photo by Simon Green

The Bridgend Blue Bulls had an almighty scare at Ystalyfera last Saturday against a strong and committed Swansea Valley Miners side before claiming a narrow 34-30 victory thanks to two late tries from Matthew Channel and Matthew Wareham.

The Bulls had six regulars withdraw from the team on the Saturday morning and called on the services of teenage half-back duo Ryan Miles and Rhys Webb, both of whom were awesome and it was Webb who claimed the opening try after a barging run from Wareham with Miles converting from the touchline for an early 6-0 lead.

The score stayed the same up until the half hour mark after which the game really came to life with the excellent Simon Mustoe scoring after great work from Steve Hearne and Jon Purnell and minutes later fullback Matthew Hutchings broke three tackles to score under the posts with Ryan Miles converting both to put his side 18-0 up.

But the Miners hit back with a score from Dane Clancy after a great grubber kick from former Ravens scrum half Andrew Jenkins, but the final say of the half went to Bulls prop Matthew Wareham who raced over after a break from Ryan Morgan to give the reigning champions a 22-6 half time lead.

Neither set of players or fans could have imagined what would occur in the second half in the most dramatic 40 minutes of Rugby League seen in a long time with tension far greater than a certain football match between England and Portugal being played the same time.

The Miners firmly took control for the most of the half and scored early tries through Dylan Griffiths and Ashley James with Dane Clancy converting both to put Swansea to within a score.

Bridgend were then responsible for giving away too many silly penalties, which finally resulted in Gareth Noble diving over under the posts, and Clancy’s fourth goal gave the home team a two-point lead at 24-22. Any chance of a comeback then looked dead and buried when the Miners excellent loose forward Christian Roets raced 60 metres with Clancy again converting from the touchline to put them eight points clear.

But Bridgend were not to be denied and despite the searing heat and players too tired to even shout out their planned moves they played their get out of jail card. First debutant Matthew Channel slide over the line after an brilliant break and offload from Geraint Lewis and then deep into injury time indiscipline from the Miners gave the Bulls a penalty 10 metres out which was quickly taken by Wareham,and the prop used every bit of

strength left in his body to reach the line and give Bridgend the win that had looked lost just moments earlier.

The Bulls have rarely in the past had to fight back late on to win games in the Welsh Conference but this shows that other teams are improving and with only three players on the pitch who had played in the side last season it shows that Bridgend have great strength in depth. It also shows what tremendous fighting spirit the team has and the determination to hold on to their titles.

After the match new Bulls coach Kevin Weaver said, “it was the best comeback he’d ever seen and to fight back with two late tries and win was tremendous he had never been so proud”. He also praised the youngsters who had come in and played so well.

The Bulls found it difficult to cope with the heat during the game and much praise must go to Bulls stalwarts Geraint Lewis, Matthew Wareham and Jon Purnell who remained on the pitch for the entire game and helped bring the new boys through. Simon Mustoe was again outstanding making ground every time he got the ball while Tevita Manaseitava and Anthony Isaac were also solid.

But the biggest praise must go to the new lads, Bridgend Sports scrum half Sion Evans and teenager Carl Davies were only asked to play an hour before the game and did not disappoint, while Matthew Channel made a fine try scoring debut at loose forward and tackled throughout.

It was also great for the first time to see a pair of players from the Blue Bulls Juniors coming through to play for the seniors. Rhys Webb and Ryan Miles had begun life with the U15s and have gone on to represent Wales at U17s level. There was much concern before the game to whether they would hold their own against much bigger opposition, but this was unwarranted as both were brilliant. Rhys Webb gave a Kevin Ellis style performance at scrum half, tackled brilliantly and more than matched his more experienced opponent. Ryan Miles also didn’t disappoint and the Bulls would almost certainly have lost after his touchline conversions proved crucial and he will be a welcome addition as goal kicking has been one of the Bulls weaknesses this summer.

VALLEY MINERS SCORERS:
TRIES:
Dane Clancy
Dylan Griffiths
Ashley James
Gareth Noble
Christian Roets
GOALS:
Dane Clancy

BLUE BULLS SCORERS:
TRIES:
Rhys Webb
Simon Mustoe
Matthew Hutchings
Matthew Wareham (2)
Matthew Channel
GOALS:
Ryan Miles (3)
Matthew Hutchings (2)

article by Simon Green
1 July 2005