WHAT a week of rugby for Scimitar teams!
Swansea University beat Newcastle to remain in the BUCs Super Rugby league next season while Rotherham Titans put Preston Grasshoppers to bed as Leeds Tykes dropped points to put the title in firmly in the grasp of the Titans.
We start this week’s rugby round-up at St Helens as Swansea University prepared for their biggest game of the season. It was a must-win game for the Swans as they kicked off for their BUCs Super Rugby League play-off.
Neither team had pulled away before halftime with the scores sat at 14-10. A massive second-half performance from Swansea ensued, taking firm charge of the game. With a flurry of tries and some great defending, Swansea finished the game 40-17 to complete the defence of the Swans place in Super Rugby the next year.
There was plenty more successes elsewhere last week, with Rotherham Titans positioning themselves in the prime position to grab top spot in National 2 North. Rotherham firmly dismissed Preston Grasshoppers 67-20 in their final game at Clifton Lane this season.
The win was made even sweeter thanks to the current league leaders, Leeds Tykes dropping points as they travelled to face Fylde at the Woodlands Memorial Ground. The results mean that Rotherham are now only 3 points away from the top with a game in hand. Over to you, Titans. Do your thing!
Here are this weekend’s Round 25 results throughout National 2 North! All to play for next weekend #Nat2N pic.twitter.com/qipBt3UvD3
— National League Rugby (@Natleague_rugby) April 13, 2024
The successes doesn’t stop there as we now head over to the Welsh Premiership with Ebbw Vale, Llandovery, and Pontypridd winning their respective games.
We start with Pontypridd as they rounded off their season with a hard-fought win thanks to some late drama as tries from Ryan Wilkins and Curtis Greenslade secured the bonus point win with a score of 27-29.
The points pushed Ponty up to 5th place on the table with their final finishing position yet to be confirmed. Regardless of the outcome, Ponty have proven to be a respectable team this season with multiple notable performances after what was a tricky start to the campaign.
️ @RGCNews 27-29 @PontypriddRFC
Ponty sign off on a winning note
Ponty'n ennill eu gêm olaf yn y cynghrair #IndigoPrem pic.twitter.com/6Bro3nsUZI
— The Indigo Prem (@IndigoPrem) April 16, 2024
Ebbw Vale completed their penultimate game of the season last week, showcasing their level as they dug deep and found a way to win against Carmarthen RFC. Ebbw Vale made their total tally of victories 17 with the game ending 24-28 after the impressive away win.
With 85 points on the board, Ebbw Vale will go into their final game with confidence as they sit comfortably having already secured 3rd place in the Welsh Premiership for the 2023/24 season, an impressive feat to say the least.
Last up for the Welsh Premiership we head over to Llandovery as they travelled to the Talbot Athletic Ground to face Aberavon. Aberavon challenged the Drovers at times ,but they couldn’t hold them back for long as the reigning champs were too strong, going on to win the game 17-27.
It might be another win for Llandovery but it’s no time to switch off as their final two games approach. Now on 94 points, Llandovery must win their final two games to finish top as Newport had a strong finish to the season with 104 points on the table.
FULL-TIME
Aberavon RFC 24 v Y Porthmyn 27
Real humdinger at The Talbot Athletic Ground – great atmosphere throughout in the stand with choir.
Diolch am y croeso welwn ni chi yn yr EDC.
Ni nawr edrych am adre – We return to Church Bank next week
⚪ @AllWalesSport pic.twitter.com/DVSlE6ZxHg— Clwb Rygbi Llanymddyfri (@llandoveryrfc) April 13, 2024
With the Welsh Premiership done, we now take a look at some knockout rugby as Scimitar had both Hereford and Barkers Butts fighting for the next round last week.
We start with Barkers Butts as they began their campaign in round 1 of the Counties 2 Championship against Melton Mowbray. Despite Melton Mowbray breaking down the Barker’s defense a number of times It was Barkers that proved to be the stronger team as they finished the game 48-26 to progress to round 2.
The same, however, couldn’t be said for Hereford unfortunately as they were beaten by a Cheltenham side with the home advantage. Despite the game ending 47-7, the Hereford squad can hold their heads up high as they finished their season off in the very respectable 5th place.
While leagues come to an end for the season there are still some really exciting fixtures coming up. Stay tuned for more…
Upcoming Fixtures:
18th of April
- Ebbw Vale vs Pontypool RFC – Indigo Welsh Premiership
20th of April
- Barkers Butts vs Veseyans – Counties 2 Championship – Round 2
- Sheffield Tigers vs Rotherham Titans – National 2 North
- Llandovery vs Swansea – Indigo Welsh Premiership
Don’t forget to follow Scimitar Rugby for all the latest results, news, competitions, and chatter!
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Riley Sports (Instagram)
