-up, and the trend continued on Saturday with three changes in their usual back five line-up. Their pack was near full-strength however and that was very apparent for the first quarter of the match as they seemed in control.
The match started as a place kicking contest however; the visitors kicked off and within 10 seconds the Quins were penalised for crossing as they tried to set up play around the take. That was the cue for Mark Evans, making his debut start at full back for Aber’s 1st XV, to step up and bisect the posts from the 22, some 15 metres in from touch.
Quins had their turn to restart now and managed to advance towards the Aber line before the visitors were penalised. Up stepped home skipper Gareth Lewis to land an easy reply from in front of the posts – all square at three points each with less than 150 seconds on the clock! After twelve minutes came a very clear indication of the relative merits of the two packs as Aber pushed the Quins back off their own ball at a scrum and the home eight lost all control, yielding a penalty. Up stepped Evans to fire a shot from 35 metres and put the visitors ahead once more.
The lead persisted for just four minutes however, Aber yielding a penalty at the first Quins advance; unnecessary backchat cost them more territory giving Lewis the easiest of shots from 18 metres to level the game once more. The visitors went ahead again in the 26th minute, a third Evans penalty from wide out resulting from pressure on Quins scrum half Nick Flay as he struggled to hang on to a lineout ball, eventually being penalised for not releasing.
Shortly afterwards disaster struck for Aber as they lost hooker Gareth Flynn who sustained a rib injury in the shadow of the Aber posts, a stray knee causing the damage. After a brief stoppage play resumed and an Evans hoof penalty took play 60 metres upfield; there Quins yielded another and Evans stepped up again, converting a 20 metre penalty to put Aber 12-6 up.
Maesteg Quins clearly had some talent in their ranks but their aggression and physicality resulted in several penalties throughout the first half, and Aber determinedly held on to their lead. At the end of the first period however Aber were awarded another penalty on the half way line wide out on the right hand side of the field. From there Evans truly bisected the uprights with one of the best kicks for a long time and the teams changed ends with the visitors 15-6 ahead thanks to the five-out-of-five boot of Evans.
It was clear that Quins would have to improve their discipline to get back into this game. Ironically it was more unnecessary backchat from Aberystwyth that gave them their best opportunity to date in the 52nd minute.
Sensing the momentum Quins went for the corner rather than the posts and from the subsequent lineout 25 metres out passed the ball smoothly along their backs, right wing Kieran Watkins crossing in the corner. A touchline conversion from Lewis further buoyed the home side, now just two points adrift.
Within four minutes Aber were caught offguard again; after the visitors failed to field a touchline upfield kick from Lewis, the home side were the more alert in taking a quick lineout and racing up the flank to give Watkins his second try. The winger managed to come about 15 metres infield to make the kick easier for his skipper this time, and Maesteg Quins had a 20-15 lead after 56 minutes.
The home side now had their tails up and had identified Aber weaknesses. On the hour the results was sealed when Aber lost the ball on their own 10 metre line. The speculative upfield kick from Lewis was safely pouched, but the return effort was charged down and the Quins back row pounced, flanker Andy Healy crossing in that same right hand corner that had been Aber’s nemesis.
At 25-15 ahead their lead looked comfortable as Aber struggled to cope with reorganising their team after a number of minor injuries and substitutions. To their credit however they never gave up and when time approached they were granted a chance to salvage something from the afternoon when awarded a penalty just 6 metres inside the Quins half. Their star kicker had left the field by this time, so the onus fell to the young Llŷr Thomas who had only just come on. His effort was coolness personified as he placed the ball exactly between the posts to cut the margin to 7 points, thereby earning Aber a losing bonus point for their efforts.
Six Nations action causes another break in the League programme now but Aber travel to Tenby United this coming Thursday evening (7th March, KO 7.30pm) for a semi-final match in this season’s Pembrokeshire & District Cup.