Fixture

A Clwb Rygbi Dinbych side shy of a few regular starters travelled over to Blaenau Ffestiniog for a Division 2 North clash against the recently promoted Bro Ffestiniog RFC, with those in attendance treated to an arm wrestle of a game at Llwyn y Gell.

With barely a minute on the clock and from his own 22, Club Captain Dan O'Sullivan cut through the home defence and offloaded to Outside Centre Gruff Roberts, his pace carrying him past two attempted tackles before a last ditch high tackle felled Roberts just short of Bro's 22. A penalty was awarded and Skipper O'Sullivan opted to go for the posts, but the ball carried just wide of the sticks.

Bro then mounted a sustained period of attack, with their bulkier forwards making in roads into Dinbych's 22. It was during one of these phases that the referee adjudged Dinbych to have played the ball on the floor and awarded Bro Ffestiniog a guilt edged opportunity to take the lead. The kick directly in front of the posts was scuffed and the ball sailed wide of the posts, much to the surprise of both sides. Dinbych were soon back up to their opponents 22, with a scrum following a Bro knock on. However try what they may Dinbych failed to penetrate Bro's defensive wall on their 22m line and their tenacious play was rewarded when the ball was striped from a Dinbych player for Bro to reset and reorganise their exit. In an attempted clearance the ball was charged down by Flanker Gwern Pierce and fell kindly to Centre Gruff Roberts who sped past the covering defence and opened Dinbych's point scoring account after 13 minutes. Captain Dan O'Sullivan cooly slotting the conversion over.

After quarter of an hour of neither side breaking down the other, Dinbych were penalised for sealing off, gifting Bro a shot at posts which Centre Callum Evans did not miss. Ten minutes later and Bro were back on the score board with No.8 Dylan Daniels breaking away from a scrum just inside Dinbych's half to setup the next wave of attack. The ball was swiftly shipped out to Fly Half Joseff Edwards who exploited a gap in Dinbych's defence and then offloaded to Flanker Huw Parry who touched down to give Bro a slender lead. Much to Dinbych's delight the conversion was sent wide of the posts.

With the half time whistle looming, Bro Ffestiniog threw everything they had in an attempt to extend their lead. The hosts defensive press lead to a hack through which put Bro on the attack well into Dinbych's 22, their powerful forwards hammered at the Dinbych defensive line until the ball was knocked forward in a drive which seemed destined to be a try. The referee called time on the first half, with Bro Ffestiniog leading 8-7.

In contrast to the end of the first half, the second began with both sides confined to play between the 10m lines. Looking to take Dinbych back into Bro's 22, Captain O'Sullivan's attempted kick to the corner was intercepted by the home Full Back, but the sliced return fell kindly to replacement Flanker Tom Jones who turned and began an attacking move to the left for Dinbych. Wing Gethin Williams then cut back inside and took Dinbych into the opposition 22, quick hands from Scrum Half Jones, to Outside Half O'Sullivan and then to the pirouetting lock Jamie Williams soon found Centre Gruff Roberts who's hand off pushed him past the on rushing defender and over for his second try of the day. O'Sullivan's conversion attempt rattling the right hand post, but unfortunately not going over.

From the restart Flanker Tom Jones would once again get Dinbych back on the attack as he claimed the restart and charged forward, a strong carry with good footwork saw lock Jamie Williams truck the ball up to the 10m line before Fly Half O'Sullivan cut past his opposite number and step the on rushing Full Back before offloading to Wing Kieran Bonar. Under pressure from the covering defence Bonar managed to steady the bobbling ball and crash over in the corner for Dinbych's third try of the day. The conversion drifting wide of the posts from O'Sullivan.

With quarter of an hour left to play, Dinbych were frustrated in their efforts to keep hold of the ball in Bro's half. The hosts weren't for giving up and fought their way back up to Dinbych's 22, back to back indiscretions saw Dinbych fall foul of the referee and Bro were awarded a penalty which Scrum Half Dion Atherton slotted over to bring the hosts within 6 points of Dinbych.

6 minutes later and Bro were back in Dinbych's 22, hell bent on causing a Division 2 North upset. A Dinbych scrum on their own 22m line came under immense pressure from the Bro pack and from the ensuing ruck of bodies replacement Bro forward Terry Lay broke free to score and gift his Scrum Half Dion Atherton a match winning attempt at the posts. Much to the disappointment of the vocal home crowd the ball drifted wide of the posts, with Dinbych holding a narrow lead of 17-16.

Identical to the close of the first half, Bro Ffestiniog once again threw all they had at getting into Dinbych's 22 and securing their second win of the season. However a text book tackle from young Hooker Ioan Jones felled an attempted snipe around the corner and setup veteran Prop Osian Hedd Williams for a vitally important jackal to halt Bro's advance.

Shortly after referee Dr Craig Roberts called time on an exhilarating game at Llwyn y Gell, with the home side putting in a performance befitting a team much higher up the Division 2 North rankings and they will certainly be further up the table come the seasons end.

For Dinbych there's no opportunity for rest as they welcome 2nd place Welshpool RFC to Caeau Les Phillips this coming Saturday.