Scarlets and Quins outside half Dan ‘Dinky’ Jones ignites the Quins after a tough first half to the season.
Captain Lee Taylor won the toss and decided to play against the wind in the first half. Referee Simon Mills blew his whistle resulting in Dan Jones getting us underway.
Straight from the kick off a stray kick from Swansea somehow bounced into touch resulting in a 50/22. From the line out, Quins showed excellent resilience in defence and it was Captain Lee Taylor who eventually earned his side a crucial turnover to ease pressure.
6 minutes into play, Quins were awarded a scrum on the Swansea 10 metre line, 12 metres in from the touchline. Some swift handling from Jones and Batcup allowed fullback Dale Ford to come in to the attack line. The ball was knocked backwards out of Ford’s hands with centre Josh Batcup being the first to react, volleying the ball to winger Kalum Evans. Evans used some fancy footwork, eventually offloading to Batcup who then managed to put winger Dylan Richards away in the corner. The conversion into the wind went wide. 5-0 Quins.
17 minutes gone and Swansea’s winger Harri Houston made a devastating break down the right hand side. He found himself with a 1 on 1 with Quins outside half who superbly brought the winger down, earning Quins a penalty in the process.
5 minutes later, Batcup collected a high ball with ease, setting up a breakdown 15 metres away from the left hand touchline. Exploiting the short side, Quins scrum half managed to pick out Dan Jones who magically offloaded to winger Kalum Evans. His pace left the chasing Swansea defenders behind him before unselfishly passing inside to Lucca Setaro running a great support line, eventually dotting the ball down over the whitewash. Conversion unsuccessful 10-0 Quins.
On the half hour mark, Swansea’s offloading game was putting Quins under pressure. The ball eventually found its way to Swansea’s winger Iestyn Hopkins who beat 2 players to score in the corner. Dan Edwards was successful with the conversion. 10-7 Quins.
6 minutes from halftime Quins had a line out just outside the whites’ 22. After some terrific work in the driving maul by the forwards, the backs spun the ball wide, finding Dale Ford who managed to get outside his man and dot down in the corner. The conversion was unsuccessful. 15-7 Quins.
On the brink of halftime, Swansea’s hooker Lewis Lloyd tipped a pass to loosehead prop Cameron Jones, breaking through the defensive line before beautifully offloading to number 8 Will Hickey touching down under the posts. Conversion successful.
Half time score: Swansea 14-15 Quins.
5 minutes into the second half, the referee awarded Quins a penalty for an offside in midfield. Captain Taylor told Jones to put it in the corner. Jones’ kick made sure that Quins had the opportunity to get their driving lineout up and running. That’s certainly what they did. A great throw from Myhill meant that Quins had the shove. From 8m out, Quins drove the maul over. Hooker Torin Myhill with the try. Jones with an excellent touchline conversion. 22-14 Quins.
6 minutes later it was Swansea’s turn to score. A charge down kick by Cameron Jones allowed number 8 Will Hickey to collect a loose ball and run unopposed under the posts to score. Conversion successful. 22-21 Quins.
On the hour mark, the Quins forwards were showing their dominance in the driving line out setting up the backs to strike. After four phases, the Quins backs identified an overlap on the short side. The ball found its way to Josh Batcup who superbly put his centre partner Ryan Davies away in the corner. Jones missed the conversion. 27-21 Quins.
67 minutes in, finding his way over the whitewash for the second time was hooker Torin Myhill after some more great work by the forwards in the lineout. A second driving lineout try of the afternoon. Conversion Successful 34-21 Quins.
7 minutes away from the final whistle, Swansea secured their bonus point after a cross field kick found winger Iestyn Hopkins who managed to beat a Quins player to cross for his second try of the afternoon. Edwards couldn’t convert. 34-26 Quins.
60 seconds before full time Swansea crossed again. Swansea brilliantly worked the ball out wide to substitute Gareth Rees, finishing well in the corner. Edwards converted. 34-33 Quins.
From the restart, Swansea collected and looked to play but it was centre Josh Batcup who managed to win the race to the breakdown and gain a penalty for his side after Swansea were penalised for holding on.
Full time score at St Helens: Swansea 33-34 Carmarthen Quins.