March 09, 2024 - 316 views
Carmarthen Quins 15 RGC 20
A first half of clinical finishing and a strong defence gave the Gogs a 20-point lead at half time which would prove crucial in the end.
Sam Earl-Jones opened the score with a penalty after 2 minutes, before the homeside tried to get back into the game.
The line speed and strong tackling knocked the Quins back and forced the errors. The game was fairly stop/start with a few scrum resets, but RGC were winning the arm wrestle.
Between 20 and 22 minutes RGC were 2 tries up, with the first from Sam Stoddard after Sam Earl-Jones carved up the field with break. The 2nd score came from a Delwyn Jones interception from his own 22, turned on the afterburners before setting up Afon Bagshaw for his first try of the season. Earl-Jones converted both.
RGC went close after a loose pass from Carmarthen ended with a Caio Parry boot to the ball and a run but he couldn’t collect the bounce.
The scoreboard ticked over with a drop goal from Sam Earl-Jones.
Quins looked to close the gap before halftime, and when the maul drove on it looked like they could be over for the try, but some superb work from Ethan Fackrell kept the bal from touching the ground.
The half ended with both sides down to 14 men with Billy McQueeney and Charlie Titcombe sent to the sin bin.
In the 2nd half Carmarthen came out and attacked from the kick-off, with full-back Ellir George keeping the tempo up with quick tap penalties and line-breaks.
They got the try when the maul drove over.
Pressure was building on the Gogs defence, and they found themselves back down to 14 men when Bagshaw was shown the yellow card.
With the man advantage, the homeside again crossed the whitewash and this time Titcombe converted.
After 20 minutes of being under the pump, RGC managed to pin Quins in their own half and drop the pace of the game. They went close to scoring but were inches from the line.
With 7 minutes remaining, Quins won a penalty on opted to kick to close the gap to 5 points and then look to push on for the try.
Credit to RGC who dug deep, and defended with discipline to win a penalty themselves but Earl-Jones pulled the kick wide from halfway.
The clock counted down and crucially RGC won another penalty and that was the game and the win on the road for the Gogs.
Head Coach Ceri Jones “Credit to the players for that win, after last week we wanted a reaction, and we got it. You can see how much that jersey and playing for RGC means to those players and I’m pleased for them. To a man we defended well, the backrow put in some big tackles and didn’t stop.
“We ended the game with Rhodri King in the back row, Matthew Pryce came up from university yesterday and both came on and but a shift in.
“It was a mature performance from a young team, especially when we lost Billy and Afon for parts of the 80 minutes. We asked the players to put pressure on Carmarthen, be clinical and take the chances when we had them, and we did that. Sam Earl-Jones taking the drop goal option turned out to be a crucial one when you look at the score at the end.
“When we look back at the 23/24 season, I think the DNA will be the experience these young players have gained, and that can take us forward in the years ahead. I want to finish the season strong and we can look to build on today’s performance.”
