Brecon were comprehensively beaten by Newport in a pre-season match over the weekend.

Newport are one the favourites in the new Elite Domestic Competition, Super Rygbi Cymru, so it was always going to be a tall order for Dale McIntosh’s men.

The scoreline of 54 points to 10 was an accurate reflection of the difference in pace, intensity and clinical finishing between the two sides on the day. 

At the post-match get-together there was no attempt by the coaching team to hide the fact that this was anything but a comprehensive defeat but neither were the players berated for poor performances. Instead, the emphasis was on: “How do we put things right?” 

Head Coach, Dale McIntosh picked out the main improvements that have to be made.

“We have to respect and retain the ball,” he said.

“Far too often in open play we lost the ball and they capitalised on our mistakes in a big way.”

Nobody who watched the match could have argued with that assessment. The first try came after just three minutes from a charged down clearance. The second came after a great response by Brecon when they took play to the Newport five-metre line, only to lose the ball at the breakdown, and see Newport open up from their own line and create space for flying wing Lloyd Lewis to score. This was a pattern that persisted through to the final whistle, with five of Newport’s eight tries stemming from Brecon mistakes often starting in Newport territory.

Another glaring discrepancy between the two sides was the lineout. During the first half Brecon won a reasonable number of lineouts on their throw but during the second half wins at the line out were almost non-existent.

Brecon also struggled with their kicking. This was hardly surprising when Brecon fielded either regular scrum half Geraint Workman or centre Ollie Lewis at outside half, as they were forced to cover for the three absent front-line tens. In spite of their limited experience, in such a critical position, they both linked well and for the most part did everything the coaches could have asked of them. The “Chief” singled them out, praising them for taking on the responsibility in the way that they did.

However, and in spite of the heavy defeat there were positives. The scrum held up well throughout the match. Brecon also caused Newport problems when they had good ball and built continuity. Having given away two early scores in the first half they bounced back, threatened, and scored two well deserved tries. The first came after some great attacking play with Tom Richards looking dangerous and centres Ollie Lewis and Jack Dixon in particular making inroads through the Newport defence. Quick ball at the breakdown on the five-metre line caught the Newport defence narrow and good hands led to Dixon putting second row Ben Sier over.

The second try came as a reward for hard work. Osian Davies won a turnover and after a number of lineouts in the Newport 22 they finally drove over the line for Logan McIntosh to score. That score brought Brecon back into contention at 21 points to 10 but in the last few minutes of the half Brecon conceded two soft tries.

Another positive was the way Brecon fought back in the final ten minutes. In spite of being 45 points down they didn’t give up and showed remarkable fitness and resilience.

As Dale McIntosh made his final assessment he first congratulated two of last season’s youth team, Huw and Aled Jones who made their senior debuts in this match and certainly did not look out of place. He then went on to look ahead, giving an indication of what the squad might expect in the coming weeks.

“We cannot bury our heads in the sand and ignore the lessons that we must learn from this game,” he said.

“As coaches we have to look at ourselves and concentrate on and improve on the basics. There is some hard work ahead for us all but we will go on and we will improve.”

That improvement will be first measured when Brecon travel to Beddau next Saturday for their final pre-season warm-up match. This match now takes on considerable significance in terms of building confidence and belief - commodities which Brecon will need as they face a challenging season in the Premiership.