Brecon Youth 25 Aberdare Youth 12.

After a continued lull in the fixture schedule, Brecon Youth XV returned to action on Saturday as they welcomed Aberdare, in the Heart of Wales Cup.

The hosts played against the wind in the first half, with this requiring that they kept the ball in hand as much as was possible, and establishing field positions through their normally secure fast paced handling game.

This they achieved to a large extent in the opening exchanges, as they built a certain fluency that was based upon a strong set piece foundation.

Brecon got the first points on the board when, following some extended phase play after another line out win, inspirational skipper Richie Davies was able to take the ball up strongly to power through numerous tackles for a try to the right of the uprights that fullback Dafydd Edwards converted.

Brecon went through a period where they fell foul of the referee at the breakdown on a number of occasions and, from this, they became less competitive in this area, allowing Aberdare to impress with their own attacking play.

Brecon defended bravely in phases but were struggling to remain consistent in this, meaning, inevitably, that the visitors eventually drove over for the own score, which was converted to level the scores as half time approached.

The fact that the hosts played with the wind in the second half meant that they were able to establish some better field positions and put the Aberdare defence under pressure with inevitably, offences being committed.

Brecon, whilst still not fully fluent in their play, showed spirited attacking intent, and were able to press strongly for a further score. They received something of a setback however when, harshly it appeared, impressive centre Gareth Price was penalised for not releasing in the tackle, just as he sought to drive over the try line, and was shown a yellow card.

After a particularly controlled period of play, the back line engineered some space, following a wrap around pass, for fly half Will Trumper to plunge over, for a deserved score that Edwards added the extras on.

There then followed a period of play that neatly encapsulated Brecon’s untidiness and frustrations. A failure to secure the restart enabled Aberdare to build some momentum, and field position and, whilst Brecon defended stoutly for a long period, the visitors showed huge commitment and composure, over a five minute period, to finally create enough space for a try that they failed to convert, meaning the home team retained the lead as they restarted the game.

As the half wore on, the home team showed good fitness levels, and were able to build up pressure on a tiring visiting defence. This presented scoring opportunities, and full back Edwards was able to land a couple of penalties, including one from 45 metres out.

Whilst mistakes still stalled certain ambitions, one passage of play did indicate what the team is capable of. After some phases of tight play, committing defensive numbers, the outside backs were able to communicate the lack of any deep defensive line to fly half Trumper who kicked over the top to enable the speedy Gareth Price and Lauchie Rourke Davies to lead the chase for what was appearing to be an inevitable score. The ball bounced awkwardly in to the hands of supporting Dafydd Edwards who crossed the line.

The game then drew to a close with Brecon running out deserved victors by 25-12, and moving on in the cup competition to a home semi-final against Merthyr.