Newbridge 45 Glam Wanderers 6

IT was Groundhog Day at the Welfare Ground on Saturday as Newbridge accounted for Glamorgan Wanderers in what was almost a carbon copy performance over a side they had beaten 46-12 in the Principality Cup the previous week.

Once again Newbridge played a style of rugby which has seen them sustain a serious challenge in the top half of the First Division and once again they showed a lack of concentration over the full 80 minutes which has led to their occasional downfall against better opponents.

In both matches Newbridge completely dominated at the interval and where they should have gone on to record scores of the cricket variety the familiar indiscretions regarding discipline and basic handling skills crept in.

Despite recording a scoreline of which most teams would have been proud coach Mike Watkins was less than pleased with the over all performance of his charges.

"Once again we went off the boil. We should have won at Pontypool, we could have won at Aberavon and we definitely should have put more points past the Wanderers in both games. Perhaps the boys have been over indulging in the Xmas festivities," quipped Watkins.

He added "Maybe it's because our normal training regime has altered over Christmas. I'm sure once we get back to normal we will sustain our challenge on the league."

One player who fully deserved a pat on the back from Watkins at the final whistle was fly half Jason Williams. He converted all six tries and kicked a penalty.

Williams also scored the opening try and had a hand in first-half touchdowns for Huw Lock and his namesake full back Jonathan.

Martin Ackerman capped a fine individual performance with a brace of tries either side of the interval and replacement scrum half Matthew Taylor sealed the game.