There were two big games on the weekend with the 1st XV entertaining Cardiff Met in a WRU Community Premiership tie and The Warriors facing Dunvant Athletic at Glynneath RFC in the semi final of the WRU Division 5 Cup.
1st XV Report
Bargoed started well playing against the wind, with Lewis Robey and Will Gregory prominent in carrying hard. However it was Cardiff Met that slowly got the territorial advantage as Bargoed conceded a couple of penalties. The students took advantage of this and led 6-0 after 25 minutes.
Bargoed were playing some good attacking rugby but made a few errors and failed to capitalise on this good work.
The Met then managed to get a foothold in the Bargoed 22 through poor defence from the hosts. This led to a period of pressure and a cross field kick saw the Met score and increase their lead with a converted try after 31 minutes.
It was the students that went in at half time 13-0 up.
Bargoed retained possession and slowly started to turn the screw on the students with Rhys Thomas being hauled down close to the line.
Bargoed continued to stretch the Met and it was hard working back rower Rhys Stephens who scored, opening Bargoed’s account with Josh Prosser adding the extras to make it 13-7 after 48 minutes.
The hosts were now on top and dominating territorially with huge pressure on the Met. However there was a scuffle and one player from each side was red carded but the Referee.
Bargoed made some changes with the bench providing good impact as we entered the last quarter.
Bargoed maintained the pressure on the students and it was Rhys Stephens who scored under the posts, with Prosser converting. The hosts took the lead 14-13 for the first time. 
Bargoed continued to look for the next score with a mix of hard yard carries which enabled them to get quick ball.
Bargoed got their third try through some clever work by Josh Prosser that enabled Ashley Norton to score wide out. This was superbly converted by Prosser after 63 minutes and Bargoed now lead 21-13
Cardiff Met weren’t finished though and were immediately back on the attack but Bargoed defended superbly and nullified the threat, to close the game out.
New Head Coach Aled James and the coaching staff will be pleased with the result after a few weeks without playing.
They look forward to next week and the challenge of Merthyr RFC away at the Wern.
There are seven games left for the 1st XV who will be looking to build on Saturday’s performance as they aim to move up from their current place in fifth position in the league, with a couple of games in hand on those above them.
Warriors Match Report
The Warriors travelled to Glynneath RFC to face the challenge of Dunvant Athletic in the semi final of the WRU National Division 5 Cup.
The Warriors started slowly playing up the slope and into the wind.
It was clear early on that there were two different game plans with Dunvant using their big pack against Bargoed’s more expansive style.
Dunvant started well and scored two tries in the first fifteen minutes but Bargoed responded well with a try from Greg Callow and a conversion from Charlie Williams. 
The Warriors then took the lead 14-10 with Adam Jones scoring a try and a conversion from Williams.
They increased their lead with Charlie Williams converting another penalty to lead 17-10 at half time. 
The second half started with the Warriors applying pressure on Dunvant and they conceded a penalty with Charlie Williams increasing their lead to 20-10.
Dunvant struck back with a well taken try in the corner to close the gap to 20-15.
The Warriors responded well and applied huge pressure by dominating territory and possession. Charlie Williams converted that into points with another penalty to lead 23-15.
The Warriors continued to build on this with Morgan Small and Jason James causing problems for Dunvant with their powerful ball carrying and physicality.
This hard work resulted in Josh Michaels deservedly scoring the Warriors third try to make it 28-15.
The Warriors made some changes and they continued to strangle Dunvant which resulted in two more penalties being awarded that Charlie Williams converted into points.
The Warriors were now well on top as Dunvant tired and Leon James scored the final try with Williams again converting to make the final score 41-15.
The coaching staff will be pleased by the performance and the result with Dunvant providing good opposition and a real physical challenge for the Warriors.
This was an outstanding team effort but there were some great individual performances from Morgan Small, Charlie Williams, Harvey Jones and Josh Michaels.
They now look forward to facing the challenge of Brecon Athletic in the final at the Principality Stadium on 19 April.
However the Warriors are also in the hunt for the league with four games left, and a key game on the horizon against Blackwood Stars who sit in second place behind the them.
Big thanks to the bus loads of supporters that provided great support to the Warriors on Saturday.
