“A STEP BACK IN TIME”
(By Percy Jones)
1968-69 SEASON
25th JANUARY 1969
“BYNEA BLASTED BY LIVELY QUINS”
(By kind permission of the Carmarthen Journal)
DYER DAZZLES IN RACE FOR POINTS
CARMARTHEN 36 pts., BYNEA 3.
(By Roger Phillips)
Despite the heavy going, the Quins gave a sparkling exhibition on Saturday, when they trounced jaded Bynea. Early pressure by Bynea gave them a try in the sixth minute when winger Prenderville won a chase for the touchline after the ball had run over the line from a grub kick. Outside-half Byron Thomas failed with the kick near the touchline.
This try shook Carmarthen into some positive play which showed the capabilities of their backs to handle and create scoring opportunities. In the 11th minute, centre Peter Herbert engineered his own try. From a scrum inside their own half, the ball was moved along the line to Herbert who slipped through the defence before passing to winger Dyer who cut back inside the full back. He returned the ball to Herbert who crashed over close to the posts. Gwyndaf Jones made no mistake with the kick.
Brimming with confidence the home side opened play up at every opportunity with the forwards combining with the backs in passing movements. Winger Delme Davies increased the Quoins’ lead with a try close in, following a scrum on the Bynea line. Gwyndaf Jones converted.
SECOND TRY
Bynea tried to come back into the game and thanks to hooker Viv Jones they gained a fair share of possession but the backs failed to penetrate a solid Carmarthen defence. The home side continued to fling the ball about and minutes later Herbert went over for his second try after Dyer had outstripped the defence and gave him a clear run to the line. Jones converted.
On one of the rare occasions Bynea found themselves in the Carmarthen half they showed a glint of danger through the Prenderville brothers. After a scrum the ball was sent down the blindside to R. Prenderville who drew two men before putting his brother away. However, fine covering by scrum-half Peter Evans halted Prenderville yards from the line. Before the interval Carmarthen then scored again after Bynea had gained possession from a set scrum in the Carmarthen half. As the Bynea inside-half attempted to clear, Peter Evans pounced, gathered the loose ball and flicked it to Dyer. The dynamic Dyer again made the opening before turning the ball inside to Evans who sent Aubrey Davies over under the posts for a try which Jones improved upon.
Playing with a slight breeze at their backs in the second half the Quins went further ahead in the opening minutes when Peter Evans – who had completely dominated play around the set-pieces, sent Dyer over in the corner after a blindside run from a scrum close to the Bynea line. Gwyndaf Jones put over an excellent kick from the touchline.
SPECTACULAR
Bynea, unable to combat the scintillating rugby of the Quins plodded laboriously on in a game that had developed into one-way traffic. A brilliant passing movement from inside their own half involving all the threequarters gave the Quins a further three points. Centre Herbert mesmerised the Bynea defence with a spectacular turn of speed which ended in a perfectly timed pass to winger Davies who dived over in the corner. Gwyndaf Jones missed the conversion but made amends minutes later with a dropped goal after he had come into the line for a scrum close to the Bynea line.
From this point Carmarthen, now in an unassailable position, slowed the tempo of the game and even showed signs of complacency which allowed Bynea to take larger slices of possession and time to set up foraging attacks. In the 65th minute, wing-forward Dai Thomas touched down under the posts after receiving a pass from fellow wing-forward Gwilym Beynon close to the line. Jones converted. The last fifteen minutes provided something of an anti-climax with the Quins doing just enough to stop lowly Bynea crossing their line.
In the forwards Carmarthen were well served by props H. Isles and Mike Thomas and in the back row by Beynon, Thomas and Clive Evans. Behind the scrum captain Peter Evans, centre Peter Herbert and winger Dyer were outstanding.
For Bynea, hooker Viv Jones and number 8 Clive Jeffries were the pick of the forwards while outside-half Byron Thomas looked the most able of the backs.