Fixture

On Tuesday night Trimsaran played Amman United at Pontarddulais in the semi-final of the West Wales Plate.

In front of a big crowd and a lot of Trim supporters present the game kicked off with Trim catching the ball and clearing their lines. Amman applied pressure for the opening period of the game but Trims stubborn defence held them out before a penalty was awarded after 15 minutes and Amman took a 3-0 lead after earlier missing a similar penalty opportunity in front of the posts. It didn’t take long for Trim to hit back though, receiving the ball after a knock on from the kick off and it was Trims turn to apply the pressure with some strong carrying from the green and blacks forwards and some good play from the backs before Steffan Roberts broke through the line and covering tackler to score the first try of the game. The conversion was missed but Trim were ahead 5-3.

The game went back and fore with both teams coughing up possession in key areas of the field but it was a kick through by Amman which bounced right back into their hands which led to the next score as they hit back to lead 10-5. Amman were the ones applying all the pressure for the remainder of the first half now and it was again some stubborn Trim defence which kept them out, they did miss another kick at goal to extend their lead also.

Half time - Amman 10-5 Trimsaran

Trim started the second half strongly and after 15 minutes of pressure in the Amman half Trim scored their second try of the game as a chip through confused the amman defence and a mistake by the amman full back led to the ball ending up with Rodri Ellis who touched down and with the conversion successful Trim were back in the lead.

This give Trim further confidence and for another 10 minutes it was Trim who were applying all the pressure with the green and blacks going through plenty of phases but unable to breakdown a strong Amman defence. Trim thought they had their third try of the game after a strong maul ended up over the line but the ref ruled it was held up. With Amman making a few subs now they started to get the upper hand against a tiring Trim pack in the scrums but it was Trim who scored next through a penalty as Amman give away a penalty in front of the posts which left Trim with 15-10 lead with 15 minutes to go.

With play in the Amman 22, Trim captain Ryan Edwards saw a yellow card for a high tackle. This was a game changing moment as Amman now had all the momentum and with only 12 minutes left they were pushing hard for a potentially match winning try. They had another shot at goal which was unsuccessful and left Trim off the hook after ill-discipline crept into their game. From the resulting 22 drop out Amman came back hard at the Trim defence and after a few strong carries were awarded another penalty but with only 5 minutes left they went for touch this time with time against them to get a try. From the resulting lineout Trim disrupted the ball but knocked it on in the process and Amman had a scrum 20 meters out against 7 men. With winger Tom Williams stepping into the flanker position for the scrum, Trim held their own and held the Amman shove which then meant they had to play the ball from the back fo the scrum. With the return of captain Ryan Edwards for the final 2 minutes Trim dug deep and with Amman getting closer and closer to the try line the green and blacks wall turned over the ball 5 meters out from their own line which left Rhodri Mason to boot the ball off the field and a huge roar greeted the refs final whistle from the Trim supporters and players.

A very tough encounter which will no doubt take its toll on the players but a final to look forward to in a few weeks against Nantgaredig.