News

The Tigers travelled to Bynea for the first competitive action of the new season on Saturday. Weather conditions were perfect and the home surface was in superb condition also. Banc were the first to secure the ball from the kick off and powerhouse centre Tom Gale continued where he left off last season with a charge from halfway  and after a couple of hand offs, went over in the corner. The away side failed to gather from the kick off and Bynea earned themselves a shot at goal was which converted. For the next half hour it was all Banc, the pack led the way by dominating the set piece, giving half backs Owen Williams and Mathew Lloyd a great platform and plenty of space to attack from. Bynea kept attacking whenever they had the ball with defence from both sides very physical. Cellan Harris in particular making some bone crunching hits for the tigers.Banc had several chances but astute defence again from the home side saw Banc leave with only a couple of Lloyd penalties to show for the efforts, going into half time 11-3 up.

The second half didn’t start well with the home side crossing early on. Banc again exploited some gaps with notable breaks from Prop Shaun James, centre Mikey Rees and No 8 Ian Cooper but an unforced error allowed the home full back to go over wide out to give Bynea the lead for the first time. The tigers came straight back into it though and after a half break by Williams, Gale was on hand to continue the move before a fantastic offload to Christian Hughes saw the ageing full back rewarded for his support work. Lloyd added the extras. Banc were then hit by injuries to lock Tim Williams, Cooper and prop Zac Rees in a 10 minute period which seemed to disrupt the momentum that was building and the home side again went over to regain the lead and then poor defence gave them a further try. With a few minutes left and a 7 pointer to take the spoils, Banc threw the ball around frantically trying to get the winning score but once again, the home defence scrambled well and held on to take the win. Despite the bitter disappointment, there was enough positives to take away for the coaches with lots of boys playing well and the new signings really impressing. We now look forward to entertaining local rivals Betws RFC in Tigertown on Saturday.