photo by Ian Lovell

Blackwood Bulldogs and Valley Cougars will meet again in the first round of the Co-operative Welsh Conference Premier play-offs next week after the Bulldogs beat the Cougars 40-16 on Saturday.

This result moves the Bulldogs up to a fourth place finish in the table with the Cougars just a point and a place behind them.

Cougars took the lead after only two minutes when James Allan ran over from the fifth tackle of the first set of the game.

Blackwood fought back on 13 minutes after Mark McGee found a gap to level the scores with Jeremy Lloyd’s conversion giving the Bulldogs a 6-4 lead.

McGee fought his way over for his and

Blackwood’s second in the first set after kick-off but Lloyd’s kick hit the post.

Dan Tucker twisted his way through to ground on 27 minutes with Lloyd converting to make the score 16-4 while a70-metre run from Byron Williams coupled with another Lloyd conversion gave the Bulldogs an 18-point lead.

But James Allan went over again for the Cougars just before the interval to put to the half-time score on 22-8.

A well-worked Dale Taylor try converted by Lloyd put Bulldogs further ahead not long after the break, but Jon Breakingbury fed Neil Edwards for a try back for Cougars straight away.

Bulldogs sealed things with ten minutes to go when McGee fed Leighton Bassett who cut inside the defence to score under the sticks. Lloyd added the extras.

Cougars got another try back when Ceri Cummings fed Edwards for a consolation try in the corner, but Blackwood had the final say when McGee broke away for his hat-trick with Lloyd converting to make the final score 40-16.

article by Ian Golden
14 July 2007