Report
Sunday February 07, 2010
Meeting for the second time within just over two months, the visiting Cofis were keen to avenge the December cup defeat. But it was the home side that went ahead 7-0 in the first four minutes. However eight minutes in, Dewi Nicholson, playing his first full game at scrum half, totally wrong footed the Pwllheli defence from a scrum on the home 22 and made a sniping run towards the line. From the resultant penalty James Jones took the ball up to the line and efficient recycling saw loose head prop Gareth Prichard take up the ball and score. Stand off Aled Jones added the extra two points.
From then on the game flowed back and forth, with both stand off’s kicking for territory and the ball being run back by the opposing team. But on twenty four minutes, Caernarfon full back Tomos Jones caught a Pwllheli kick, and ran right through the defence to score. Again Aled Jones added the extras.
Pwllheli were the first to score in the third minute of the second half with an unconverted try. From then on the game continued as in the first half, strong forward play with both packs cancelling each other out. Full backs and fly half’s kicking back and forth. On the twenty second minute, Pwllheli scored another unconverted try to draw into the lead at 17-14. From then on, although Caernarfon has the best of the chances, they were unable to convert their pressure into points.
At twenty nine minutes, with time running out, Cofi fly half Aled Jones, took advantage of a Pwllheli transgression to add a penalty to his points tally and to draw Caernarfon level. Another Caernarfon/Pwllheli draw at Under 16, 17-17, but the games and the encounters are far more exhilarating than the scores suggest.