After the first two games of the season, three sides shared the divisional leadership with maximum points. Two of those three suffered defeat, allowing Gwernyfed to enjoy sole leadership after a hard-won victory in the rain at Fleur de Lys.

It wasn’t long ago that games were called off because of the hard ground. There was little evidence of that in Blackwood on Saturday when several people planted rice adjacent to a pitch where the uncompromising hosts offered Joe Winfield’s men a real challenge.

A feature of the Gwernyfed game was the sound handling in atrocious conditions, a standard set from the start where Geraint Powell collected the first clearance kick, initiating a series of attempts to blunt a staunch defence. From the forwards Tom Lloyd and Prys Eckley always broke the gain line and out wide Will Lloyd was pulled down just short. Tom Griffiths and Tyler Morris served up great ball which eventually saw the Fleur defence transgress to end a 15-phase battering. Joe Winfield beat the wind and rain to put over the three- pointer.

From the restart the hosts turned the tables on the Talgarth men, battering the defence with quick release from the rucks. The conditions suggested that keeping the ball tight was the key and so it proved with the big home pack taking the initiative and, eventually, the lead with a try from yet another drive.

The inevitable period of up-front grunt was punctuated by offside penalties as the hosts were too keen to step up to tackle. Winfield moved the green, white and blacks into the 22 and the line-out saw the ball go wide only for the move to fail at the last moment as a result of yet another offside. Will Eckley took a quick tap penalty and when brought down just short, scrum half Griffiths and Geraint Powell combined to put Cellan Skyrme over in the corner, the considerable prop creating something of a bow wave with his dive into the deep end. Winfield once again beat the conditions to add the two points.

Fleur responded with a second try, the product of a messy series of moves down the left and some good fortune. this signalled the commencement of an arm wrestle which consumed much energy over the 20 minutes to half-time, the whistle signifying the end of a period that was even in both score and progress.

A bit of kick tennis from the restart saw Fleur penalised for not retreating. Winfield did the honours by putting the penalty into touch on the five-metre line. Powell plucked the ball from under the grey clouds. Griffiths released the backs who spread it wide to the left. Winfield reversed the direction of travel and after Tom Lloyd went close, Tyler Morris delivered an exquisite long pass to Will Lloyd who went in unattended.

The home side reduced the arrears with a penalty, but the next period saw Gwernyfed on top with runs from Gareth Davies and Joe Winfield threatening the next score. Penalty action brought play to a stop regularly and it was a resultant line-out that saw the green, white and blacks seal the win when Fleur stood off the line-out allowing the Talgarth pack to propel Will Eckley over the line to the ref’s satisfaction. Once again, the invaluable Winfield added the afters from out wide.

Fleur de Lys were nothing if not resilient and earned their reward when a penalty brought them within six points of the visitors for a losing bonus point, an outcome confirmed after a final 10 minutes controlled by the green, white and blacks.

News of the Youth XV victory over Blaenavon in their first league fixture filtered through as the Gwernyfed men travelled back to The Brian Jones Memorial Field where they take on the men of Llantrisant RFC in the first round of the Division 3 cup next weekend.