NEATH edged a thrilling victory over London Welsh in an entertaining and evenly-fought match at The Gnoll which was settled by a late penalty by new outside-half Paul Short.

 Rugby heritage means a lot to these great clubs who first played each other in 1890. For much of the two clubs’ history, this fixture was played on Christmas Day – often in snow and mud – so it was something of a novelty to be playing on a hot August afternoon on a hard, dusty pitch which, in cricket parlance, would surely have taken spin.

 The pitch was unyielding but on a sultry afternoon several hundred enthusiastic spectators gave the visitors a warm welcome on an all-too-rare appearance by the Exiles in their homeland and they were rewarded with a highly competitive fixture.

 Both teams came into the game having won their season’s openers : Neath made wholesale changes from the side which beat Gorseinon 57-7 and London Welsh made six alterations after beating Oxford Harlequins 38-32.

 Proceedings got underway with an impeccably observed minute’s silence in honour of former Neath lock David (Dai) Davies and of occasional full back Albie Evans before London Welsh launched the oval towards the town end and it was soon evident that this would be an equal contest between two well-matched sides.

 Neath gradually worked their way up-field and good line-out work followed by patient phase play and smooth passing resulted in winger Llewellyn Hawkes scoring the first try in the clubhouse corner and Paul Short converted splendidly from wide out for 7-nil.

 Two minutes later, London Welsh levelled when right wing Harri Lang crossed for a try which was converted by outside-half Hodgson – a great name for a Gnoll goal-kicker ! Neath offered some promising play but the All Blacks were guilty of conceding too many penalties and their support of the ball-carrier was not always what it might have been.

 Hooker Sion Jones was held up on the line before London Welsh showed Neath how it should be done as they stole possession and created a huge overlap for wing Adam Dunne to touch down in the left corner to make it 7-12 to the visitors on the half hour.

 The Neath forwards enjoyed a slight edge at the scrums, lock Jacob Blackmore stole a couple of line-outs and the home side got their reward when skipper and No.8 Ben Williams got over for their second try from a line-out drive. Paul Short again added the conversion and Neath were in front again at 14-12.

 Both sides had chances and contributed to a fast, open and competitive affair with top referee Mr. Craig Evans (Glynneath) giving a masterly display with the whistle before he heads to the United States to take charge of the Pacific Nations Cup where he will add to his international tally.

 As the interval approached, London Welsh re-gathered themselves. Their backs made a couple of clean breaks before they used a penalty kick to touch routine to claim their third try from long-serving prop Andy Black, Matt Hodgson adding the conversion points to give the visitors the lead at half-time.

 Half-time – Neath 14 points London Welsh 19 points

 Neath started the second-half full of purpose and were soon on the attack where flanker Casey Williams’ chip nearly put Hawkes in for his second try.

 The home forwards were serving up plentiful possession and it took resolute London Welsh defence to keep Neath out but on 55 minutes Neath levelled when Ben Williams got over for his second try to level the scores at 19-19.

 With the scores locked, Neath were territorially dominant and continued to press but they were held up on the line by the well-organised London Welsh defence.

 Neath were striving for victory but it looked as if the score was not going to come – the home scrum was taking its toll and it was pleasing to see the likes of centre Kieran Charles who beat off all-comers to top last year’s try charts and lock Jon Barley make their season’s bow from the bench as Neath’s replacements helped keep the pot boiling.

 Such was the teams’ desire that it was hard to believe that no league points were at stake and, with two minutes remaining, Neath earned themselves a penalty; after some deliberation, they opted for a kick at goal; Paul Short stepped up to coolly land the penalty to make it 22-19.

 Neath infringed to give London Welsh one last penalty chance – probably within Hodgson’s kicking range – but the visitors opted for the corner and the chance of victory, Neath held firm and one last scrummage surge saw the All Blacks see the game out for a dramatic victory.

 In the end, there was little between the two sides and both will have learned much from the game. At the final whistle, the All Blacks were serenaded off the field by the Exiles to the airs of ‘Bread of Heaven’ – a fitting end to a cracking contest which had fully lived up to the tradition of this long-standing fixture.

 * Neath will be in action at home again next Saturday, seeking a hat-trick of pre-season wins, when Royal Wootton Bassett – known as the ‘Wiltshire All Blacks’ – pay their first visit to The Gnoll (kick off is at 3.00pm).

 NEATH – L Smith; M Meaclem, S Harris (K Charles), S Wilcox, L Hawkes (K Morgan); P Short, J Daniels (K Davies); M Morgan (O Watts), S Jones, M Lovell (B Uphill); M Davies (J Barley), J Blackmore (J Hughes); C Williams (W Pope), B Williams (capt), G Tremlett (J Evans)

LONDON WELSH – M Bodilly; H Lang (F White), E Gully (E Staines), D Manley (D Jones), A Dunne (S Roberts); M Hodgson (capt), H Williams (A Nixon); A Black (J Anderson), C Botha (J Page), W McKenna; E Couzens (D Ogden), J Rouse; J Welsh (T Ireland-Life), B Davies (capt) (C Innes), R George (G Bugler)

Referee – Mr C Evans (Glynneath)

(Matchday images, courtesy of London Welsh RFC)