Clwb Rygbi Nant Conwy

Recap

Nant Conwy 26 – 25 Pwllheli

Mae’n debyg mai poen a hapusrwydd mawr oedd yr emosiynau i ddisgrifio orau y gêm ddydd Sadwrn lle newidiodd y flaenoriaeth ddim llai na saith gwaith ac nid oedd y naill dîm na’r llall yn gallu sefydlu mantais o fwy nag un sgôr. Gorffennodd gêm llawn tensiwn i’r chwaraewyr, heb os, a’r cefnogwyr, gyda’r flaenoriaeth yn newid dwylo ddwywaith yn y tri munud olaf. Cipiodd Pwllheli, ar ôl bod ar ei hôl hi o 5 pwynt, y blaen trwy gais wedi’i drosi, ond gwrthodwyd buddugoliaeth i’r ymwelwyr gyda chic olaf y gêm. Gêm wych i orffen y tymor arni.

Rhoddwyd gwarchodlu anrhydedd i Nant gan aelodau’r adran Iau wrth iddynt wneud eu ffordd i’r cae yng nghwmni aelodau o’r Teirw Bach a oedd yn gweithredu fel masgotiaid. Dominyddodd Nant y chwarae yn y 15 munud cyntaf, gan orfodi Pwllheli i ildio ciciau cosb a thiriogaeth. Dau ymgais cynnar, pellter hir at y gôl gan Cain Jones, un ohonynt yn taro’r postyn, oedd yr agosaf i’r naill ochr a’r llall i dorri’r cyfartalwch.

Dechreuodd Pwllheli, a oedd wedi bod yn amddiffyn yn gryf, ddod fwy i mewn i’r gêm, a nhw a gafodd y sgôr gyntaf gyda chic gosb ar ôl 20 munud.

Tarodd Nant yn ôl gyda chais ar 30 munud. Cafodd llinell sgraplyd ei lanhau gan Sam Hughes a ffrwydrodd i mewn i’r 22. Pasiodd y bêl yn y dacl i Caron Davies a basiodd y bêl i Cai Jones. Rhoddodd ei sbin ef allan o ddarpar dacl y lle iddo fynd drosodd ar gyfer y cais cyntaf. Troswyd hwn gan Davies i roi Nant 7 – 3 ar y blaen.

O fewn 5 munud, roedd Pwllheli wedi adennill y flaenoriaeth. Ar ôl pwysau parhaus gan y blaenwyr, daeth pas hir o hyd i’r asgell chwith. Gwnaeth dir a rhoddodd y bas mewnol i Now Williams am y cais. Rhoddodd y trosiad gan yr un chwaraewr Pwllheli 10 – 7 ar y blaen.

Ni pharhaodd y fantais hon yn hir wrth i Nant, 3 munud yn ddiweddarach, sgorio eu hail gais pan gymerodd Aron Jones bas fer ac, er cael ei daclo, gallodd ymestyn i’r llinell a chyffwrdd i lawr. Rhoddodd ail drosiad Davies fantais o 14 – 10 i Nant a chariwyd hynny i mewn i’r hanner amser.

Dechreuodd yr ail hanner gyda Pwllheli yn dal mantais diriogaethol. Er bod Nant yn ymdrin â hyn yn dda, cawsant eu cosbi am dorri ar y chwalfa ac fe roddodd y llwyddiant cosb y sgôr yn 14 – 13.

Bum munud yn ddiweddarach, yn dilyn mwy o bwysau gan flaenwyr Pwllheli, roedd cic fer dros y top yn edrych i fod wedi’i orchuddio’n dda. Yn anffodus, twyllodd y bownsio anwadal bawb, heblaw cefnwr Pwllheli, Ilan Jones, a gipiodd y bêl o’r awyr i fynd drosodd. Yn rhyfeddol, methwyd yr hyn a oedd yn gic symlaf y gêm gan y ciciwr. Serch hynny, roedd hyn yn eu rhoi nhw 18 – 14 ar y blaen gyda hanner awr i fynd.

Roedd llawer o oruchafiaeth y diriogaeth wedyn yn dod gan Nant ac er bod Pwllheli yn amddiffyn yn dda iawn, roedden nhw’n dechrau ildio ciciau cosb. Fe wnaeth tair cic lwyddiannus alluogi Davies i ddechrau torri i mewn i’r fantais ac yna rhoi Nant 5 pwynt ar y blaen ar 23 – 18. Yn fuan wedyn cafodd Davies ei fwndelu i mewn i’r faner gornel am yr hyn a fyddai wedi rhoi Nant ddeg pwynt ar y blaen.

Gyda thri munud i fynd, roedd Pwllheli yn rhoi’r holl bwysau a Nant yn rhoi’r ciciau cosb i ffwrdd. Roedd yn rhaid i rywbeth roi ac fe wnaeth. Ar ôl sawl sgrambl llinell gais, llwyddodd yr ymwelwyr i gyffwrdd i lawr gan Morgan Jones ger y llinell bum metr. Daeth hyn â’r poen i’r Nant a’r hapusrwydd i Bwllheli lle ‘roedd eu cefnogwyr yn dathlu’n wyllt ar y llinell gyffwrdd, yna hyd yn oed yn fwy felly pan aeth trosiad Williams drosodd i’w rhoi 25 – 23 ar y blaen.

