Betws 72 – Bynea 7

Bynea put up a spirited first half performance but the power and pace of Championship chasing Betws was too much as they ran in twelve tries to keep the pressure on league leaders Ystradgynlais. Betws again dominated the scrums from the start but a scrappy first half performance with numerous turnovers limited their scoring opportunities. However, they took the lead after 10 minutes when outside half Phil Saunders made a typical break with centre Gavin Davies powering through to score.

The visitors hit back immediately when a spilled ball in midfield was seized by wing forward Andrew Pegler who sprinted clear to score. Outside half Steve Jones converted to give Bynea an unexpected lead. Normal services were resumed when man-of-the-match and flanker Glyn Thomas pounced on the opposition number eight at another retreating scrum to rip the ball free and feed Gavin Davies who added his second try, with Saunders converting.

 Gavin Davies made another scintillating break near the end of the half and put Saunders clear to score a try but was injured in the process. This put the home team 19 – 7 in the lead. The second half saw brother Gary Davies replacing Gavin, and with the wind at their backs, Betws stepped up a gear. They scored immediately following a line out win by Glyn Thomas with the ball being carried on powerfully by No 8 Dan Howells creating the opening for Gary Davies to score under the posts.

The introduction of Gary Davies proved crucial as his strong running created a hat-trick of tries for wing Mark Thomas. Further tries were added by Gary himself, with outstanding scrum half Dylan “Bach” Rees, full back Mathew Rees and flanker Gavin Thomas also chipping in with a try apiece. Phil Saunders kept the tempo of the match flowing by opting to go for drop-goal conversions and was successful with a number from long range.

 This impressive victory for Betws kept up the pressure but a number of games remain and they will have to maintain this form should they hope for automatic promotion as Champions.