Aberavon Harlequins Fixtures 2003-04

Season 2003 / 2004

Saturday 25th October

Aberavon Harlequins 39 Kenfig Hill 15

This second round tie in the Welsh cup was dominated by the Quins pack. From the kick-off the home side powered forward and Chris Hunt celebrated his return on permit from Corus with a try in three minutes. The Quins stretched their lead when the Kenfig Hill eight were driven off their own ball in the scrum and No.8 Gareth Rice touched down. Larkman converted. Playing at scrum half, Larkman revelled in the quality ball he received and brought the best out of centres Davies & Pugsley. The Quins threatened to run amok but the Mules backs showed their class with excellent sweeping moves orchestrated by fly half Mark Jones, and from one such move Jones made the space for winger J.Evans to score. 12-5 down, the visitors put immense pressure on the Quins defence and were unlucky when an attack broke down in the face of a Steve Kibble tackle in the Quins 22 allowing Pugsley to swoop on a loose ball and gallop 60 metres to score. The Quins eight gained complete dominance and No.8 Rice grabbed his second try from a five-yard scrum. Soon after a strong rolling maul saw hooker Miller driven over. With line out dominance from Paul Thomas and Rob Jones the Quins eight plied their backs with quality possession, but it was the visitors who were next to score when after a strong run by Harvey Mark Jones crossed beneath the posts for a try which he converted. He then added a penalty that made the Quins tighten their approach. Injury to No8 L.Williams hampered the mules’ efforts and their cause made hopeless when scrum half Giles was red carded to the surprise of players and spectators alike. With a seven-man pack the Kenfig Hill plight was impossible to recover from. Gareth Rice took his match total to four when two more push over tries were gained Jon Ridd converted one.

Gareth Rice was the sponsor’s man of the match.

Saturday 11th October (Home)

Aberavon Harlequins 10 Bridgend Athletic 27

With centre Richard Thomas forced into the scrum half position and injury forcing them to play for an hour without a hooker the Quins were up against it for long periods. The first twenty minutes were dominated by the home pack with strong runs from Wayne Rees, Rob Jones and Gareth Rice. Flanker Richard Wanklyn was on top of his game and harried the visitors backs into errors. The intense pressure however produced little reward and it took a quarter of an hour for the Quins to break down the defence. Good pressure from Richard Thomas at the base of the scrum unleashed the rampant Wanklyn among the visitors three-quarter line forcing a vital handling error and allowing Pugsley to swoop for a try.
The first foray by Athletic into Quins territory saw good running from Coles & Tollentino. Morris kicked a penalty goal and minutes later added another to put his side in front. The Quins then suffered a blow that was almost impossible to recover from when skipper Paul Miller left the field injured. With an hour of the game remaining, the Quins had little chance of obtaining quality possession.
Early in the second half fly half Morris gained in confidence and revelled in the possession he received. Hemburrow orchestrated things up front and it came as no shock when the forwards laid the platform for Morris to cross beneath the bar. He had no trouble converting.
The Quins made the visitors fight all the way but their problems were compounded when lock Thomas was yellow carded for dropping a maul. Athletic struck through good combination of backs and forwards saw second row John Stoker touchdown for Morris to convert. The Quins tired badly and lazy following up after Craig Williams slammed a great touchfinder deep in Bridgend territory gave the visitors a free throw in at the lineout. The speedy backs sped up field out flanking the Quins and Rob Coles finished off between the posts for Morris to convert. Bartlett, Williams & Stoker played a large part in the visitors dominance but to their credit the Quins hit back at the final whistle when dependable No.8 Gareth Rice finished off a good forward drive.

Saturday 4th October (Away)

Aberavon Harlequins 5 Tonmawr 30

A loan try from Richard Wanklin was scant reward for a lot of effort by the Quins. Tonmawr held the whip hand up front and together with some mysterious decisions by the ref. involving lines-out made quality possession a rarity for the visitors. Dean Scully opened the Tonmawr defence with a clean break from a defensive position and both Rice & Thomas were held up before emergency scrum half Richard Wanklin touched down. Quins defended well until Wayne Rees was binned for handling the ball on the floor. Andy Richards kicked the goal and added another before half time. Just on the interval the ref. failed to see a knock on as Hawkes dived over. Quins’ winger, Williams was then binned for dissent. Early in the second half the Quins problems were compounded when Craig Williams limped off. Pressure by Tonmawr lead to tries for Mainwaring, Rickards & Hawkes all from charged down kicks or dropped passes. Edwards goaled two to take Tonmawr out of sight. The Quins however struck back and were three times held up over the line by stern Tonmawr defending.

Saturday 20th September (Home)

Aberavon Harlequins 32 Newcastle Emlyn 9

The Quins recorded their first league victory with this comprehensive win over Newcastle Emlyn. The Quins swarmed to the attack from the first whistle and were rewarded for some strong mauling with an unconverted try after four minutes touched down by lock Andrew Prosser. Emlyn hit back strongly and strong tackling, particularly from Ben Trott and Neil Davies, was needed to stem the attacks. Two penalties from Huw Evans put the visitors ahead. The Quins eight slowly got on top of the visitors and strong scrummaging from Diaz, Miller & Crockett gave scrum half Larkman the time to display his all round ability. He mixed his play skilfully with kicking, passing and running of high quality. It was the forwards however set up the quins try just on half time with a great shove that had the Emlyn backs retreating with bad ball. Flanker, Tolland, caused panic and Craig Williams grabbed the score, which he also converted. Newcastle Emlyn swept back to the attack and only great defence from Trott saved the day but Jamie Lean was forced to kill the ball and was sin binned for his pains. Evans placed the penalty.