Roedd yna, fodd bynnag, amser i’r ailgychwyn. Arweiniodd trawiad ymlaen gan Bwllheli at sgrym. Er eu bod wedi cael trafferth ar adegau, cafodd Nant y bêl allan yn gyflym a sefydlu ryc. O dan y pwysau dwys, cafodd Pwllheli eu cosbi am beidio â rholio i ffwrdd a throsodd Davies yn briodol gyda chwarae olaf y gêm i roi buddugoliaeth gofiadwy o 26 – 25 i’r tîm cartref. Cafodd y poen a’r hapusrwydd eu gwrthdroi a chefnogwyr a chwaraewyr Nant a orffennodd trwy ddathlu’n wyllt.

Yn ogystal â sicrhau Pencampwriaeth Cynghrair 1 y Gogledd i Nant am y drydedd flwyddyn yn olynol, roedd y gêm hefyd yn rownd gynderfynol Cwpan Adran 1 Gogledd Cymru. Bydd Nant yn cwrdd â Bethesda yn y rownd derfynol ar y 10fed Mai, gyda’r gic gyntaf am 17:00 yn Stadiwm CSM, Bae Colwyn

Rhaid rhoi sôn arbennig i’r holl wirfoddolwyr a helpodd i wneud hwn yn ddiwrnod cofiadwy, ac i’r adran Iau a’r Teirw Bach a weithredodd fel gwarchodwyr anrhydedd a masgotiaid.

Agony and ecstasy were probably the emotions to best describe Saturday’s game where the lead changed hands no fewer than seven times and neither team were able to establish a lead of more than one score. A very tense match for both players, no doubt, and supporters, finished with the lead changing hands twice in the final three minutes. Pwllheli, having been behind by 5 points, snatched the lead through a converted try, only to be denied victory with the last kick of the game. A great game to finish the season on.

Nant were given a guard of honour by members of the junior section as they made their way to the pitch accompanied by members of the Teirw Bach who acted as mascots. Nant dominated the play in the first 15 minutes forcing Pwllheli into conceding penalties and territory. Two early, long-range attempts at goal by Cain Jones, one of which hit the post, was the nearest either side came to break the stalemate.

Pwllheli, who had been defending strongly, began to come more into the match, and it was they who got the first score with a penalty after 20 minutes.

Nant struck back with a try on 30 minutes. A scrappy lineout was cleaned up by Sam Hughes who burst into the 22. He passed the ball in the tackle to Caron Davies who in turn passed the ball to Cai Jones. His spin out of a would-be tackle gave him the room to go over for the first try. This was converted by Davies for a 7 – 3 lead.

Within 5 minutes, Pwllheli had regained the lead. After sustained pressure from the forwards, a long, looping pass found the left wing. He made ground and gave the inside pass to Now Williams for the try. The conversion by the same player gave Pwllheli a 10 – 7 lead.

This lead did not last long as 3 minutes later Nant scored their second try when Aron Jones took a short pass and, though tackled, stretched for the line to touch down. Davies’s second conversion gave Nant a lead of 14 – 10 which they took in to half-time.

The second half began with Pwllheli holding territorial advantage. Though Nant were handling this well they were punished for infringing at the breakdown and the penalty success put the score to 14 – 13.

Five minutes later, following more pressure by the Pwllheli forwards, a chip over the top looked to be well covered. Unfortunately, the wicked bounce fooled everybody, except the Pwllheli fullback, Ilan Jones, who snatched the ball from the air to go over. Amazingly, what must have been the simplest kick of the match was missed by the kicker. Still, this put them 18 – 14 ahead with half an hour to go.

Much of the territory dominance afterwards was coming from Nant and though Pwllheli were defending extremely well, they were starting to concede penalties. Three successful kicks enabled Davies to initially chip away at the lead and then put Nant 5 points ahead on 23 – 18. Shortly after Davies was bundled into touch at the corner flag for what would have been a ten point lead.

With three minutes to go it was Pwllheli applying all the pressure and Nant giving away the penalties. Something had to give and it did. Following several try-line scrambles the visitors managed a touch down by Morgan Jones near the five metre line. This brought the agony for Nant and the ecstasy for Pwllheli whose fans celebrated wildly on the touch-line, then even more so when Williams’s conversion went over for a 25 – 23 lead.

There was, however, time for the restart. A knock-on by Pwllheli resulted in a scrum. Though they had struggled at times, Nant got the ball out quickly and set up ruck after ruck. Under the intense pressure, Pwllheli were penalised for not rolling away and Davies duly converted with the last play of the match to give the home side a memorable 26 – 25 victory. The agony and ecstasy were reversed and it was the Nant supporters, and players, who finished celebrating wildly.

As well as securing Nant the North League 1 Championship for the third year running, the game also served as the semi-final for the North Wales Division 1 Cup. Nant will meet Bethesda in the final on 10 May, kick-off at 17:00 at the CSM Stadium, Colwyn Bay.

A special mention must go to all the volunteers who helped make this a memorable day, and to the Junior section and the Teirw Bach who acted as guards of honour and mascots.