By Paul Williams
A combination of a solid display from the visitors and the arrival of an oddly named storm were two influential factors that frustrated the Wizards’ progress that was evident a week earlier. As the rain poured down and the wind switched directions more often than any of the players struggling in vain to defy the conditions, it was the Quins who managed to gain the upper hand, spearheaded by a powerful scrum of which former Aberavon prop Rhys Fawcett was a prominent member.
Yet it was the Wizards, after twenty or so minutes of inconclusive play by both teams, who looked the more likely to break the deadlock, having twice gained a foothold deep inside Carmarthen territory, but on both occasions conceding penalties and thus enabling the visitors to clear their lines.
Aberavon finally got the scoreboard moving after 33 minutes, having worked their way into the visitors’ half yet again. This time the Wizards were quicker to the breakdown and were awarded a penalty for not releasing at the tackle. Fly-half Steffan Jac Jones judged the swirling wind to perfection and put his side three points ahead. It was, however, a short-lived lead, as two minutes later Quins’ hooker Lewis Morgan broke away from a driving maul to score a try in the left-hand corner. It was the first of two such scores, and with fly-half Madoc Evans converting both as the weather continued to deteriorate.
The coup-de-grace came five minutes after the interval, which itself had seen some on-field action of a kind as match officials, players and coaches from both clubs considered the wisdom of playing on given the considerable body of water that had accumulated close to a touchline. Eventually it was agreed that play would continue. A loose ball deep inside Quins territory was fly-kicked over half-way leading to a foot-race the yielded a penalty try as a Carmarthen player leading the chase was brought down illegally. It was the last incident of note, with arguably the weather being the true winner as both teams tried without success to overcome the wind, the rain and the underfoot conditions for the remainder of the match.
