Welsh Conference Round 10

Total RL.com Welsh Rugby League Conference

Newport Titans 62-12 Swansea Valley Miners

Newport Titans hammered an understrength Swansea Valley Miners outfit 62-12.

Man-of-the-match Danny Nelmes led the way with six tries while Craig Drew, Julian Short, John Griffith and John Dingle also crossed.

Late withdrawls from the squad, though, saw Swansea Valley Miners having just nine players to take to Newport.

The two teams played with nine men each but Newport were able to interchange almost throughout the entire match in order to give everyone a game.

The Miners gave a good account of themselves, especially second-row Darren David, who tackled all afternoon, and were only 24-4 down at half-time, with wing Christian Roetes going over for a try.

Prop Nathan Jenkins and hooker Tristan Davies got second-half touchdowns but the Titans were able to run away with the match at the end.

Aberavon Fighting Irish 40-31 Cardiff Demons

Another see-saw battle between two of the Welsh Conference's heavyweights ended with a late victory for the Fighting Irish for the second time this season.

Just as in the earlier encounter at Taffs Well which ended 27-28 to Aberavon, it was Cardiff who opened the scoring when Gareth Jones broke a tackle and scored out on the right.

But the Fighting Irish struck back on 10 minutes when they broke down the right and Gary Vaughan scored in the corner.

The Demons manufactured an excellent opportunistic try when Sion Williams intercepted on the half-way line and got a pass out to Gareth Jones who went 30 metres to score.

Jones then added a drop goal to make it 4-11 and on 24 minutes the Demons went further in front when Lewis Francis battled through from 10 yards out.

At 17-4 Aberavon discipline was flagging, but an act of gamesmanship from Richard Lewis in effecting a quick start after a penalty allowed the Irish to find their way back into the game, setting up a Neil Davies try under the posts on 34 minutes.

The Demons added a Jones penalty but the Irish drew to within five just before the break when a good interchange of passes allowed David Hawkins to go in.

Hawkins, however, missed the chance to contest the opening 10 minutes of the second half when he was sin binned for dissent.

Surprisingly, his absence allowed the Fighting Irish to play more freely and by the time he returned his team-mates had taken a 24-19 lead with tries from Richard Lewis and Liam Gadd.

But the Demons regained the lead on 58 minutes when Lewis Francis burst through for his second try.

Aberavon replied through a short range David Hawkins effort, but then saw Cardiff take the lead again when Wayne Williams found open space and off-loaded to Lee Mullane for a fine try.

Leading 31-28 the Demons must have thought their run of bad luck against the Irish, who also defeated them in last season's playoffs was coming to an end.

However it was the home team who took control of the final 10 minutes, scoring first through Richard Lewis' grounding of a tricky grubber kick and then Gary Vaughan's try in the corner.

Once again, the Fighting Irish had turned round a half-time deficit to extend their winning run over the Demons, but both teams played their part in a memorable encounter.

Aberavon keep the pressure on Bridgend at the top of the table, while Cardiff remain in fifth.

Demons' coach Wayne Williams said: "We played well and ran the Fighting Irish very close.

"We need to build up momentum for the plate play-offs."

Results:

Saturday, 26 June:
Aberavon Fighting Irish 40-31 Cardiff Demons
Bridgend Blue Bulls P-P Valley Cougars
Newport Titans 62-12 Swansea Valley Miners

*Valley Cougars' match at Bridgend Blue Bulls was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

The match has been re-arranged for Wednesday, 7 July, (1915 BST).