“A STEP BACK IN TIME”
(By Percy Jones)
CENTENARY SEASON – 1974/75
“Through To Quarter Final”
Carmarthen 7 – Kidwelly 3
(By kind permission of the Carmarthen Journal)
Carmarthen are through to the quarter final of the West Wales Cup. They fully deserved their win over old rivals Kidwelly. It was a hard gruelling forward battle in which the Quins just had the edge. Kidwelly came to Carmarthen with high hopes, but Quins were not accommodating. Carmarthen scored their points in a rousing first half. The Quins rushed the opposition into errors and Kidwelly were deceived by the slickness of the handling and the enthusiasm of the support work. The Quins were steadfast in defence and the forwards won the possession that their swift and resourceful backs needed to tip the scales.
The Quins employed the right tactics with Peter Evans harrying the opposition mercilessly round the scrum. Evans gave Kidwelly’s scrum half Davies a torrid time which resulted in slow untidy possession for Kidwelly. Evans surely was the man of the match.
Carmarthen were encamped for most of the first half in Kidwelly’s territory. Carmarthen took a well deserved lead in the 20th minute with a fabulous 45 yard penalty by full back Gary Baker after a late tackle on Quins outside half Colin Davies. Ten minutes later, Carmarthen scored what was to be the match winning score. A nice run by Davies; a brilliant piece of acceleration by Roger Richardson, a swift pass to winger Dai Dyer saw him beating full back Ian Davies on the outside to score in the corner. Baker was only inches out with the conversion attempt.
With only seconds remaining in the first half, Carmarthen gave away a stupid penalty which full back Davies kicked to put Kidwelly back in the game.
The Quins had shown ascendancy at the lineouts with Jeff Williams prominent. Carmarthen had also won the scrimmaging with Richard John taking a few against the head. With the abundance of ball they had and with a little luck, Quins could have crossed for a couple of tries which would have sewn the game up before the interval.
Hooker John, props Howard Iles and John “Llew” Evans were tremendous. Dai Woodhead working faultlessly in the pack. Skipper Brian Llewellyn supported Jeff Williams in the lineout duel while flankers Martin Stevens and the tigerish Ray Lewis caused havoc with the Kidwelly half backs.
Carmarthen allowed the visitors to get back into the game during the second half. The Quins defended with utmost courage with Davies, Taylor and the exciting Richardson foiling Kidwelly often. Wings Dyer and Walters showed pace and determination and their covering was excellent. Graham Walters improves with every game while David Dyer still remains one of the best wings in West Wales. Full back Baker’s touch kicking was faultless and his penalty kick was of the highest quality.
Kidwelly had plenty of ball in the second half even if it was untidy possession, but they lacked guile and thrust at centre to penetrate the Quins defence which spread out like a blanket to engulf the visitor’s attackers. Kidwelly had their moments in attack, particularly in the closing stages when they came close to snatching a score. But they went on being orthodox and inadequate right to the end.
The key to success was Quins magnificent pack who outscrummaged Kidwelly and won much cleaner lineout ball and controlled ruck and maul with all embracing efficiency. The quarter final tie with Tumble is at Carmarthen Park on March 22nd.