Llandovery College power past Christ College in annual clash

In the 129th match between these two famous old rugby-playing schools, it was Llandovery who finished well on top for the 90th time in the 147 years of the fixture.

A four-figure crowd, which included old Llandoverian and X Factor runner-up Rhydian Roberts cheering on, witnessed the annual hurly-burly of unstinting effort long associated with the match, with Llandovery’s power and physicality up front the deciding factor.

Christ College were ready to run the ball from deep, but they never had enough good and clean possession to counter the superior bulk of the Lilywhites’ eight, under eye-catching No 8 Harvey Thomas.

The Breconians did have the distinction of scoring the best try of the game when fly-half Bowen Thomas – son of former Llandovery coach Nathan – countered in his own 22, and a sweeping multi-phase attack of quick hands and straight lines ended with centre Raith Scannell going over under the posts.

It was to be their only try of the day, but a lot of their time was spent in defence against the big ball-carrying Llandovery forwards and hard-running backs under skipper and thrusting centre Cole Inker.

Brecon coach Dan Parry was far from downbeat at the result.

“In a very competitive game, the score did not reflect how close a physical contest the game was,” he said.

“Our boys showed real bravery to go toe to toe with a much bigger team and held our own for many aspects of the game.

“We have a bright future ahead with this team, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the remainder of the season holds for us.”

Llandovery’s immensely powerful tighthead prop Ollie Tucker – a potential star of the future – twice crashed through tackles for a brace of first-half tries, and there was another close-range effort from hefty lock Harri Lewis as Llandovery built up a 19-3 half-time lead.

Talented skipper and full-back Archie Lavington had kicked an early penalty for Brecon, but his fellow backs – including livewire centre Jack Williams – had to live off scraps and risk handling from far too deep.

New Llandovery coach Chris Rooke, who has taken over from Nathan Thomas, acknowledged the edge his forwards enjoyed in all phases.

“The final score might have been a bit flattering in our favour, but I thought we had control in most areas of the game,” he said.

“Our forwards turned the screw in the second half, and our replacements injected a lot of life in the open, but full marks to Brecon, who made us fight for everything.”

Fighting had its own ironic consequences, as two red cards – one to Harri Lewis and one to Brecon flanker Henry Davies – after a general brawl in the second half had historians thumbing through the records in an attempt to see if there had ever been a double sending-off in the historic fixture.

The outstanding Scannell converted try gave the visitors a glimmer of hope, but when scrum-half Reuben Slade-Jones sniped through for a fourth Llandovery try, the result was never in doubt.

Even so, the ever-willing Brecon pack, led by hard-working No 8 Matthew Williams and lock Tom Langley, never stopped running and harassing and nearly fashioned a close-range try of their own in a gesture of defiance.

The sendings-off made little difference to the pattern of the game, and Llandovery finished with loads more in the tank, attacking with increasing confidence against tiring opponents.

Replacements in wing Charlie Eatly – from a clever Tucker inside pass – scrum-half Tomas Fallon and centre James Dyas-Szulik all crossed to pull the Lilywhites clear.