The Drovers made it three double bonus-point wins on the trot in Pool B of the SRC Cup, but had to overcome a 0-10 half-time deficit before putting the Ravens away.

After wins over Swansea and Aberavon they beat a third Osprey region feeder team to guarantee in a place in the semi-finals.

They still have Ebbw Vale to play and the outcome of that match on February 21 could well decide on whether Llandovery will have a home or away draw in the semi-finals.

The top of Pool A will be drawn against the second in Pool B and the top of Pool B will face the runner-up in Pool A.

Saturday’s game was a strange affair. Llandovery could not score a single point in the first half before a barrage of tries and 33 points took them home with room to spare.

Despite the lion’s share of possession and territory in the first half, the Drovers made a catalogue of errors - forced and unforced - against a well organised and brave defence.

Coach Gareth Potter - standing in for the absent Euros Evans - was at a loss to explain his side’s lethargy in the first half.

“We were so inaccurate, imprecise and lacking in energy in one of our worse 40 minutes for a while,” he said.

“But then, full credit to the boys and the replacements, we put more phases together, kept the ball better, made clearer decisions and eventually got six points out of the game, to make it 18 points in just three games.

“We will have a week to get over bumps and bruises before we take on Ebbw Vale.”

Bridgend were seldom on attack but when they did get near the home line, flanker Kyle Harris slipped three tackles to give the visitors an early lead, fly-half Lloyd Wilkins adding the conversion.

There was little to enthuse about the Llandovery effort. The scrum lacked authority, the back row was never quick enough to the loose ball and the backs looked ponderous in the face of sharp alignment and sound tackling.

A galloping run from young prop Josh Morse lightened the gloom a little but when Wilkins added a penalty to make it 10-0 even the most one-eyed home fan could not moan about the score.

Knock-ons, loose passes and poor support continued but after full-back Kian Abraham had come desperately close to a try, the Drovers seemed to take huge encouragement from the close miss.

A close-range line-out looked to have been countered by the Bridgend defence, only for centre Corey Baldwin to wriggle over for the opening score of the second half.

Fly-half Steff-Jac Jones converted and Llandovery were soon back to their confident selves.

Replacements gave new energy to the cause and one of them, hooker Cam Lewis, confirmed his grand recent form by dodging through after good work from wing Harri Doel.

Other replacements in forwards Griff Evans and Tom Curry and fly-half Ioan Hughes made significant contributions as the tempo increased.

Lock Joe Powell – making his 200th appearance for the club – was always in the thick of things as his side regained their composure and an Abraham run put skipper Lee Rees racing in under the posts.

Non-stop Lewis crashed over for his second try as the defensive workload took its toll on the Ravens but right out of the blue, the visitors got a breakaway score. A Llandovery move broke down in midfield and when the ball was hacked downfield, it was wing Gabe Lacey who won the race for the loose ball.

A Wilkins conversion looked to have deprived the Drovers of a second bonus-point but all was well again when Baldwin finished off a run by wing Llien Morgan to get his second try of the afternoon.

The Drovers are next in action on February 21 when they travel to Ebbw Vale in a SRC game that looks to be the decider as to who will finish top of Pool B.

Llandovery

Tries: C Baldwin (2), C Lewis (2), L Rees

Cons: I Hughes (3), S-J Jones

Pens:

Bridgend

Tries: K Harris, G Lacey

Cons: L Wilkins (2)

Pen:L Wilkins

Llandovery: K Abraham; H Doel, C Baldwin, R Jones ,L Morgan; S-J Jones, L Rees (capt); J Morse, H Thomas, B Watkins, K Jones, J Powell, E Sheldon, O Davies, T Sparrow

Replacements: T Phillips, C Lewis, L Tobias, G Evans, T Curry, T Evans, I Hughes, L Setaro

Bridgend: F Jones; G Lacey, R Greenhall, T Morgan, M Rowley; LWilkins, H Nash; H Olding, T Olding, N Evans, B Waddell, E Hill, , A Thomas, T Jevons, K Harris

Replacements: A George, J Williams, E Cowan, E Evans, M Boobyer, C Williams, J Thomas, E Howley