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Swansea Uplands 29 – 12 Cwmgors   Tries:  Gareth Andrew x 2
                                                                            James Edmunds
                                                                            Daniel Stephens                                                                                                                                         Cons: Tom Osbourne x 3                                                                                                                           Pens: Tom Osbourne x 1                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Swansea Uplands wrapped up their third bonus point win in three weeks in a scrappy but entertaining win at Fairwood Lane. A sensational solo try by scrum-half Gareth Andrew sealed the bonus point after the Green Machine’s young pack produced yet another dominant display.
It wasn’t all plain-sailing for the hosts however, with the visitors from near the Black Mountains giving the Uplands a late scare with two well taken tries.                                                                                    The first 10 minutes of the game were very scrappy, with some rusty handling from both sides despite the perfect playing conditions. Soon however, the young Uplands side - shorn of 3 team stalwarts absent on a Skiing trip – started to take control of the game. Youth product Dexter Ryde lead the charge from full-back, with several elegant runs from deep causing all sorts of problems. With Cwmgors down to 14 men, the ginger maestro broke through once again, when he was tackled a deft kick through by scrum half Gaz Andrews saw Cwmgors camped on their own line. From the following ruck, the Uplands’ other youth product Kieran Morris blitzed off the line to charge down the clearing kick, and the opportunistic winger James Edmunds leapt on the ball to score the opening try.               The conversion was missed but the pacey home backline continued to cause problems. Ryde and winger Gregg Handley made strides, but several times the final pass fell short. The Uplands pack was still dominant and number 8 and chop tackling king Sam Winrow won a couple of important turnovers which put the away side under pressure. The Cwmgors defence held firm however and the men in green had to settle for a well-taken penalty by Tom Osborne on the stroke of half time to go in 8 – 0 at the break.                                                                                                                                                 With the wind at their backs the Uplands came out firing in the second half and within the first two minutes came a real turning point. A moment of madness from the Cwmgors second row saw him grab winger James Edmunds off the ball and throw him to the ground during an Uplands counter attack. The referee spotted it and duly gave the big man his second yellow card.                                   The home side pressed on with their man advantage, some big carries from second row Liam Miles, flanker Ryan Goff and prop Nathan Withers saw them work up the field. A good bust from Gareth Andrew saw the scrum half scragged just short, and captain Daniel Stephens showed good athleticism to pick up from the floor and muscle his way over for the second try of the match.
The Ups continued to press and scrum half Andrew ran in under the post for the home side’s third try after an excellent clean break by lock Kieran Morris, who showed great pace and dexterity to create yet another great score.                                                                                                                            With the score at 22 – 0 and with twenty minutes remaining to seal the bonus point victory, the Ups were cruising. But it was Cwmgors who were to dig deep and score 2 quickfire tries despite being a man down. The first was a powerful and well controlled scrum walkover try, the second was an excellent breakaway. A succession of lovely passes, combined with some rather naïve Uplands defending, saw the young Cwmgors backline break from their own half to score in the corner.              With less than 5 minutes left on the clock, and Cwmgors now chasing a losing bonus point, the men in green needed to step up. And that they did, with some strong carries from the poshest prop in Swansea and Man of the Match Johnny Cann, and the very effective midfield of Osborne, Alex Withers and Tom McBride lead the home side steadily up the pitch. Top try scorer Gareth Andrew then supplied the moment of magic the Ups needed. The deceptively strong scrum half shrugged off 4 defenders to run in under the post and seal the Green Machine’s seventh win in a row.                         Up next for Swansea Uplands are Vardre RFC at home on February 16th. The Cwm Tawe side have racked up a series of impressive victories and, like the Uplands, have only lost 3 games this season. We are looking forward to welcoming their first team to Fairwood Lane for the first time in a good few seasons. It’s sure to be a huge game and your continuing support of the boys is very welcome and appreciated!                                                                                                                                              

Pictured is loosehead prop Johnny Cann receiving the ND John Man of the Match bottle of red from Senior Team Manager Ashley Jenkins. 

Many thanks to Rhys Williams for the above match report