 Brynley Toms and his Cardiff Rugby Football Club teammates bowed out of the WRU Premiership Cup 27 – 15 after defeat to a robust Ebbw Vale side at the Ciner Glass Community Stadium.
There was a late change to the starting 15 for Cardiff, as Arwel Robson dropped out and Harrison James moved from fullback to fly half. Jacob Lloyd come off the bench to start at fullback, with young Kodie Stone coming onto the bench.
Evan Lloyd got the quarter-final underway. An early chance fell to Ebbw Vale as Joe Goodchild’s kick was charged down, and Jacob Lloyd was forced to take it over the Cardiff line for a goal-line dropout.
After early pressure on the Blue and Blacks defense from 5 meters out, referee Rhys Jones awarded Ebbw Vale a penalty just after the seven-minute mark. Evan Lloyd broke the deadlock with a simple penalty kick.
Ebbw Vale didn’t back off, as the pressure was straight back on Cardiff after a mammoth scrum from the hosts. This resulted in another penalty, which Evan Lloyd got and built up the scoreboard.
It got worse for Cardiff as Jacob Lloyd passed the ball forward, which resulted in another scrum for Ebbw Vale 5 meters out from Cardiff back’s line. It was another brilliant drive at the scrum from the hosts as referee Rhys Jones awarded a penalty Try. This extended the lead to thirteen.
With it seemingly being all Ebbw Vale, at the 30-minute mark, Harrison James converted a penalty to narrow the gap on the scoreboard.
Just before halftime, Ebbw Vale went looking for their second try as they were meters away from Cardiff’s line. Evan Lloyd switched the direction of attack, and wing Ethan Phillips powered his way through Cardiff’s defense to score.
After not having much to smile about in the first half, Cardiff started the second half much more potently.
Referee Rhys Jones awarded a penalty to Cardiff, and Jacob Lloyd kicked to the corner. Following the successful take of the ball at the lineout, Alun Rees was the man to cross for the visitors first try. This try also meant that Alun Rees has now scored 100 points in a Cardiff shirt.
Cardiff were playing a lot more positively and freely throughout the second half. Subsequently, another driving maul followed a little while later, and unsurprisingly it was Alun Rees that was at the bottom of the pile for Cardiff’s second with momentum appearing to change on the 65-minute mark.
The hosts were quieter in the final quarter as it was all Cardiff. On the 70-minute mark, scrum-half Jon Evans chipped over the top of Cardiff’s defense and former Cardiff age-grade player Amir Jiwa-Walji pounced on a loose ball and sprinted towards Cardiff’s line to score the host’s third.
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