Young winger Cellan Davies starred with five tries for Neath then sportingly swapped sides and scored another two for the Fijians in an extravaganza of attacking rugby at The Gnoll on Saturday.

Neath RFC’s capacity to put on an occasion shone through again on Saturday when The Fijians came to town, bringing South Seas rugby for a healthy crowd to enjoy, as Neath and Fiji came together to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Neath’s 30-22 1995 win over the tourists.

Such games are often characterised by a spate of late drop outs but The Fijians, augmented by a couple of Army stars turned up in force and fielded a dozen internationals of different vintages – they may not all have been in the first flush of youth but they made many friends at The Gnoll.

Pre-match music from the RAF Cadets, the national anthems and pre-match introductions to various dignitaries gave the game a festive, almost international, air and a good-humoured crowd gave a special greeting when Emori Katalau (known as ‘Sky Tower’ for the extent of his telescopic line-out leaping) was introduced as he played in the game 30 years ago !

Storm Claudia had passed through on time and the pitch was in remarkably good condition when skipper Ben Williams led out his Neath side which included three newcomers in centre Harris Simmons (Cwmtwrch & Ystradgynlais) and the Penlan duo of scrum-half C.J. Morgan and lock Evan Davies.

And it was young Morgan on an impressive debut who gave Neath the lead in the fifth minute when he cleverly exploited the blind-side for a try and later in the half he was to score again – Neath’s fifth.

It was a memorable debut for the Penlan lad whose achievements were over-shadowed by winger Cellan Davies. Making only his second start for Neath, the YGG Ystayfera product, stole the day and thrilled the crowd with a series of scintillating runs on his way to four first-half tries, profiting from deft kicks by Llewellyn Hawkes and Iestyn Morgan for two of them.

Ben Williams led by example from the back row alongside Casey Williams and Jonny Evans and Owain Watts, Tarik Dabeh and Steff Lewis provided their usual necessary graft. Behind, Harris Simmons and Jon Bayliss stood up manfully to the hard-hitting visitors while Iestyn Morgan played an intelligent game at outside-half and kicked five conversions to inflate Neath’s score.

Despite big forwards Cavubati, Telai and Qera and backs Little and Goneva (now playing up the valley for Rhigos) showing glimpses of past glories, The Fijians had no first-half points to show for their efforts.

They had their moments but their handling let them down although their skills and the sheer power and weight of some of the tackles produced the expected ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from an appreciative audience.

Half-time – Neath 40 pts, The Fijians nil

 After Neath’s dominance in the first-half, The Fijians fared a lot better in the second. In fact, the visitors took first blood with their first try by Vasa but Neath cancelled it out with another score by Cellan Davies – his fifth – the first Neath player to score 5 tries in a game since James Roberts did so against Beddau in 2021/22.

The other rising wing Owain Clarke scored on the opposite flank before the Fijians hit back with tries by Satala and Niko Matawalu who converted to make it 52-19 but good work by prop Josh Jones paved the way for a home score by replacement Tom Collier.

KK, Neath’s public address man, toiled with the tongue-twisting pronunciations but, with the pace telling on some of the Fijians, he was relieved to see Cellan Davies and Iestyn Morgan swap sides.

And his enunciation was nigh on perfect when he was able to make the unlikely intonations : “Try for Fiji … by Cellan Davies” (twice) and “Try for Fiji … by Iestyn Morgan” (once). The legend Nicky Little converted both to bring it back to 57-38.

It was fast and furious stuff and, when Tonna’s admirable Shaun Tennant, late of Glynneath crossed for Neath’s 10th try, young referee Mr. Paddy Bateman (who had a most promising game) blew the final whistle to bring down the curtain on a game of 16 tries and 100 points which represented a fair measure of entertainment on an occasion which firmly cemented Neath-Fiji relations.

At the final whistle, there were convivial scenes on the field as the two teams united in a joint-huddle of singing and prayer – cheered by the Neath crowd, it was an appropriate manner in which to cap an occasion which will be remembered for many a long day by those who took part and those who watched.

NEATH – L Hawkes; O Clarke, J Bayliss, H Simmons, C Davies; I Morgan, C J Morgan; O Watts, T Richards T Dabeh; E Davies, S Lewis; J Evans, B Williams (capt), C Williams  Repl. H Morgan, S Tennant, L Ford, T Collier, J Jones M Little C Thomas C Delfosse A Morgan G Tremlett

Referee – Mr P Bateman (Senghenydd)

Images courtesy of Len Kowalski www.lensworkphotography.co.uk  

FOOTNOTE – Neath’s individual try record in a match is the 7 scored by Richard Smith at Kidwelly in 2009/10 – Cellan Davies could be said to have equalled that tally as he scored 5 for Neath then swapped sides in the second-half and scored two more for the Fijians !

Neath now have a break before getting back to league action against WRU Cup semi-final opponents  Llanelli Wanderers at The Gnoll on Saturday, December 6.