Bedwas 14 Cross Keys 18

CROSS Keys lost and then regained the lead in injury time as they grabbed a deserved win in an absorbing derby at Bedwas.

It seemed as though Keys would be ruefully reflecting on points gone begging when Bedwas wing Jimmy Norris, a Dragons academy product who played for the Pandy Park outfit in December, crossed for his second try as the clock passed 80 minutes.

Jason Tovey, another former Keys man, added the extras and inched the hosts into a 14-13 lead.

But Keys showed the hard edge that they have added this season to come firing back and wrestle back the initiative.

As the Bedwas faithful begged for the final whistle, fly-half Ryan James made a tremendous break and found replacement Gareth Williams on his shoulder.

The wing, who had only been on the pitch for four minutes, juggled the ball before finishing tremendously in the corner to spark joyous celebrations in the Keys ranks.

Had the touch judge not given the thumbs-up for the try then it would have been a hard defeat for Keys to take, for they controlled matters in the second half. They bossed proceedings after turning around with a 7-3 deficit, Norris having scored the only try of the first half after a tremendous solo effort where he raced down the flank, chipped over full back Leon Andrews and gathered.

Number eight James Malpas and hooker Lloyd Burns were at the heart of everything Keys did, scavenging flanker Sitiveni Rabuli proved that Fijians are equally at home with the dirty graft as they are with sevens rugby, while Tom Lampard came on in the back row to provide a steady stream of possession at the back of the line-out.

The Keys pack is a match for any team in the Premiership and they put Bedwas on the back foot for most of the second half. With centre Lee Humphreys starring in the backs, Keys built up a commanding lead that it seemed would be enough for the points.

First Burns crossed on the right flank on 51 minutes after a succession of pick and drives had weakened the Bedwas defence, and then Lampard touched down on the same spot of turf with 15 minutes left, the flanker on hand after Marcus Johnstone was dragged down five yards shy of the line.

Then Keys wisely played for territory and displayed tremendous discipline to seemingly have the game tied up. Replacements had made an impact off the bench and the hosts seemed to have run out of ideas, despite the best efforts of all-action back-rowers Phil Sargent and Andrew Tibbatts.

Leon Andrews had the chance to seal it with a long-range penalty but was just wide and short, and then Bedwas, with Tovey switched from full back to fly-half, came firing back.

A drive from a five-metre line-out was ended just short and the ball was spun out to the impressive Norris, who hit the line at speed and went through a gaping hole in midfield.

That would have been game, set and match against the 2006-7 Keys, but this season's squad went on to prove they are a much more rugged proposition.

Bedwas: J Tovey, M Pizey, A Hughes, D Atkins (A James 62), J Norris, J Welch (captain), J Pizey (S Jones 68), G Leonard (J Tilley 68), P Harrison (B Edwards 52), K Jenkins (J Salter 54), R Edwards, A Brown (C Powell 54), P Sargent, A Tibbatts, B Lampitt (N Lewis 62).

Scorers: Tries - J Norris (2), conversions - J Tovey (2).

Cross Keys: L Andrews, J Leadbetter, L Humphreys, D Price (C Pocock 58), M Johnstone (G Williams 79), R James, O Jones, J Price (D Preece 57), L Burns, B Fisher (C Gould 64), A Sweet (M Curtis 50), B Watkins (captain), C Bridges (T Lampard 57), S Rabuli, J Malpas.

Scorers: Tries - L Burns, T Lampard, G Williams; penalty - L Andrews.

Referee: Phil Connett.