Aberavon Alchemy

The first challenge was an easy one to solve, it was impossible to miss the Talbot Athletic Ground with its floodlights blazing in the clear evening sky right next to the elevated section of the M4 through Port Talbot. As I approached the ground, after a six hour journey, courtesy of roadwork’s and tree trimming, I thought I was a season late for the fixture, as the board outside proclaimed Friday 28th November;  Aberavon  v  Leeds Carnegie.

I entered with some trepidation, partially down to my first experience of Welsh Club Rugby a couple of seasons ago, when I was terribly disappointed with the Sardis Road home of Pontypridd. However the Athletic Ground, especially without its infamous ‘hole in the pitch,’  was  much better and I felt some atmosphere, despite the sparse crowd, maybe helped by the strong aroma of curry drifting up from beneath the stand.

The already referenced sparse crowd, officially numbered at 450, included on my count, 6 Carnegie supporters (three at each side of the pitch) and on a mild, moonlit evening we all witnessed Carnegie cleanly gather the kick off and almost immediately saw the Wizards penalised on half way. The early signs were encouraging and there was enterprise, movement and offloading aplenty in the Carnegie possession which was almost embarrassingly one way. The new ‘old look’ Carnegie quickly established a commanding lead before allowing Aberavon back into the game courtesy of a number of mistakes made by being a shade too adventurous at times. The opportunities presented either side of half time, allied to the two yellow cards for Charlie B and Wakka Snr., allowed the Wizards to gain a confidence which had been missing in the earlier stages of the match. Although the score was tied at 29 all with some ten minutes remaining it did appear that if Carnegie produced fewer errors and went through their phases in the remaining time, that they should have enough class to pull away from a tiring Aberavon outfit. This they duly did, adding tries from Jonah and Dan Tai, who converted a solo break made by Matt Dudman.

I felt the decision to give the ball plenty of air had a negative affect on the defensive ability but I guess the overall package needs to be refined.  After the match, coaches and players alike expressed some satisfaction with the outcome recognising that the task had been made harder by errors but that they were trying to build and that first step had been successfully taken.  Although I had already heard ‘Marching on Together’ ringing out from the Penzance dressing room in September it was much louder and potentially significant, heard in Mason Street, Aberavon at  9.10pm on Friday night.