BEAUFORT RFC 19 POINTS ROGERSTONE RFC 8 POINTS

Date:- 26th november 2011

Venue:- Beaufort

Fixture:- WRU Division 6 East

BEAUFORT RFC 19 POINTS ROGERSTONE RFC 8 POINTS

Beaufort completed the first half of their season with a fine win to elevate them into second spot in division six east.

The alacrity of the opening ten minutes was striking and set the pattern for an enthralling match.. The passion and intensity of the home side attack and determination in defence never waived in a performance which was one of their best of the season Within minutes they had Rogerstone in trouble in the set piece . The visitors were a much bigger unit but they struggled to contain the scrummage that produced the opening for the first try. Scrum half Dan Croft had time to pick a spot for a well measured kick behind the visitors defence and Lewis Hodson's hoof of the unchecked ball to the line gave the fullback a clear run in for the first score.

Rogerstone hit back immediately after the restart . Beaufort were pinged for being offside and Rogerstone took the points on offer. This brought composure to the side that had yet to take advantage of their heavier presence. They were helped by a catalogue of unforced handling errors by the host side which they put to good advantage to get them to the try line. A desperate defence was eventually breached and the visitors stole the lead 8 points to 5.

But the lead did not sit easy with them There were already signs that Beaufort's lighter pack with their superior scrummaging skills were having the better of the exchanges. It was the key to the eventual win.and on the half hour they had Rogerstone entrenched on their own line . Champing at the base of the scrum was twenty year old Croft displaying a maturity beyond his years . He pounced at the tail of a driving scrum getting Beaufort's second try under the posts . Hodson's conversion was a simple one and it captured the s lead 12 points to 8 at the break.

With a slight wind advantage Rogerstone should have done better in the second half. They kicked well but failed to turn it to advantage while a buoyed up Beaufort took every opportunity to exploit their dominance in the set piece. It was this that finally settled the contest. Towards the end of the final quarter the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try as Rogerstone collapsed a flagging scrum It was enough to put the game beyond their reach.

It was a supreme effort from the home side pack with lock Craig Bennett giving his best performance of the season while the team's youngest player Dan Croft was deservedly named man of the match.