The Wales centre kept his nerve to slot over a 28 metre penalty from an awkward angle to give the visitors a hard fought win in the first of two Test matches against England this year.
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Wales were first on the scoreboard with a penalty by Ashton however England hit back after seven minutes with a try by winger Adam Faulkner who carved his way over for a well taken try near the posts.
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Wales hit back through Ashton who slotted his second penalty to put the visitors ahead by 6-5. Midway through the first half, the hosts began to dominate the scrum with the front row of Kevin Osbourne, Tom England and Peter Altham giving the Welsh pack a tough time.
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England’s dominance paid off as on 27 minutes, outside half Sage kicked a penalty to put England ahead at the break by 8-6.
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Wales decided to stay on the field at half time as captain Adam Brake sought to galvanise his team following a half where England enjoyed the majority of possession and territory.
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England’s territorial dominance continued early into the second half and they were rewarded with a penalty try on 47 minutes after a series of collapsed scrums on the Welsh line. Sage kicked the conversion to stretch the host’s lead to 15-6.
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The game turned on 74 minutes though as Wales rallied and began to apply pressure deep in England’s half.
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Some good interchange play between the forwards and backs pushed England back towards their own line and with the home defence stretched, full-back Aron Humphries was put away to slide over in the corner. Centre Ashton missed the difficult conversion from far out on the touchline and England went into final six minutes just one point ahead.
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Wales were desperate to hold onto the ball and move up-field to try and secure a good position for a final go at the home defence. With only four minutes left, they were awarded a penalty from a ruck as England’s open-side flanker was caught offside. Ashton stepped forward and held his nerve to calmly edge Wales ahead.
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A frantic final few minutes followed as England sought to find position or a scrum where they could earn a penalty to snatch victory. The slippery conditions however made handling difficult and from the final lineout of the game, Dunvant scrum half Sam Gallagher scrambled the ball into touch to ensure Wales held onto the Broadstreet Cup by 17-15.
The second test will be held on Saturday 12 March 2016 at Cardiff Arms Park.
Wales Deaf Rugby squad v England Deaf Rugby (Fylde RFC 31 January 2016)
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1. Dave Wellbeloved (Exmouth RFC) Â
2. Dan Vella (Tata RFC)
3. Rob Mills (Builth Wells RFC)
4. John James (Cwmllynfell RFC)
5. Sean Driscoll (Cardiff RFC)
6. Jon Cudd (Morriston RFC)
7. Ryan Shallish (Dinas Powys RFC)
8. Adam Brake Captain (Caerleon RFC)
9. Sam Gallagher (Dunvant RFC)
10. Richard Lewis (Dunvant RFC)
11. Jack Tugwell (Llandaff North)
12. Celyn Ashton (Treorchy RFC) (PENALTIES (4)
13. Gareth John (Tonna RFC)
14. Owen Jones (Mold RFC)
15. Aron Humphries (Nelson RFC) (TRY)
Replacements
16. Ken Dowding (Chichester RFC)
17. Richard Hicks (Maesteg RFC)
18. Richard Jones (Nelson RFC)
19. Marcus Lear (Abersychan RFC)
20. Dwayne Evans (Neath Athletic)
21. Neirin Butler (British Army Medical Services)
22. Tim Parkinson (Milton Keynes RFC)
23. Kieran Watkins (Amman Utd)
