Article by Wayne Evans
BEDDAU PINK BULLDOGS 0 v 35 LLANTWIT PINK RHINOS
LLANTWIT IN THE PINK
People remember where they were when Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon, when Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island and when Tony Davies last finished a game without seeing yellow!! Hundreds of Llantwit supporters will now also remember the day their Pink Rhinos marked their first ever game together with a resounding victory against the Pink Bulldogs of neighbouring Beddau.

The Rhinos were first to emerge into the cauldron that was Beddau Park, revelling in the atmosphere as their supporters belted out the club anthem, Erasure's A Little Respect. They were soon joined by their opponents who enjoyed an equal measure of support from their fans.

The Rhinos got the game underway with the wind and slope in their favour and they were determined to calm nerves with an early score. Some big hits early on saw Llantwit on the front foot and when the ball came to Ceri James she showed power and guile to score in the corner. Jenna George added the conversion. The Rhinos continued to apply the pressure. The forwards were winning the 50/50 balls while the backs were showing a willingness to give the ball width. This was exemplified mid way through the half when the ball went through several pairs of hands to give Rachel Burton the space to score. George again converted. The score stung the Bulldogs into action but for all their determination they were unable to breach a committed Rhinos defence and they were repeatedly send backwards by some fine tactical kicking from outside half George. As half time approached the Rhinos set up another good attacking position and when the forwards re-cycled the ball George showed too much pace for the Bulldogs defence to score try number three which she also converted.

With the wind and slope now in their favour the Bulldogs started the 2nd half determined to put the first points on the board. Despite their efforts though they continued to struggle to breach the Rhinos defence. Led by the Hamilton's the Rhinos forwards continued to gain the hard yards and when their pressure forced a turnover it was again outside half George who spotted space on the blind side to race 30 yards for the score. She added the extras to make the score 28-0. Despite the tricky conditions the Rhinos continued to look to play an offloading game and this was proving effective against the elements and a tiring Bulldogs defence. They took the ball through several phases before space opened up for George to race away for her hat trick try. She made it five out of five with the conversion before being forced to leave the field injured. Any thoughts the Bulldogs might have had that the Rhinos would struggle without their talisman proved unfounded as defensively the team continued to tackle anything in a green and gold shirt and in attack continued to show handling skills that made a mockery of the greasy conditions. With the game entering the closing stages a nasty injury to a Bulldog saw the referee (quite rightly) bring it to an early end with the Rhinos emerging convincing 35-0 winners.

When the Rhinos took up the challenge to play their near neighbours as part of a very worthy fundraising day they couldn't have imagined emerging such convincing winners some 12 weeks later. That they did is testament to the effort they all put in under the expert coaching of Messrs Popple, Popple and George. Your club is very proud of each and every one of you.