New Panteg Match Report

Date:- 21st March 2008

Venue:- Beaufort

Fixture:- WRU league Division 6 ( East)

BEAUFORT RFC 36 POINTS NEW PANTEG RFC 10

It was six of the best from Beaufort to earn them a landslide success and maximum points against their league opponents. It was a thumping victory and at times played with with real electricity

The home side started well testing the New Panteg defence to its limits as they went through the phases. New Panteg held out for the first quarter but then cracks started to appear as Ben Harding Beaufort dynamic No 8 crashed over for the first of his three tries. Wing Kyle Purnell got the next latching on to a final pass to finish off a a blistering attack engineered by his forwards.

Beaufort then went into sleep mode and allowed the visitors to bring some pattern to their game in which their useful set of three quarters threatened to redress the situation

The first half ended with Beaufort's ten point lead still intact but just after the break a kick towards the New Panteg line was collected by their full back whose lightening break in a counterattack found yawning gaps in the Beaufort defence. The result was a try under the posts which was converted.

It proved to be a wake up call for the host side . They then let loose with a decisive barrage of unstoppable attacks that split open their opponents defence Matthew Burrows from fullback crafted the third try and Purnell finished it for his second . Ben Harding got the fourth, his second after a series of forward rumbles for the bonus points . New Panteg could only reply with a penalty and by the last quarter were reduced to shoring up an overworked defence.

Craig Bennett made a typical explosive charge from which try flanker Jason Taylor was the beneficiary touching down for the fifth try to put the result beyond doubt Then Ben Harding got the last, just reward for a splendid all round performance to claim his first hat trick for the club in a six try haul with Dylan Smith kicking three conversions.

This was a particularly good performance by the Beaufort pack where tight head prop Justin Roberts and his No 8 Ben Harding caught the eye to share the honours of star players on the day.

Next week Beaufort host Whiteheads (Newport) RFC in another league encounter

BARRIE CASWELL

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