John Kendrick gives a Club perspective and, in 'What the Papers say', Huw S Thomas reports
John Kendrick reports:
Despite the scoreline there were a number of positives for the Drovers to take from this encounter at Church Bank. The visitors had overwhelming possession and territorial advantage but the outstanding defence by the Drovers meant that it wasn’t until the 54th minute that Neath were able to cross the home line and record the first try of the game. The eventual try count of 2-1 in Neath’s favour is testimony to how well Llandovery defended their line. The half time score stood at 6-12.
The try was scored by Nathan Brew, an impressive side-stepping jinking run by the former Wales player that left several defenders clutching space. Brew was impressive throughout and was voted ‘Man of the Match’ by the Llandovery committee. Others in the visitors side to catch the eye were back-rowers Gareth Gravell and Nathan Thomas, both being influential at the breakdown and tackle areas. Gareth McCarthey was in fine form with the boot and put over 6 penalties and 2 conversions in his personal tally of 22 points. Centre Luke Ford also chipped in with a 7th, an enormous penalty goal when he converted from 2 metres inside his own half and that against the wind. With 5 minutes left on the clock replacement hooker Andy Littlehales dived over for a second Neath try following a period of intense pressure on the home side’s line to complete the scoring for the visitors.
Danger man Gareth King, who has caused the Drovers big problems in the past, was forced off by injury in the 29th minute to be replaced by former Wales full-back and Dragon Kevin Morgan, who himself had to leave the field with a blood injury 5 minutes later to be replaced by another former Wales player Arwel Thomas. For the Drovers, Captain Adam Yelland and lock Rhydian Gierat also had to leave the field in the first half due to injuries, showing the intensity of the exchanges.
For the Drovers none tried harder than former Neath scRum half Gareth James (made the Llandovery Man of the Match) who caused his former side problems in his good work around the base of the scrum and in opening up with several elusive breaks. Other Drovers to show up well were centre Rhys Williams, Howard Thomas and his replacement Cerith Rees when he came on after 70 minutes. In the forwards none worked harder than Josh Turnball and lock Louie Tonkin although the whole side is to be congratulated for its character and attitude.
Coach Rob Appleyard remains frustrated that the side hasn’t played to its full potential and although the side showed strongly for the last 15 minutes and took the game to Neath there remains a gap for the side to play to its full ability. Rob particularly pointed to an inability to retain possession and to build phases, which limits the attacking options and leads to the side being pushed back into its own territory. Another aspect that causes concern is the discipline of the side, particularly around the rucks and mauls and tackle area, when far too many penalties are conceded. The target is less than 10 penalties per game but in the first two matches the numbers conceded is closer to 20, along with yellow cards in both games.
A newcomer to the Drovers Premiership ranks came on as a substitute after 55 minutes, Joe Ajuwa. Joe played on permit in the pre-season game when he looked most impressive and once again he proved his worth with the Drovers try. The powerful wing brushed aside 5 defenders to score wide out and Cerith Rees converted. Howard Thomas had earlier kicked 3 penalties and a dropped goal.
What the Papers say:
Huw S Thomas reports:
The Drovers may have lost by a margin of 16 points but - make no mistake about it - they fell to a side that looks to be a very hot favourite to win the Principality Premiership.
Llandovery played far better than they had done last week at Pontypridd but still went down to powerful Neath by a clear margin.
The Drovers contested with rare gusto and defended with huge resolve but again failed to dominate the contact area where Neath were outstanding in speed and execution.
Mike Collins, international No 8 Nathan Thomas and the canny Gareth Gravell formed a fine break-away unit that held the upper hand in the loose and Llandovery had to rely on terrific defence to survive.
Coach Rob Appleyard was in no way downbeat. "We have seen one of the clear favourites to win the Premiership fight hard to finally pull way from us after we were level at 12-12 in the second half and I thought we gave them a real run for their money. The contact and tackle area remains a problem although there was a marked improvement from the game at Pontypridd".
"Their back-row is arguably be the best in the division and had that physical edge in the loose that swings games away from you," said the former Wales flanker. "We hung on with some terrific defensive commitment when they attacked hard for long periods and if we can improve our ball winning in the loose - make it quicker and more secure - I am confident that we will soon be on the winning trail."
With a budget three, perhaps four times more than the one available to Llandovery, the All Blacks had the class - four internationals - and experience that money can buy but the Drovers gave it their all.
Up front No 8 Josh Turnbull, lock Louie Tonkin and flanker Lloyd Phillips threw themselves into battle whilst behind the scrum, centre Rhys Williams and scrum-half Gareth James often did the work of two men.
But the swiftness of Neath possession was in marked contrast to the often slow ball that came the Drovers way so that James and partner Howard Thomas were always surrounded by defenders.
Llandovery hung on valiantly in the first half, preventing any try but alas forced to give away four penalties - three to fly-half Gareth McCarthy and one to centre Luke Ford.
With limited possession, the Drovers scrapped away and Howard Thomas kept them in touch with a penalty and drop goal to make it 12-6 at the interval.
It could have been better if Phillips had got more support from a lost Neath line-out five metres out but again - and crucially - support for the attacker was not quick enough to launch the killer blow.
With Turnbull a tower of strength at No 8, the Drovers cranked it up enough after the interval to bring the score to 12-12 thanks to two penalties from Thomas. Neath then said enough is enough and scored 23 unanswered points to race into a 35-12 lead before ex-Leicester, Richmond and London Welsh debutant wing Joe Ajuwa brought the home crowd to its feet with a block-busting late try.
Llandovery ratings by Huw S Thomas: N Clapham 6 (L Rees); I Evans 5, A Bevan 4, R Williams 7, M Davies 5 (J Ajuwa); H Thomas 6 (C Rees), G James 7; P Edwards 6, A Yelland 5 (capt) (K Allen), J Jones 5 (A Jones), R Gierat 5 (G Vaughan), L Tonkin 6, N Aiono 6 (E Siggery), J Turnbull 8, L Phillips 6
