Gwalia Lightning took pole position after an entertaining match against Edinburgh Rugby in South Wales.
Mind you, it’s unlikely to last more than 24 hours as unbeaten Wolfhounds play tomorrow Sunday.
But it’s heart-warming to find a Welsh side playing with flair and persistence in these hard times. They have now won three out of four.
The pace the game was played at did great credit to both sides. They favoured an open style, the wingers seeing plenty of ball.
Edinburgh gained the early initiative as right-winger Cieron Bell crossed. Gwalia responded quickly. A promising attack halted just short of the line, but Nikita Prothero’s long pass found Courtney Greenway who added to her clutch of tries.
This was a game to savour, nip and tuck most of the way. I admit I fancied Edinburgh’s chances from their early showing; it’s lucky I’m not a betting man.
Cieron Bell crossed on the right wing to restore the Scots’ lead, but other chances went begging.
Molly Reardon, prominent all through, powered over to give the hosts the edge.
It was Alaw Pyrs, another leading performer, who ensured a half-time lead for the Welsh, 17-12.
The coaches may well have stressed a couple of points: the line-out (especially the Scots’) was uncertain and ruck speed varied from ultra quick to annoyingly slow.
The cheering detail for the Welsh was the way they took control for most of the second half. Edinburgh came close on several occasions, but Hannah Ramsay’s solitary try came too late to alter fate. At 24-17 it was still a one-score margin with two bonus points still possible.
In the event they achieved neither. Reardon ensured the bonus for Gwalia, and Lily Hawkins, replacement No 9, spotted a tiny gap to plunge over.
A thoroughly enjoyable match.
Result: Gwalia 31 Edinburgh 17
Player of the Match: Molly Reardon
Teams
Gwalia: 15 PROTHERO 14 GREENWAY 13 WEBSTER 12 ANDERSON-THOMAS 11 LEWIS 10 C. HUGHES 9 BEVANS 1 M. DAVIES 2 REARDON 3 HILL 4 A. PYRS 5 VUCAJ 6 TERRY 7 H. OWEN 8 KING (captain)
16 M.CRABB 17 CUMING 18 SCOBLE 19 C. STEWART 20 BUFFERY LATHAM 21 HAWKINS 22 McMULLEN 23 HESKETH
Edinburgh: 15 MARLOW 14 BELL 13 PHILIPPS 12 MacRAE 11 WALKER (captain) 10 RAMSAY 9 LOVE 1 A. WILSON 2 RONALD 3 POOLMAN 4 FERRIE 5 LOGAN 6 MOODY 7 A. STEWART 8 LUSBY
16 WHITEHOUSE 17 TAWAKE 18 SUTHERLAND 19 RUSSELL 20 McGROTTY 21 BENSON 22 WATERS 23 HADDOW
Afterthoughts
Edinburgh have had a tough ride thus far. They have met and lost to Wolfhounds, the unbeaten leaders, home and away. At least they can take sweet revenge against Gwalia next week at the Hive.
That five-week PWR break looks even odder now. It was scheduled to give RWC players a break from their exertions. But, lo and behold, the England players have been called away to another training session.
At least it has benefited the two Welsh teams. PWR clubs have allowed several of them to switch to the CC for a period, adding mightily to the quality and confidence of their play.
It makes a pleasant change to be able to commend a young male referee, Josh Sealy. He controlled the game admirably, allowing the players to display their creative skills while getting tricky decisions correct. I hope his assessor agreed with my distant verdict.
