Fixture

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, we travelled the short distance to near-neighbours Blackwood Stars for a Division 3 East league game. After the dramatic last minute win over Ynysddu in the previous game the supporters were hoping for a less nerve-wracking afternoon – and that’s what they got. Despite the unavailability of more than 10 players through work commitments or injury, Oakdale ran out comfortable 41-3 winners.

There was a start for Simon Barber at 10, which moved Simon Veall to full-back and Gavin Price onto the wing. Mark Dowden continued to show his versatility by starting in the 2^nd row and with captain Gavin Hipkiss having a rest due to a recent knock, Scott ‘Roly’ Evans skippered the side.

The game started quite evenly, although the Stars only threatened the visitors ‘22’ on one occasion in the early stages. Thanks to some wayward Stars clearance kicking and some dominant forward play, the Dale began to get the better of the possession and territory stats.

The first points came in the 8^th minute when centre Josh Thomas continued his excellent recent form by crossing for a try following some good work by the forwards and positive tactics of allowing the ball to go through hands in the back-line whenever possible. The conversion was missed, 5-0.

The same tactics prospered again 5 minutes later when Simon Veall crossed for the 2^nd try of the game. Again the conversion was missed, 10-0.

On the 22^nd minute, the third Oakdale try was on the board – Veall made a superb break from his own half and off-loaded to Ged who was held up just short. Quick recycling at the ruck allowed scrum half Brett Turner to cross near the posts, this time the conversion by Veall was successful and the score moved onto 17-0.

The next 15 minutes were uneventful in comparison, the only things to mention – a successful penalty kick by the Stars and a yellow card for Cheese (no, honestly!) for preventing a quick tap.

With a minute left on the clock in the first half, the Stars were awarded a scrum on their own ’22’. The Oakdale pack continued their dominance up-front by pushing them off their own ball and with a strike against the head by Billy, the ball was quickly at Dai Fortune’s feet. He picked up, sold a dummy and sailed under the posts for the visitor’s 4^th try. Veall converted again, and with the bonus point already secured, the half-time score was 3-24.

Half-time score: Blackwood Stars 3-24 Oakdale

Early in the 2^nd half the Oakdale forwards continued to make headway into Stars territory. Roly made a barnstorming run and appeared to be carrying 4 defenders on his back towards the try line. When a penalty was awarded right under the posts, we were all surprised that a scrum wasn’t taken and Veall was asked to add another 3 points to the score line. 3-27.

On the hour Oakdale extended their lead and scored their 5^th try of the game. Again play started in their own half when Ged made a clean break, the ball was recycled through Josh and Brett before Gavin Prince finished off by touching down under the posts. Veall again added the extras to take the score onto 3-34.

For the remainder of the second-half Oakdale made good use of the bench by ringing the changes. One of those subs, player-coach Dai Tovey, scored the last points of the game in the last couple of minutes. Awarded a scrum 10 metres out, Oakdale’s dominance up-front was again evident as the scrum was pushed towards the try line and Dai showed good control at the base to pick up and drop over the line. Veall kicked the conversion and the score became 3-41.

Full-time score: Blackwood Stars 3-41 Oakdale

There can be a lot of positives taken from the game with good performances throughout the whole team. With 9 league games left and quarter-finals of 2 cup competitions still to be played we will need every member of the squad between now and the end of the season. With so many players unavailable, this game was a perfect example of the importance of having strength in depth and the versatility of several players being able to play in more than one position.