It was very much a case of job done for Newport and Ebbw Vale on the opening weekend of Super Rygbi Cymru.
Both had to recover from falling behind early on, with the Black and Ambers eventually seeing off a spirited Bridgend 41-22, while Ebbw ran in five tries in 34-22 defeat of Aberavon at Eugene Cross Park to secure five points.
For Newport, meanwhile, their margin of victory saw them become the first side to take six points, earning the extra bonus point on offer if teams win by 15 points or more.
Head coach Ty Morris was full of praise for visitors Bridgend for making life difficult early on for his men – who were also playing against the wind in the first half.
Tries from Curtis Greenslade and Edd Howley saw the Ravens lead 10-0, but Newport hit back to go 12-10 in front by the break through Wade Langley and Chay Foster-Smith, with Matt O’Brien converting the latter.
Normal service was resumed in the second half, with prop Oli Drake scoring twice while Henry Palmer and Rynard Landman were also on the scoresheet. O’Brien added three conversions and a late penalty.
A second Howley try and a breakaway score from Macaulay Rowley in the latter stages ensured Bridgend would leave with a bonus point.
“We expected Bridgend to come out firing and I’ve got to give them credit – their defence was outstanding to be honest and we found that difficult to break down,” said Morris.
“They had a really good start and they really did fire into us for 20-30 minutes and the physicality was really high, as we expected from them.
“There was a hell of a wind out there and it was against us in that first half, so going in 12-10 up we were pleased with it.
“I think we took some lessons against Dings in pre-season where we had very similar conditions and we didn’t manage the wind so well but, credit to the boys, we dealt with it well and played the right strategy in the second half.”
For Ebbw, scrum-half Jon Evans made sure of victory against Aberavon.
Skipper Joe Franchi, outside centre Ethan Phillips, back-rower Ewan McIntyre and wing Ryan Gardner had earlier put them in charge.
Wing Connor Moyse crossed twice for the Wizards, including the game’s opener, with Scott Delveno also on the scoresheet. Ed Dunford kicked two conversions and a penalty.
“Aberavon are always tough anyway, no matter what time of year you play them,” said Ebbw team manager Dan Haymond.
“But to go into the first game with them being a little bit more of an unknown than usual - it was a great result for us.
Further reading: Pooler come up short in first game
“They had a lot of debuts and came out of the blocks quick to be fair; their offloading game in the first 10 minutes was brilliant and everything they threw seemed to stick.
“But I thought the boys dealt well with that and then we settled down and looked comfortable for a period.
“We made a couple of subs and they fought their way back in pretty close, but the boys dug in and got the result in the end. The win with the bonus point was really pleasing.”
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