Aberaeron beat Llangwm 31-0 in Division Three West A

It wasn’t as one sided as the score suggests, but it was a job well done by Aberaeron.

On an inevitably heavy and muddy pitch at Pill Parks, they were forced to defend for long spells in a tight first hour before cutting loose late on as the class of Dafydd Llewellyn shone through.

The centre crossed twice and also created a try for midfield partner Ollie Sawyer, to go with earlier tries for prop Mathew Roberts and scrum half Gareth James.

A scrappy first 40:

It was no surprise to see members of the Llangwm committee on the field with pitch forks before kick off, with referee Neil Jones ensuring all excess water was removed.

And the opening minutes set the tone for a scrappy first half, with The Wasps first to attack when winger Daniel Morgan gathered a clearance kick and charged over half way, but after a strong carry from No 8 Jason Mock things broke down when centre Daniel Thomas knocked on.

Moments later it was The Seagulls who threatened - and did so more clinically as they took a 5-0 lead.

A series of forward drives set up a penalty which No 10 Rhodri Jenkins kicked to the corner, and from the lineout drive that followed prop Mathew Roberts peeled blind to score. Jenkins was short with the conversion.

With the slope in their favour though, Llangwm responded and outside half Jo Kiff launched an up and under that Aber full back Dyfrig Dafis spilt in his own 22, but in the scramble that followed referee Jones spotted a knock on which averted the danger.

Another chance came when Mock took an inside pass off Luke Hayman and charged upfield, before the No 9 cleverly chipped ahead and forced Dafis into touch five metres out. From that lineout came further pressure and Gethin Thomas and Ieuan Power were both stopped inches short, but again it came to nothing when winger Morgan lost the ball forward when tackled.

It was Hayman who was then short with a penalty attempt from 40 metres but when the home side had a much simpler chance for three points, they opted for the corner but again Aberaeron held out to lead 5-0 at the break.

Seagulls stay solid before sealing the win:

It was the visitors who then started the stronger in the second half and after a burst from winger Kieron Etheridge, it was No 9 James who picked up from close range and reached over the line for a try that Jenkins did well to convert from out wide.

And then came a pivotal period after Llangwm winger Ewan Griffiths was taken out chasing his own chip kick, winning his side a penalty just 10 metres out. In a frenzied few minutes The Wasps battered away at the line as Mock, Power again and Phil Llewellyn all went close. Two further penalties followed which the home side opted to run but eventually the ball went loose – and Jenkins gratefully cleared his lines.

It proved crucial when with 20 minutes left, Llewellyn found himself wide on the left and showed real pace to beat the cover defence and go over to make it 17-0.

From there The Seagulls, still very much in the title picture, sensed a bonus point and they nearly got it when a clever kick from Jenkins was hacked ahead but Llangwm full back George Morgan covered back.

Finishing with a flourish:

The fourth try duly came though and it was one that defied the conditions – Jenkins breaking strongly from his own 22 and linking with Llewellyn who again cut loose down the left before supplying the inside pass to Sawyer to score.

Jenkins again converted and then with time running out, Llewellyn got his second against a tiring Llangwm defence, this time searing down the right hand side from the half way line and side stepping two players on his way to the corner.

Again Jenkins added the difficult extras to complete a hard fought, if not always pretty, win for Aberaeron.

Man of the match - Dafydd Llewellyn:

It wasn’t a day for silky running, or side stepping, or finishing off tries from long range. In fact, it wasn’t even a day for backs.

And yet it was Llewellyn whose pace and evasive running led to three of Aberaeron’s tries and it was a classy display by the centre. As soon as the Llangwm defence began to tire, he was cutting through at will.

No 10 Jenkins also kicked well both out of hand and at goal in treacherous weather, while Llangwm No 8 Jason Mock put in a real shift up front for The Wasps. But Llewellyn comfortably gets the nod.

Llangwm: George Morgan, Daniel Morgan, Yale Grice, Daniel Thomas, Ewan Griffiths, Jo Kiff, Luke Hayman, Will Scriven, Phil Llewellyn, Ieuan Power, David Reynolds, John O’Boyle, Gethin Thomas (capt), James Lewis, Jason Mock. Replacements: Gavin Jones, Mathew Lewis, Ian Griffiths, Daniel Ridge, Kieran Barclay.

Aberaeron: Dyfrig Dafis, Kieron Etheridge, Dafydd Llewellyn, Ollie Sawyer, Ifan Slinger, Rhodri Jenkins, Gareth James, Owain Wozencroft, Sion Evans (capt), Mathew Roberts, Llyr Davies, Tudur Jenkins, Huw Wozencraft, Gethin Dafis, Lewis Tomlins. Replacements: Jason Freeman, Alex Danton, Richard Cummins, Bleddyn Thomas, Justin Lloyd.

Referee: Neil Jones.