Star 10 - CIAC's 16

CIACS ‘STAR’ in St Mellons! by Rhodri Davies

After foolishly ignoring Gareth Mahoney’s directions to the ground, my little detour around Tesco’s in Tremorfa meant I missed the first twenty minutes of the game and had to rely on the touchline support for an assessment of the first quarter, which has since been edited for public viewing. The key figure in the opening quarter was STAR’s outside centre who, by all accounts, cut through a series of missed tackles to score the first try of the game.


The powerful centre proved to be the main difference between the two sides which were otherwise evenly matched in the first half. Even the two beautiful blondes brought along by CIAC’s own Hugh Hefner, James Emery couldn’t distract the No13, and no sooner than I finally arrived he scored again.

From a set piece the ball was spread quickly through the STAR backline to the safe hands of the outside centre who’s pace and strength proved too much for the CIAC’s lax defence and he made easy work of breaking through two tackles to go over for his second and extend the STAR’s lead to 10-3 (CIAC penalty earlier converted by Chad).

Towards the end of the half the CIAC’s began to fight back with a short spell of pressure in the STAR’s half, but as the CIAC’s chief mascot, Matthew Phillips, put it “Mounting pressure didn’t pay any dividends”, and a missed penalty from Chad brought a largely uneventful first half to a close.

There were lots of areas for the coach Jack to address in the his half-time team talk, and whether it was Jack’s vocal tirade or the inspirational words from veteran scrum-half Dez who tried to motivate the troops with the commanding “it’s all downhill now boys”, something seemed to click with the CIAC’s starting far more positively in the second half.

A good scrum in the first few minutes set the standard for a better second half from the CIAC’s, pushing the STAR pack backwards, which was quickly followed by a successful penalty kick from replacement full-back Duncan, reducing the deficit to 10-6.

The CIAC’s newfound confidence led to a sustained period of pressure, and it wasn’t long until they were rewarded with their first try scoring opportunity. A loose kick from a STAR back was swiftly closed down by the young winger Chad and with the support of the ensuing forwards they pushed the STAR defence back, resulting in a CIAC scrum on the opposition’s touchline. Mavis picked the ball up from the back of the scrum creating an overlap which would’ve led to the first CIAC try if it wasn’t for an unfortunate forward pass at the end.

The momentum was now with the CIAC’s who began to set up camp in the oppositions half, creating a series of chances that should’ve put them comfortably in the lead if it wasn’t for a few silly handling errors.

However, with the CIAC’s beginning to dominate the territory and possession, it was only a matter of time before the STAR’s resilient defence began to crack, and first CIAC try eventually came on the hour mark.

Another failed clearance from the STAR full-back was quickly chased down by the centre Gareth and outside-half Mahoney forcing a CIAC turnover on the STAR try-line. With the attacking team perfectly positioned either side of the posts, the winger Gardner screamed “F***ing spread it” but Hooker Kevin wisely choose to ignore the call and drove over for his second try of the season and, thanks to a successful conversion by Duncan, put the CIAC’s into the lead 10-13.

STAR soon had a rare chance to level the score during the team’s brief spell of possession in the CIAC half, but despite being given two opportunities to convert, due an infringement by Fordy, the kicker twice missed the target. .

With a slim three point lead The CIAC’s didn’t let up and continued to suffocate STAR,. The CIAC forwards controlled the final quarter, perfectly demonstrated by a brilliant line-out steal from Chris Headley and Stretch’s dogmatic tackling at the breakdown.

Another successful penalty “toe poke” kick from Duncan marked the end of the game, with the CIAC winning 16-10.

Although it wasn’t a complete performance from the young CIAC team, with two wins in two the young side are starting to show that they have the character to grind out wins when it matters. Player coach Jack, commented after the game “A strong STAR side was subdued by a powerful CIAC pack and persistent tackling, which in the end went beyond the16-10 score line.”

Rhodri Davies – The Guardian