Jack Anderson and Callum Davies both crossed for tries in blustery conditions with fly half Luke Price kicking the extras.Â
Gower crossed for two tries themselves, Ryan Jones and wing Connor Edgecumbe their scorers but it was Price’s kicking which proved the difference between the two sides.
Both sides continued to turn over the ball in the early exchanges and with two big sets of forwards going head to head in the collisions, the game remained scoreless.
Gower boasted two giant locks in their ranks, Rory Thornton and Adam Williams are both in the current Wales Under 18 squad and their battle with Neath’s Adam Beard, also in the national squad, was intriguing.
It was Gower scrum half Tom Maggs who created the first chance, his quick tap penalty catching the Neath defence off guard. After making a 30 metre break though, Maggs lacked support, the ball was knocked on and the play came to nothing.
Although the chance was lost, Maggs’ side were dominating territory and soon got their reward. The ball was worked left and Jones ran in to give his side a 5-0 lead. The conversion was missed but the score seemed to bring Neath to life as they levelled the scores almost straight from the kick off.
Outside centre Anderson cut a lovely line and crossed under the posts for his side’s first try. After two quick scores, the game settled down with the forward battle dominant.
It was Gower who were dominating territory though and following a sustained period of pressure they extended their lead. A poor clearance kick from Neath was picked up and ran back by the Gower backs.
With their defence at sixes and sevens, Neath looked suspect and were exposed when Edgecumbe dived over in the corner.
Price got his team back into things with a penalty but his kick was cancelled out by one from Gower’s Liam Popham as they led at the break.
The first quarter of the second half remained scoreless though Gower’s back three looked dangerous every time they had ball in hand.
With the wind still causing trouble to both sets of players, the boot began to dominate and although a number of chances were created, the final pass continued to go astray.
It was Neath who were growing into the game though and when Gower’s Tom Dew was given a yellow card, they took advantage.
Davies powered over as Neath retook the lead. Price converted and added a late penalty as his side held out for the win. Â
