As the Christmas Festive season approaches, Brecon’s Senior and Youth teams certainly brought Good Cheer to the faithful at Brecon Rugby Club with a Hat Trick of Home wins. The Youth were first to bring their Tidings of Good Joy when they posted a 33 points to 14 victory over Mumbles. That victory secures a Quarter Final place in the WRU Shield. Next up was the Athletic team. They overcame a formidable Penallta team by 24 points to 13 in a hard fought Division 5 Cup battle. That victory also secured a Quarter Final place for the impressive Athletic team. Finally the 1^st XV clinically saw off the Challenge of Bonymaen by 46 points to 14, in a Premiership match, with the result elevating Brecon to fourth place behind Pontypridd, Neath and Merthyr.

The 1^st XV win was certainly welcome both in terms of the result, which delivered five league points including a try bonus point, and the manner of performance. This was a huge step up from their previous fixture when they suffered a disappointing loss at home to Narberth. It wasn’t a perfect performance. Two areas of concern will undoubtedly be scrutinised by Dale McIntosh and his coaching team. During the first half the scrum came under severe pressure and at one point yielded penalties at three consecutive scrums. The other issue came when the team lost focus after establishing a 34 points to nil lead in the forty fifth minute. They allowed Bonymaen to hit back with two converted tries before a re-set allowed Brecon to re-establish their dominance and score two further tries before the final whistle.

While those were the negatives there were far more positives to come out of the match. Claiming seven tries, which came from a mixture of long range, multi-phase moves and close range, patient build ups, was certainly pleasing. The work rate of the whole team was also impressive with forwards and backs sharing the work at the breakdown and combining well in the open to deliver two short range forward tries and five tries shared between Brecon’s two centres and two wings. The Brecon line out also functioned really well with Callum Bradbury, Tom Offa and Alwyn Lee winning clean ball on their own throw and stealing possession off a number of opposition throws. While the scrum suffered for a period in the first half, it was pleasing that Brecon could re-adjust, making use of a strong bench, in order to address the problem and to end the match with the dominant scrum. Brecon were also accurate and clinical when receiving a kick off. Jack Dixon set the tone with a great catch and break off the first kick off. Others followed suit, as Brecon faced a totally of eight with all bar one ending with Brecon taking the game into the Bonymaen half.

There were other pleasing, individual successes. Tom Richards, returning after injury, put in an excellent performance both in attack and defence. In attack he created for others and scored a try, while one defensive play was exceptional. He gathered a low bouncing ball near his try line, beat the first chaser and then outpaced the next on the outside. Finally, he delivered clean ball at the breakdown for Brecon to clear. James Roberts, at number 8, had his best game in senior Brecon colours to date. He tackled hard, carried powerfully and used his strength to muscle over for a close range try. There were a number of other standout performances with most featuring in the tries scored.

The first of those came from centre Jack Dixon. With seven minutes on the clock Brecon had a line out on the Bonymaen 22. Callum Bradbury won clean ball and in mid-field Tom Richards drew the defence with a straight run. Bradbury received the ball off the breakdown and Jack Dixon ran powerfully on to his flat pass to break through the defence and score. James Dixon added the conversion and then a penalty goal.

The second came after some great interplay between wings Sam Jones and Chad Davies, Tom Richards and Callum Bradbury. Brecon earned a penalty and kicked for the corner. Following two further penalties, Alwyn Lee set up a maul off the line out and James Roberts barged over for the try which Dixon converted. Almost immediately Brecon scored their third. James Dixon cleared the ball down field from the kick-off. Alwyn Lee stole the line out and the ball was moved wide off a long Lewis Jones pass. The handling across the line was swift and accurate and full back Jake Newman delivered the scoring pass to Sam Jones. The last two named players featured again in the fourth, bonus point, try. Off a line out on the Bonymaen ten metre line, the ball was moved left. Sam Jones, off the right wing, entered the line and opened up space. He linked with Newman who committed the last defenders before offloading to Chad Davies for him to score.

Try number five came immediately after the kick off to start the second half. Alwyn Lee chased, jumped and gathered the kick off brilliantly. Ever present, Ioan Edwards carried the move on to within 5 metres and the after a series of drives Andy Nicholl was unstoppable as he drove over for a try which Dixon converted.

Brecon then allowed their intensity to dip and to Bonymaen’s credit they took their opportunity with two close range tries. The first off an impressive rolling maul and the second after a series of pick and drives. Brecon needed to restore their accuracy and concentration but at first that didn’t look as if it would happen. They gave away a penalty while on the attack and then a further ten metres for back chat. Bonymaen kicked into the Brecon 22 and looked dangerous, only for prop Cameron Cox to put in two great tackles and to dislodge the ball. Brecon ran out of defence and then put in a chip and chase. Ioan Edwards won the ball brilliantly on the ground and then, along with Tom Offa and Kristian Dacey, showed great hands to put Sam Jones away for his second try.

The final score came after a good Tomos Davies run and a quick Geraint Workman tap penalty. Brecon failed to capitalise immediately but when a great double hit from Matthew Williams and James Roberts dislodged the ball, Logan McIntosh claimed the loose ball, broke, and fed Tom Richards for the final try which Dixon converted to end a more than satisfying afternoon from a Brecon perspective.

