Division Four West

Penybanc 7 Hendy 20

BANC brought down the curtain on a long season by welcoming Hendy RFC in head coach Geraint Evans’ last game at the helm.

The away team needed a point to win promotion and went hard at the Tigers from the first whistle. Hendy used their physical forwards to good use and soon got on the scoreboard after a well-worked driving maul.

Good defence from Banc kept them at bay, with a real ding-dong battle ensuing up front. Both sides tried to play rugby in poor conditions and, from another maul, Hendy emerged with a try to take them 10-0 up. Their impressive scrum-half added a penalty for a 13-0 half-time lead.

It was more of the same in second half, with the forwards getting stuck into each other from the off.

Banc managed to get a foothold in the away 22 with some renewed pressure. A powerful scrum allowed No.8 Chris Jones to power over for a typical try. Mathew Lloyd added the extras to bring the home side right back into it.

More pressure in the Hendy 22 should have resulted in a further score, but after a turnover the Hendy fly-half put in a huge crossfield kick for the chasing wing to touch down, much to the delight of the many travelling Hendy supporters.

Both sides had other chances but the score remained at 20-7.

Every Banc player played their part in a really good advert for division four rugby.

Congratulations to Hendy, who were worthy promotion winners after finishing second behind Gowerton. Penybanc finished in fourth spot.

Penybanc wish outgoing coach Evans all the best for the future and would also like to thank everyone who has contributed this year as they look forward to the 2014-15 season after a short break