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The First XV lost a tight game 15-19 against Treherbert on Saturday as the Red Devil’s excellent driving maul proved the decisive factor.

The first half was a cagey affair with both teams trading two penalties a piece as neither side would surrender their try line. Treherbert clearly keen to gain valuable points as they push for promotion and with Llantwit just as keen to rekindle their league form, not a quarter was given.
You would think then with a half time score line of 6-6 then it was a dull affair, but this was not the case as both teams played adventurous rugby in what were dry conditions but still slippery underfoot such was the amount of rain the ground and received in the days leading up to this fixture.
So it was with credit to both teams that they played some quality rugby for the large crowd bolstered by a good travelling number from the upper echelons of the Rhondda Valley.
The Treherbert pack dominating the tight exchanges with their huge driving maul; which could take possession anywhere from 5m to 30m such was it prowess. It was therefore with great credit that the home side defended so well to limit the visitors to six points and didn’t surrender their line.
Llantwit did have their own opportunities to score on a few occasions as they attempted to move the ball away from the big fellas. But the execution just wasn’t quite there went it mattered to finish off several good handling phases.
The second half again evolved into an exchange of penalties with Llantwit full back Laurence Howley’s trusty boot starting to put some daylight between them and their opponents. And as the game went into the last quarter a period of dominance by the home side was rewarded with another penalty which gave Llantwit a 15-9 lead and with Treherbert missing a penalty of their own some were thinking this could be just Llantwit’s day.
But there is a reason that the visitors have only lost one game season compared to Llantwit’s now five losses, and that was clearly resilience as they came back strong stretching the now tired home  defence and a good combination of pop passes gave them the first try of the game. But in not converting the points, the game was at a knife edge at 15-14 with just several minutes left on the clock.
Llantwit did get a chance to edge further ahead as they were quickly awarded a penalty some 40 metres out and up stepped the teams distance kicker in scrum half Ryan Evans and he gave it a good strike but just dropped inches past.
And then Treherbert no doubt drawing inspiration had the last hurrah as they seized on some lose ball and pushed Llantwit back into their 22 and when the home side failed to clear their lines correctly they pushed on for glory with another well taken try to seal the game.
What went wrong for Llantwit then? Well they had a few players missing in this encounter but still had enough in there arsenal to trouble the big boys in the league. Treherbert had a much stronger bench which may have added to the pressure. But it was really all about execution the visitors game plan is reliant on their impressive maul and equally as impressive defensive maul then when they then get opportunities they take them. Llantwit on the other hand didn’t execute their possession when they had the opportunity especially in the first half when they had sight of gaps and space. Although arguably should have also put the boot to leather more often as some good kicking phases were clearly stretching their opponents but was short lived.
Man of the Match was number eight Rob Carter who had a strong game throughout.
This week the Blood and Blacks visit the capital as they take on Llandaff North. Also on the road are the Youth team as they take on Gilfach Goch, while back at home the Seconds are in action as they take on Porthcawl. All games kick off at 2:30pm.
Off the field the club has recently held another one of its Supper Club nights, this time over a hundred guests were entertained after a splendid meal by the legend that is Tommy David, with his charismatic stories of his playing days with Pontypridd, Llanelli, Glamorgan County and the British Lions. Mr David enjoying the opportunity to renew team mate acquaintances with two of our very own in Mr Tony Horne and Mr Brian Jones. A raffle upon the night was made with some lovely photographs donated by Mr David of his playing days forming part of the prizes. The proceeds of £440 donated to the Royal British Legion.