Athletic V Caldicot

This weekend the Athletic were booked for a Newport & District plate encounter v Chepstow away, but with this fixture (and Caldicot v Hartridge) cancelled it means that both teams go through to the last four of the plate competition, to join Newport HSOB & Whiteheads… interesting…
These cancellations thus paved the way for a rearranged return league fixture with Caldicot following our post-Christmas 29-6 win on the Baths field. The Athletic were travelling towards the Severn Bridge after all!
An early meet in the club ensured we were on our way promptly, arriving early for a thoroughly professional warm-up. Well, most arrived early, we had a few de-tourists who went sightseeing to Llanwern steelworks and Caldicot castle first!
During the warm up, looking across the field to the opposition it appeared that the team we played at home had transformed itself with many different faces! So, we wondered if the Caldicot 1st XV was playing today? NO prizes given for guessing the correct answer to that, and I also gave you a clue! I also heard that about ten minutes before KO two Caldicot players who turned up to watch were promptly sent to the changing rooms for suiting and booting and played the 2nd half!
The game started with Caldicot seizing the early initiative, putting us under intense pressure particularly in the tight where our scrum was creaking and our early line-outs were none too special. But for all their huff and puff the solid Athletic rearguard action ensured they came away from all of this with a big fat Zero. Then following the big soak up, with an exchange of penalties both missed, it was time to impose a little on the Gwent all blacks. Starting with some field position from which to attack this led to a line break deep in their 22 that resulted in a superb try under the posts, converted, 7-0. In a immediate response to this Caldicot were unlucky, when a driving maul out wide was deemed by the referee as being held up over the line for what should have been a try.

HT 7-0.
During the break the coaches gave out the orders, keep it tight, don’t force passes, this game still had a lot in it, and at this point winning was by no means guaranteed.
And much as the first had started, Caldicot came out blazing, and this time they got their just desserts from another powerful drive, 7-5. But with the conversion not taken the Athletic still held the upper hand and in an almost carbon copy of the first half, this time we went back down as they had following our score, the difference being that we did get a score 12-5. Under the posts for the missed conversion it was clear that Caldicot were still upbeat and it showed as they broke the Risca defence for the 2nd time taking the score to 12-10. At this point it was now a bit about character, could we take the game to them, or would we buckle? This was answered in a manner that had everyone (including the Caldicot crowd) in no doubt as to the positive psyche of this squad of players. For the last 20 minutes I hardly set foot along the line in the Risca defensive half of the field and such territorial advantage was bound to lead to points, coming with a 3rd try converted, 19-10. Now the talk behind the posts was of stopping a bonus point win, and indeed clawing a losing point for themselves, but for this to happen it would mean Caldicot had to score at least a penalty. Not a chance. With minutes remaining we had our own agenda on bonus points but it looked to have been just out of our reach as the resolute Caldicot defence held firm. Last play, and reminiscent of a recent Munster Heineken Cup game the ball was recycled time after time until we were on the line, and YES, we nicked it! At 26-10 with the conversion this was yet another quality display from arguably the best 2nd XV in the district.
Not being aware of any other results on the day, not sure where this leaves the Athletic in the table, suffice to say though that a few beers were downed into the evening…