Fixture

Bargoed came out on top, outscoring by 4 tries to 2, a much improved Tata side to the team which was defeated heavily at the end of last season.

An early penalty from the home side outside half Niall Martin put Bargoed ahead but strong defending from Tata held the Blues at bay until the end of the first quarter when Leigh Meads took a quick tap penalty, caught the opposition napping and slipped a neat pass to wing Duane Dyer for the flyer to run in from 30 metres. Martin added the extras and took the score to 10-0.

Tata upped the pressure and it paid off on the half hour when full back Simon Evans crossed and Steve Lewis added the conversion to narrow the gap to 3 points.

Bargoed restored their lead on 33 minutes with another tap and go penalty, Niall Martin going close before Darren Humphries put Dyer away with a back-of-the-hand pass for the winger's second try of the half. Martin converted to make it 17-7 as the half drew to a close. Tata weren't finished however and a Steve Lewis penalty followed by well taken try by centre Rory Williams squared it at 17-17 with Lewis' second conversion.

The second half saw Bargoed 's forwards take control but they had to wait until the 62nd minute before regaining the lead. A Tata scrum was disrupted by the Bargoed pack and the ensuing penalty was put into the opposition 22 by Matthew Hutcheon. Tata managed to clear from the line out but the dancing feet of full back Jordan Purcell put Bargoed back on the offensive, running back at the heart of the Tata defence. He was held up just short of the line and Leigh Meades did the linking, putting replacement prop Ally Gardner over in the corner to make it 22-17.

The bonus point try came 10 minutes from time. Tata couldn't cope with a Bargoed driving maul from a lineout outside their 22 and captain Meades came up with the ball to close out the game at 29-17 with Hutcheon's conversion