Following the defeat at Pontypridd, Brecon welcomed Narberth to Parc de Pugh. Players, coaches and supporters were eager to restore confidence with a morale boosting win. The disappointment at the end of a closely fought, but error strewn performance, was therefore obvious and understandable. Narberth arrived at Parc de Pugh with just one victory under their belts from their most recent match at Bonymaen. Expectation, therefore, was high, although last year’s Championship West winners were never going to be pushovers. There seemed little evidence of underestimating the challenge, or showing lack of respect for their opponents, during the opening exchanges, which Brecon clearly won. After ten minutes they were 5 points up and that could easily have been more. However, Narberth hit back just minutes later with their first real attack and took the lead. From that point on Brecon suffered from a distinct lack of fluency. Some of that can be attributed to the tenacity and line speed of the Narberth defence and their competitiveness at the breakdown but also, Brecon have to look at themselves at the mistakes they made and the penalties they gave away, all of which resulted in the team inviting unnecessary pressure on itself. That resulted in Narberth grinding out a 15 points to 5 lead deep into the second half. Brecon did respond and with seven minutes to go, when they cut the lead to three points and came close to securing a winning score, but again errors prevented them from pulling the game out of the fire and they had to, disappointingly, settle for a losing bonus point.  

The start of the game gave little indication of what was to follow. Brecon controlled territory and looked dangerous. Jake Newman almost created a try with a great counter attack down the left wing. The full back who had a good all round game, gathered a kick ahead on his 22, beat the first chaser and ran into space on the left touchline. As the final cover came across, he kicked ahead only for the ball to bounce into touch near the goal line. From the line out Brecon forced a scrum but conceded a penalty which allowed Narberth to clear. However, Brecon weren’t to be denied. Some long Newman kicks put Brecon on the attack and No 8 James Roberts put in two great runs and offloads to create space. With the defence sucked in James Dixon floated a pass over the last defender. The pass reached centre Huw Jones on the bounce. The youngster, on his first senior start, showed composure and good hands to gather and run in for the opening try. At this point the game seemed to be moving in the direction that the home support had hoped for.

That comfortable feeling was quickly dispelled when, two minutes later, Narberth took the lead. On halfway, outside half, Jonathan Rogers, put in a delicate chip over the defensive line. Under severe pressure, centre Harrison Griffiths gathered on the full and raced away to score, allowing Rogers to convert and give Narberth a two point lead.

Brecon’s response for the remainder of the first half was disappointing from the perspective that Brecon failed to capitalise on attacking positions from which they should have been able to launch scoring opportunities. The fact that they didn’t, rested on a series of mistakes and unnecessary penalties which allowed Narberth to clear and exert pressure on Brecon.  During this period Brecon conceded eight penalties and as a result they found it difficult to build through phases. With penalties given away after good initial attacks and after spurning an opportunity off a great Newman 50/22 kick, they became overanxious to get the ball to wide men Sam Jones and Ryan Davies. Several long, over ambitious, wide passes failed to find their target or, if they did, the wings were forced to check their runs or gather low or high balls, with the defence bearing down on them. When Narberth cleared, they exerted pressure and Brecon were forced to defend. They did that well, with the likes of Ioan Edwards and Aneurin James putting in many important tackles. So, for the remainder of the half, it was a stalemate with neither side adding to their scores.

The second half could not have started much worse for Brecon. They cleared the kick off to half way and stole the line out. James Roberts made a good run for Brecon only for a penalty to be given away at the breakdown and Rogers extended Narbert’s lead with a well struck kick.

After that they game continued in a similar pattern. Brecon twice gained line outs in good positions only to lose possession as a result of a not straight throw and an overthrow. The mistakes allowed Narberth to clear and Brecon were put under pressure. Defensive discipline held and finally they earned themselves a clear cut chance. A lovely Newman chip over the defence was brilliantly gathered by centre Tomos Davies. As he bore down on the line he was just held. He put in a speculative pop pass only for the recipient to be a Narberth defender who raced away from inside his 22 to Brecon’s 22 where he was finally brought to earth by covering Geraint Walsh. Narberth, however, recycled the ball and after a number of phases one of their  forwards crashed over for try which Rogers converted.

Brecon’s attempt to hit back early was hampered by a kick off which didn’t go ten metres, but they did respond. A couple of good Ryan Davies and Sam Jones runs gave hope with just a forward pass and a maul held up on the line preventing a score, but finally Brecon finally linked together a number of phases and prop Chris Phillips cut a great line off a Lewis Jones pass to score. Newman’s conversion brought the team back to just a three point deficit. With 74 minutes gone Brecon needed just one more chance and it came. Geraint Walsh took the ball in space with Davies on the outside but covered. Walsh put in lovely weighted grubber. On 5 metres Ryan Davies was first to reach the ball as it bobbled toward the try line. A clean pick up would have yielded a score but at full pace and with the ball still moving, Ryan failed to gather cleanly and the chance to pluck a win from the jaws of defeat was lost.

Brecon now have to re-group, re-set and prepare for a new challenge at Cardiff Met next Saturday. They have got to believe in, and work for, one another, and show what they are capable of. On the brighter side, on a disappointing weekend for the 1^st XV, the Athletic picked up a bonus point win over Bridgend Athletic’s 2^nd team by 29 points to 10 and the Youth won at Llandaff by 36 points to 31.