Following the home side’s convincing victory at Loughor in October, few would have really thought that this re-match at Aberystwyth on Saturday would remain in the balance to the end. But Aberystwyth have upped their level of performance over the past few weeks and that has brought an increase in confidence. As the teams ran out onto the Plascrug pitch on Saturday the difference in their age profile was abundantly clear – the youthfulness of the home fifteen stood out against the experience of their opponents, but it was to be the latter that was to bring a twist in the outcome at the end.

The match started quietly as the two sides measured each other up until the twelfth minute when home centre Jason Rees cut through a gap, was well supported by his team mates and flanker Matt Watkins took the ball to touch down some ten metres wide of the posts. The conversion from Rees put his side seven points clear. As was to be the case all afternoon Loughor then retaliated and tested Aber’s defensive skills. They got their reward in the 21^st minute when centre Simon Stonham squeezed in in the right corner for a try, cutting Aber’s lead to just two points. The young Aberystwyth side were clearly playing the better rugby in this period in the match, and a little more experience under their belts might have led to more scores. Nevertheless when Aber came tantalisingly close to the Loughor line on the half hour the visitors yielded a penalty in the right hand corner. Quick scrum ball was fed out left and the backs interplayed well to get the ball to Rees on the left; the centre had a lot to do but he forged towards the line, neatly passing the ball in to full back Rikki Williams for their side’s second try, and a 12-5 lead.

Things got even better for the home side before the interval when Aber launched an attack from just 10 metres out from their own line. Centre Llywarch ap Myrddin was almost stopped as they left their 22 but the youngster got free, kept possession and passed out to left wing Aled Sweeney; he demonstrated his impressive pace as he ran outside his opposite number and gained 60 metres of ground before flicking the ball inside to Williams and the full back, playing his debut first XV game whilst looking as if he was a regular, claimed his brace. Rees’s conversion put Aber 19-5 ahead, a lead that they retained to the interval.

Their half time pep talk clearly had an effect on the visitors and they soon found themselves pressing the Aber line. The home boys defended valiantly and eventually got the ball away towards half way; but they lost possession and Stonham found himself hurtling towards the Aber line from a full 30 metres. How the centre managed not to score is a mystery, apparently too intent on knocking through the last defender rather than getting to the line. But Loughor did manage to recycle and fly half Peter Smiriglia touched down in the corner. Scrum half Tom Davies’s conversion seemed to veer away at the end and Pembrokeshire referee Andrew Miles was undecided; but both touch judges raised their flags, to the surprise of supporters from both camps, and the score was given bringing the score back to 19-12.  It was then Aber’s turn to fight back and they went through several multi-phase attacks. When Loughor’s defence desperately lost discipline on the hour, Rees slotted a 25 metre penalty to extend Aber’s lead to 10 points.

Loughor restarted but Aber’s retaliatory kick was loose and the visitors got the territorial position they sought. The visitors turned the screw and within a minute second row Jonathan Bowen touched down for his side’s third try. Davies’s conversion bisected the uprights and the gap between the teams was down to a mere three points at 22-19. One felt that the more streetwise visitors might at that point overpower the young home side but within eight minutes the home side extended their lead again when a move that included a delightful inside flick from Rees to lock Iestyn Jones, who powered forward before giving the ball to prop Alan Minifey who touched down for a fourth try, a bonus point and a 27-19 lead with 75 minutes on the clock. Four minutes later however Davies slotted an easy penalty for the visitors and they were back within five points. The experienced visitors were not going to let go now and they pushed hard at the Aber line. Aber held out for six minutes and home supporters prayed for a shrill blast from the referee’s whistle when play broke down and a scrum was signalled. But Miles deemed there was still time; the Loughor eight knew it was their last chance and Aber hearts sank when hooker Nick O’Kelly scored a captain’s try to tie the scores. A final conversion would have been heartbreaking, but the final whistle eventually came as the kick sailed wide, the match ending at 27 points apiece, each team also claiming a bonus point for scoring four tries. It was arguably a fair result, but had this inexperienced Aber side managed to hold out, no-one would have begrudged them their victory.

Aber take a break from League action next week as they go on a second visit to Kidwelly in as many weeks, this time in the third round of the SWALEC Plate. It is a perfect opportunity to exact revenge for the defeat that was so undeserved last week.