Clwb Rygbi Nant Conwy

Recap

Daeth Pwllheli yn agos at dorri record ddi-guro Nant Conwy yn y gynghrair yng  nghêm olaf o’r tymor diwethaf. Wedi i Pwllheli gymryd y blaen gyda dwy funud i fynd, rhoddodd Pwllheli gic gosb i ffwrdd gydag ychydig ar ôl o’r ail hanner a chafodd Nant y cyfle i adennill y blaen gyda chici olaf y gêm, gan ennill gyda hynny Bencampwriaeth Cynghrair 1 y Gogledd.

Er nad oedd y gêm hon yn derfyn dramatig i’r tymor, roedd y canlyniad bron yn debyg. Arweiniodd Pwllheli o’r pum munud cyntaf ond gwelwyd Nant yn cymryd yr arweiniad drwy gic gosb gyda munudau i fynd a gweld y gêm allan heb fwy o sgoriau.

Roedd ond ychydig o’r rygbi llifo rhydd a rhwydd sydd wedi nodweddu ymrysonau blaenorol rhwng y ddau dîm yma, gyda’r gwynt a’r glaw gyrru yn gwneud rheoli’r bȇl yn anodd.

Yn chwarae gyda’r gwynt, aeth Pwllheli ar y blaen ar ôl pum munud drwy gic gosb lwyddiannus ger y pyst. Cynyddodd y gwahaniaeth pwyntiau ar ôl 27 munud pan fyddai yna sawl cosb a ganiataodd i Bwllheli ennill tir a sefydlu nifer o yrriadau o fewn llinell 5 metr Nant. Er iddynt frwydro yn dda, torrodd amddiffyn Nant yn y pen draw a sgoriwyd cais gan yr ymwelwyr. Rhoddodd y trosiad Bwllheli ar y blaen o 10 pwynt.

Dychwelodd Nant at ymosod a sefydlodd nifer o ryciau gyrru ger llinell Pwllheli yn fuan. Yn y pen draw, gyrrodd Brenig Hughes drosodd i leihau’r diffyg. Fodd bynnag, wrth gicio yn erbyn y gwynt, ni lwyddodd y trosiad, fel y digwyddodd gyda nifer o giciau cosb cynt.

Nid oedd gan Pwllheli y broblem hon a chyda’r gic olaf o’r hanner, troswyd cic gosb i wneud sgôr hanner amser o 5 – 13.

Perchnogodd Nant yr ail hanner, o ran tir, a thynwyd tri phwynt yn ôl ychydig ar ôl y dechrau gyda chic gosb lwyddiannus gan Caron Davies. Fodd bynnag, roedd y cyflwr yn ogystal ag amddiffyn cadarn Pwllheli yn gwneud gwaith da o gadw Nant yn ôl. Roedd yn dechrau bod yn fwy tebygol y gellid cymryd pwyntiau pellach trwy gesio trosi ciciau cosb yn unig. Gyda llawer o’r chwarae’n digwydd yn hanner yr ymwelwyr, Nant oedd â’r cyfleoedd gorau i sgorio. Ar y marc awr bu i Davies ei wneud yn gêm ddau bwynt gyda throsiad cic gosb lwyddiannus arall.

Yn rhwystredig i Nant, ac o ryddhȃd I Bwllheli, yr oedd y cyflwr wedi arwain at nifer o gosbau eraill yn methu â chyrraedd y nôd, tan y munudau olaf. Cafodd cosb a roddwyd ymhell allan ar y dde ei throsi gan Gruff Roberts. Gan fod yn asgellwr ar y chwith, yr oedd yn fwy naturiol iddo ei chicio a’i throsdi.

Yn y pen draw, rheolodd Nant y bêl am y munudau olaf i roi buddugoliaeth galed.

Pwllheli came close to inflicting a first League defeat on Nant Conwy in the final match of last season. Having taken the lead with two minutes to go, Pwllheli conceded a penalty soon after the restart allowing Nant to snatch the lead back with the final kick of the match and with it the League 1 North Championship.

Though this game was not a dramatic finale to the season, the outcome was almost identical. Pwllheli led from the fifth minute only to see Nant take the lead through a penalty with minutes to go and see out the match.

There was little of the free-flowing rugby that has characterised earlier encounters between these two sides, with the driving wind and rain making handling difficult.

Playing with the wind, Pwllheli took the lead after five minutes through a penalty in front of the posts. The lead was increased after 27 minutes when a couple of penalties allowed Pwllheli to gain ground and set up a number of drives within the Nant 5 metre line. Though they tackled well, Nant’s defence eventually cracked. The conversion put the visitors ahead by 10.

Nant came back and they soon set up a number of driving rucks close to the Pwllheli line. Eventually, Brenig Hughes drove over to reduce the deficit. However, kicking against the wind, the conversion was unsuccessful, as had been the case with a number of earlier penalties.

Pwllheli did not have that problem and with the final kick of the half they converted a penalty to make the half-time score 5 – 13.

The second-half belong to Nant, as far as territory was concerned and they pulled three points back shortly after the restart with a successful penalty from Caron Davies. However, the conditions plus the well-marshalled Pwllheli defence, were doing a great job in keeping Nant at bay. It was becoming more likely that any further scoring could be through penalties. With much of the action taking place in the visitors half it was Nant who would have the best opportunities to score. On the hour mark Davies made it a two point game with a further penalty.

Frustratingly for Nant, and to Pwllheli’s relief, the conditions resulted in a number of other penalties missing the mark, until the closing minutes. A penalty awarded wide out on the right saw Gruff Roberts take over the duties. Being a left-footed kicker it was a more natural angle for him and he duly converted.

Nant then controlled the ball for the last minute to give a hard-fought victory