Newport captain Hunter Ward scored two tries as the Black & Ambers crushed Aberavon 73-33 in Super Rygbi Cymru, with Ward calling for Spytty Park to be a fortress.
Bidding to retain the Super Rygbi Cymru Challenger Shield through the entire campaign has given Newport added motivation, Ward said. The win over Aberavon marked a second successful defence for the season of the shield, and fourth in total, after wrestling it away from Ebbw Vale back in March.
Shield defence and fortress mentality
Similar to New Zealand's Ranfurly Shield, the 'holder' puts up the shield for competition in every home game in the regular league season. Newport will defend it again on Saturday when they host Carmarthen Quins.
"Every week we talk about trying to make our home at Spytty Park, and when we play at Rodney Parade, a real fortress and, when teams come here, really putting a performance on and not taking any backward steps," said Australian back rower Ward. "It's a massive goal for us to go through this season and retain that shield.
"This competition is strong, anyone can beat anyone on their day, so it's absolutely critical that we turn up and put our best performance forward. We've got a good mix of mature players and young players and it's just getting that consistency week in, week out."
Match details and try scorers
Ward was entrusted with the captain's armband in the absence of regular skipper Ben Roach against Aberavon – and marked the occasion by scoring two tries. Newport ran in 11 tries in total in a thumping win against the Wizards to make it three wins from three and 23 tries scored so far. It also saw them put more than 70 points on Aberavon for the second season in a row, having beaten the Wizards 76-10 at Newport Stadium last December.
The writing looked to be on the wall after Newport raced into a 17-0 lead after only 14 minutes with Ward, hooker Wade Langley and flanker Josh Reid all scoring, as Aberavon struggled to handle their intensity and speed. Despite looking in complete control, Newport then gifted Aberavon their first try almost immediately after scoring their third with a dropped ball by Carwyn Penny allowing Garyn Smith in to score after some neat footballing skills from fellow centre James Price.
The Wizards then scored a second try on 21 minutes, again out of nothing, when a kick through looked destined to drop over the deadline line, but wing Felix Gilbert refused to give up the chase and beat Newport's Fin Baker to the ball to touch down. Four minutes later, the game had been turned on its head with Aberavon taking the lead. As they drove for the line, scrum-half Scott Whitlock then picked up the ball and sent it left through the hands of Charlie Thomas and Smith for wing Frankie Jones to score his fifth try of the season.
Newport responded and had their first bonus point in the bag on 32 minutes when lock Ethan Phillips took the ball from the lineout to score his third try in as many matches so far this season. Full-back Penny added his name to the Newport try scorers a minute before the break, with Newport leading 31-19 as the players headed down the tunnel.
Second half dominance and other results
Wales U20 wing Brogan Leary scored the first of Newport's six second half tries two minutes after the re-start and also helped set up tries for replacement scrum-half Dafydd Buckland and centre Joe Westwood. Langley and Ward both went over again with wing other Baker also getting in on the act. Will Ford sent over eight conversions in addition to an earlier one from Penny. Whitlock and replacement Elis Cox replied for the Wizards as they took a bonus point.
Reigning champions Llandovery are off the mark at the third time of asking in Super Rygbi Cymru after they held on with 13 men to beat Bridgend 29-26 at the Brewery Field. The Ravens twice took the lead in the first half, through back-rower Benji Williams and prop Nathan Evans, both converted by Fraser Jones. But two tries for Drovers wing Kian Abraham and one for loosehead Dino Dallavalle, plus two conversions from Ioan Hughes, saw the Drovers with their noses in front 19-14 at the break.
Captain Joe Powell scored a bonus-point winning fourth try for the visitors after the break, with Hughes' conversion followed by a penalty goal extending their lead to 29-14. Bridgend were awarded a penalty try on 71 minutes and saw Llandovery full-back Isaac Murray-Macgregor receive a yellow card for an illegal tackle on Cameron Ellis and, three minutes later, Abraham followed him to the sin bin for a deliberate knock on. But despite the hosts then scoring again through Edd Howley in a tense finale, the visitors held out to secure their first win of the season.
"Delighted to get the first one on the board," said Drovers head coach Euros Evans. "We played some excellent rugby for 70 minutes and, at that stage, a six-point win looked to be on the cards. Then we imploded a bit and had to dig deep to get the result. The Brewery Field is always a tough place to go, so we've got to be happy with the five points."
Ebbw Vale made it three from three but needed a late try from wing Dafydd Thomas to snatch a 33-31 win over RGC. The Steelmen had been 28-3 up at one stage, but the north Walians rallied to lead 31-28 – before having to settle for two bonus points. Skipper Ethan Phillips, prop Luke Garrett – on his 150th appearance – No 8 Ryan Jenkins and full-back Morgan Rees were the other Ebbw scorers. Harri Ford kicked four conversions. Two second half tries from No 8 Sam Williams sparked RGC – who also had lock Huw Davies and scrum-half Tudur Jones on the scoresheet. Billy McBryde added 11 points from the tee.
Cardiff maintained their own 100 per cent winning start with an emphatic 43-5 win over Pontypool at the Arms Park to secure all six points. All of the points in the match were scored in the first half with the Blue & Blacks scoring seven times. Loosehead prop Ioan Emanuel grabbed two of them, with wing Joe Goodchild, hooker Tom Howe, tighthead prop Tom Harper, back rower Gethyn Cannon and outside half Ben Coomer also going over. Coomer added the extras. No 8 Ben Williams grabbed a consolation score for Pooler.
Elsewhere, a second half hat-trick off the bench from young Scarlets scrum-half Alfie Luger inspired Carmarthen Quins to a 43-35 victory from behind at home against Swansea. Both sides were looking to secure their first win of the season after defeats in their first two games, and Swansea were 20-12 to the good at half time courtesy of tries from full-back Lewis Edwards, wing Iwan Glynn and player head coach Joe Thomas. Luke Price added five points from the tee. No 8 Lewys Millin and wing Eilir George scored first half tries for Quins, with Ifan Davies converting one. Centre Jack Hoskins' unconverted try after the break secured Swansea a bonus point and extended their lead to 25-12. But the introduction of Wales U18 star Luger changed the game in Quins' favour. The 18-year-old looked a class act, helping himself to three tries while centre Gabe McDonald and lock Lee Taylor – on his 250th Quins appearance – also went over. McDonald converted three of them. Thomas and Edwards both grabbed their second tries for the Whites but it's now three defeats from three for Swansea.
"We were slow out of the blocks into a strong wind, lethargic and lacking energy. However we did just enough to be in touch at half time," reflected Quins director of rugby Steff Thomas. "The energy that we demanded started to come, but there was real impact from the bench. Alfie Luger and Joe Denman were the first to bring that – and the rest of the bench followed suit. For an 18-year-old to change a game like Alfie did was some performance. We will take plenty from that game but know how much better we can be."