Starting the second half a man down the Quins eight showed it’s mettle and with Anthony Thomas providing the cutting edge with support from Wayne Rees and replacement Jeremy Williams the opposition melted. A superb break by Larkman swept play to the visitors line the support play however produced a knock on, but from the resulting scrum the Quins eight shoved the visitors off the ball allowing Rice to feed Williams for his second try.
Full back, Trott and centres Pugsley and Davies shone in defence and were always eager attackers. Restored to the fray lean put in some characteristic dashes, as did left wing Ridd.
When an Emlyn forward was red carded with twenty minutes left the visitors’ fate was sealed. Their problems were further compounded when Dacey replaced the excellent Crockett. Two crunching scrums produced a brace of tries for No. 8 Rice and Jon Ridd finished off proceedings with a dash to the corner for the Quins sixth try.

Westco player of the match award was presented to Ben Trott

Saturday September 13th (Away)

Aberavon Harlequins 7 Cwmllynfell 30

The Quins fell to a better-organised and fitter home team but the visitors made the Parc y Bryn side fight all the way.
Playing with a friendly wind at their backs the Quins were soon up against it and strong running from flankers Jim Morgan and Andrew Lewis brought out the best of defensive qualities of Quins centres Neil Davies & Neil Pugsley. It was Davies who broke clear for the Quins first attack and good covering brought down Jamie Lean just short. Cwmllynfell swept back to the attack but were thwarted when Pugsley intercepted on half way. Although caught on the 22, good support from Richie Wanklyn cleared the way for Pugsley to score beneath the posts. Davies converted.This proved to be the Quins last score however as the home side mounted waves of attacks. Stern defence from Parfitt Rice and a spectacular tackle by Addington kept the line intact until well into the second half. The only reward for the home side’s first half efforts were two penalty goals from Paul Davies.
Ten minutes into the second half the Quins wilted under the pressure as No.8 Chris Lock powered through and support from hooker Martin Roberts put full back Ceri Lewis over. Injuries to Gary Evans, Steve Ridd and Chris Addington compounded the Quins difficulties and it was to their great credit that they were able to limit the rampant home side to thirty points. Spectacular tries came from Roberts and fly half Paul Davies. Lewis added another all of which were improved by Paul Davies.

Saturday 6th September (Home)
Aberavon Harlequins 13 Corus 20

The Quins, ravaged by pre season defections, fielded a team consisting of committee men, coaches and retired elder statesmen bolstered by permit players from lower leagues. This team however took the game to their over confident opponents and dished out a lesson in the type of forward play of which the Quins are renowned. With a stiff breeze at their backs Corus found the going difficult with Prosser and Brennan denying them lineout ball. In the scrums the Quins front row of Ridd, Miller & Dacey demolished the visitor’s trio and was a major factor in limiting the Corus scoring chances. The speedy Corus backs were not to be denied and Soolu Fitee sped through for a spectacular try. As the visitors came more into the game the Quins defended well with Parfitt , Rice and Brennan doing stirling work. Strong runs from Kinsey and Thomas set up good chances for the steel men but it was well into injury time at the end of the half when they scored a vital try by Hocking, Hook added the conversion.

With the wind at their backs and scrum half Jamie Morgan in control the Quins swung to the attack and Jon Ridd slotted a penalty. The Quins eight continually shoved the Corus boys off their own ball in the scrums and fierce mauling took play to the line and home supporters were very disappointed when referee Mike Cox failed to award a touchdown to Neil Davies.
The Quins were not to be denied and great forward play from Rice, Dacey and Ridd saw Parfitt dive over beneath the crossbar. The conversion attempt was charged down.

The visitors came more into the game as the Quins suffered injuries to the excellent youngsters, Prosser and Brennan. Corus again scored a spectacular try of rare class when Hook touched down for a score, which he improved. With twenty minutes to go it appeared that Corus were cruising to victory but the Quins forwards again dredged up the will to take the visitors on and drove up field. Good runs from Pugsley and Davies set up promising attacks and the Quins finished on a high when Jon Ridd gained a touchdown after more powerful forward play .

The sponsor’s Avon Sheeting home team man of the match award was presented to David Brennan.

Aberavon Quins 33 Kenfig Hill 17 (Pre-Season Friendly)

Aberavon Quins renewed the acquaintance of old rivals Kenfig Hill with a spirited performance in a pre season friendly. The Mules started off at a sharp pace and the Quins were hard pressed to keep them at bay. The Quins front row with Skipper Miller being propped by veterans Ridd and Dacey proved a handful for the visitors and soon had them on retreat. A high kick from Williams saw a fumble in the Kenfig defence and Chris Addington pounced for a try. Williams converted. Full back Larkman repeated the tactic minutes later and resulted in another error letting in Rees for a try. Speedy back row men Wanklin and Davies soon added tries one of which Williams converted. The Mules struck back in style and grabbed a try before half time. The half time changes appeared to give the mules the upper hand and they soon added another unconverted try. Quins hit back through Rick Parfitt and a Jason Larkman conversion. The visitors then crossed in the last move of the game.

All in all a satisfying performance but the Quins must strengthen their squad in the face of many summertime transfers that saw them lose five forwards. It was gratifying to see youth players S.Phillips & M.Cox taking the field for their first senior outing.