Fifth win on the bounce for Ammanford (From South Wales Guardian)

Fifth win on the bounce for Ammanford

6:00am Wednesday 31st October 2012 in Sport

Swalec Plate Round One Llandeilo 10 Ammanford 47 A TRIP to Llandeilo was always going to be a tough challenge for Ammanford as league form and status were cast aside for a one off knock-out game.

Ammanford looked to rest some players and utilise their squad by giving a senior debut to young Gareth Rees at scrum-half and a first start for Jake Baker in the back-row.

Ammanford attacked from the start and wing Gary Stephens dodged his way through the home defence to secure his ninth try of the season, Rhydian Morris converting.

Almost from the restart the visitors swept forward again and wing Dafydd Pritchard showed neat footwork to cross for an excellent try, again converted by Morris.

With Ammanford coasting they attacked at every opportunity, only for a series of handling errors to deny further scores.

Llandeilo rallied and began to get a foothold, demonstrating great spirit to keep Ammanford at bay and growing in confidence as they started dominating territorially.

Under constant pressure, Ammanford’s discipline and structure were stretched and the referee binned Jake Simm for the team’s persistent infringements.

The hosts took full advantage and centre Leighton Rees stole through to score between the posts, full-back Celfyn Davies converting.

Llandeilo reduced the arrears further early in the second period when Davies landed a penalty and the large crowd sensed an upset on the cards.

However, Ammanford stepped up the pace and Pritchard, set free by Owen Higgins, showed great pace to score his second try. Morris converted.

With the home side tiring, keeping pace with their visitors was taking its toll and gaps began to appear.

Outside–half Morris exploited his new-found space to release Ammanford’s backs and, after some excellent buildup play, Chris Moore was on hand to score the fourth try, Morris again converting.

Ammanford surged forward yet again and Pritchard stole through to complete his impressive hat-trick. Not to be outdone, fellow wing Gary Stephens finished off the next move with a great turn of speed. Morris added the extras.

The final try was the most popular of the day as prop Rob Knight sidestepped his way past the defence to race in from range. Morris converted.

A convincing fifth victory on the bounce for Ammanford but a dogged and spirited performance from a young Llandeilo side who gave a better account of themselves than their league position might have indicated.

Ammanford look to maintain winning ways at home to Loughor in the league next week and show some fireworks before the official display on November 5 at 7pm.