THE BAY SECURE A WIN OVER PWLLHELI IN DIFFICULT CONDITIONS

This was a rearranged fixture and the first encounter between the sides this season.  The ground conditions were wet and muddy which made a handling game difficult but the Bay recorded a 6-3 win in a closely fought game.

In the first half Pwllheli kept possession tight only moving the ball out to their three quarters sporadically, whereas the Bay tried to move the ball out of defence with strong running by centres Dave Hocknell and Patrick Leach and full back Sean McDonagh.  However both defences prevailed and neither side’s tactics proved fruitful in terms of scoring opportunities until the Bay were penalised for offside at a ruck and the penalty was converted by outside half Dylan Llyr to give Pwllheli a 3-0 lead.  Shortly afterwards strong running by the Bay backs set up an attacking position and Pwllheli were penalised for hands in the ruck.  The resulting penalty was converted by Bay scrum half Andy Williams-Owen for a 3-3 score line at half time.

From the restart the Bay went on the attack and a break down the touchline by Sean McDonagh would have put Patrick Leach in for a certain try but play was brought back for a foot in touch.  The Bay pack started to dominate with Chris Browne, Sion Thomas and Mark Edwards solid in the scrummages and number 8 Will Blackwell and second row Chris Hughes prominent in the loose.  With increasing possession the Bay three quarters mounted several raids on the Pwllheli line but were kept out by a solid defence.  Midway through the half Pwllheli were penalised for offside at a ruck and a second penalty from Andy Williams-Owen gave the Bay a deserved 6-3 lead.

Pwllheli came back strongly in the final 10 minutes and threatened the Bay line on several occasions but the Bay defence remained solid and the home supporters were relieved to hear the final whistle.

The Bay are at home to Ruthin this Saturday, kick off 2.30 pm.