Neath V Llanelli
22nd September 2001

MATCH REPORT
© Alan Williams, Neath RFC

Llanelli secured their third consecutive victory at the Gnoll deep in injury time.

The All Blacks got off to a perfect start in the third minute, with a Barry Williams try. The try came about thanks to the quick thinking of Neath scrum half Andy Moore, who took a tap penalty on the halfway line, after gaining twenty metres he fed second row Steve Martin, who linked with Duncan Jones whose quick pass set up fellow front row forward Barry Williams for his third try in a week (following his exploits for Wales).

Llanelli outside half Gareth Bowen gave his side the lead with three successive penalties. With Neath five yards from the Llanelli try line and looking certain to score a try, Bowen deliberately killed the ball, he received a yellow card for his sin.

Jarvis found his range at last, restoring the home teams lead with two successful penalties. Neath extended their lead with another Lee Jarvis penalty in the final seconds of the first half.

In the opening seconds of the second half former Neath centre Lee Davies charged down Shaun Connors clearance kick to pick up and score near the posts, Bowen was on target with the conversion.

The Scarlets second try came from a five metre lineout, a Vernon Cooper catch and drive led to American International back row forward Dave Hodges touching down, Bowen was again on target with the conversion.

A Lee Jarvis penalty narrowed the scoreline, this was followed by two further penalties by the Neath fly half to level the scores. Llanelli exerted pressure on the home line and Bowen dropped a goal to give his side the lead with only four minutes remaining on the clock.

A minute later Jarvis became the first player in Wales to pass 100 points for the season, in only his sixth match, to tie the scores yet again. In the final minute of normal time a long Lee Jarvis clearance was run back at the Neath defence by Llanelli’s young fullback Barry Davies, his run split the defence and made enough room for Hodges to squeeze in at the corner for his second try of the game, Bowen converted. A minute later Bowen was on target with a penalty to make the game safe for his team. Deep into injury time a break by scrum half Dwayne Peel allowed flanker Dafydd Jones to score in the corner, Bowen hammered the final nail in the Neath coffin with the conversion from the touchline.

Patron Association Man of the Match:

Andy Moore (Neath)

Gareth Bowen (Llanelli)