| Caerphilly 31 - Newport Saracens 15 (Caerphilly 3 tries - Newport Saracens 2 tries) |
| Welsh National League Division 1 East |
| Half-time score: Caerphilly 15 - Newport Saracens 15 |
| Date: Saturday 3rd November 2007 |
| Kick-off time: 2:30pm |
| Referee: Mr. Sean Brickell (Abertillery) |
| Attendance: 200 |
| Weather: Cloudy & Dry |
| Match Report by Phil Whitfield |
| Caerphilly completed their fifth successive win of the season and a victory over lowly placed Newport Saracens at Virginia Park last weekend. The three try to two win over their visitors keeps the green and whites in second place of Division One East.
On paper Caerphilly were the favourites going into this game, but with only a six point lead over their opponents going into the last quarter, the game was firmly in the balance. Fly half, Rhys Edwards struggled with the boot for Caerphilly and let four penalties and a conversion go begging at a time when points were much needed on the scoreboard. Replacement fly half, Dean Watkins came off the bench to replace Edwards on 58 minutes and sent out a clear message to his coach. The reliable Watkins slotted over a penalty, shortly followed by a drop goal and an ‘icing on the cake’ try during injury time which he converted for a full house. This will give his coach plenty to think about as Caerphilly prepares to take on 4TH placed Bargoed this coming weekend. Both captains set out shining examples to follow as both made their mark on the game in the opening minutes. An early attack from Newport produced a captains try when Ross Madden dived over from the base of the scrum. Duly converted by Darren Gregg. Caerphilly cancelled the Newport lead out 9 minutes later through skipper, John Griffiths barging over from close range. Edwards adding the extras. A terrific restart by the visitors who regained the lead almost immediately. Geraint O’Driscoll came in off his wing and looking for work cutting through the Caerphilly defence. Scott Marasco at lock took the deft pop pass to cross the Caerphilly line. Both Rhys Edwards and Darren Gregg exchanged penalties leading up to half time. Caerphilly had the final say before the interval when great interplay between backs and forwards led to centre, Gareth Miles diving over for a 15-15 score at the break. Caerphilly opened with an early penalty from Rhys Edwards to take the lead for the first time in the game. Up stepped Mr Reliable, Dean Watkins to add a further 13 points and put the game out of reach from the visiting Newport Saracens. A big game for Caerphilly this weekend as they entertain close neighbours, Bargoed. 2:30pm Kick-off. |
| Caerphilly Team | Newport Saracens Team | |
| Nathan Gittings | 15 - Fullback | Darren Gregg |
| Chris Thomas | 14 - Right-wing | Wesley Cunliffe |
| Gareth Miles | 13 - Outside-centre | Morgan Lovell |
| Lee Mullane | 12 - Inside-centre | Mark Wheeler |
| Steffan Sankala | 11 - Left-wing | Geraint O'Driscoll |
| Rhys Edwards | 10 - Outside-half | Owen Biddecombe |
| Rob Phillips | 9 - Scrum-half | Nathan Powell |
| Sam Feehan | 8 - Number 8 | Ross Madden (Captain) |
| Rhys Watkins | 7 - Openside-flanker | Andrew Packer |
| John Griffiths (Captain) | 6 - Blindside-flanker | Larry Williams |
| Anthony Meads | 5 - Second-row | Scott Marasco |
| Chris Payne | 4 - Second-row | Lee Williams |
| Matthew Petit | 3 - Tighthead-prop | Emyr Lewis |
| Lee Pearce | 2 - Hooker | Peter Loader |
| Matthew Griffiths | 1 - Loosehead-prop | Scott Robertson |
| Alun Ford | Replacement | Ross Palmer |
| Dean Watkins | Replacement | Tom Organ |
| Gareth Davies | Replacement | Mark Addis |
| Gareth Jones | Replacement | Carl Bourne |
| Adam Minty | Replacement | David Jenkins |
| Caerphilly Scorers | Newport Saracens Scorers | |
| John Griffiths, Gareth Miles, Dean Watkins | Tries | Ross Madden, Scott Marasco |
| Rhys Edwards, Dean Watkins | Conversions | Darren Gregg |
| Rhys Edwards (2), Dean Watkins | Penalties | Darren Gregg |
| Dean Watkins | Drop-goals | - |
| - | Yellow cards | - |
| - | Red Cards | - |
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