Saturday 23rd September

CAERNARFON 30 Pwllheli 12

gwyliwch y fideo | watch the video

Caernarfon continued with their 100% record this season with a comfortable win against arch rivals Pwllheli. A win that that sees the Cofi’s jump to top spot in the league on equal points with Mold, however the Cofi’s superior try count merits their top position. As anticipated a large crowd had turned out to enjoy the local derby. As for the Cofi’s they will look back with perhaps some disappointment that there lead was not greater by the final whistle, whilst Pwllheli will look back at the early advantage at the first phase did not produce more in way of points on the board. From the beginning it became apparent that the Caernarfon backs had the measure on their opponents, whilst the early exchanges saw the Pwllheli pack looking comfortable in both scrum and lineout. Early pressure saw Caernarfon gain a penalty which Kelvin Morris had no problems converting to take an early lead. Pwllheli struck back within 5 minutes when a dominant driving maul saw the Pwllheli 8 drive the ball over the line with second row, Colin Jones emerging from the pile to claim the try; with fellow second row Geraint Parry adding the conversion the visitors found themselves 7-3 in front. Caernarfon reduced the deficit to a point on twenty minutes when Morris again added another penalty.

The home side took the lead just short of the half hour when Steffan Thomas crossed for a well worked try. The move started when centre, Gwil Hendy, cut inside to find second row Mark Vaughn on the charge, with the back row in support, quick ball was released across the backline. Sion Crabtree straightened his run to pull in the defence before releasing the ball to Mathew Thomas who quickly shipped the ball to brother Steffan Thomas who went over for the well deserved try. Caernarfon were now starting to tick, and wing Arwel Davies was causing plenty of problems when he came in field off his wing. At the break the Cofi’s led by 11-7.

The second half saw the Cofi’s come out full of confidence. The first five minutes saw phase after phase being put together with the Pwllheli defence being dragged all over the place. This ball retention was the key to the Cofi’s second try as the desperate Pwllheli defence just ran out of bodies, when no 8 Gareth Thirsk popped up on the wing to take the ball and cross for the try. Caernarfon continued their dominance looking far fitter and sharper than their Llyn counterparts. The third try came following a series of attacking lineouts deep in the Pwllheli 22. Pwllheli were caught napping when the ball was shipped out wide. With the back row clearing out the defence, the ball popped up to Captain Mark Griffiths taking great joy in charging through the gap to claim the score. With Morris adding the conversion the Cofi’s held a healthy 23-7 lead.

With a little over ten minutes to go it became apparent that the Pwllheli 8 were beginning to tire; and the Cofi’s took full advantage when Dewi Williams went over for his fourth try of the season following a text book catch and drive from the lineout. To rub salt into the wounds, Kelvin Morris stepped up and converted the difficult kick. Thoughts of a cricket score were dented when Pwllheli were gifted a try late on when full back Mathew Hicks was given too much space and allowed to cross for a consolation try. The game continued to be played in Pwllheli’s half but the scoreboard had done its work for the day with the final whistle saving the visitors any further embarrassment.