Hot favourites Llandovery duly won the 127th annual fixture against their old Brecon rivals but were taken all the way by opponents who fought for every inch of the Tredegar Close pitch, writes Huw S Thomas.

Christ College had not been enjoying the best of seasons in Conference B of the Welsh Schools and Colleges league but they raised their game to new heights against last year’s Conference A winners.

The intensity of the game would have delighted the lately deceased Dai Gealy, a former College rugby star and later English master who many consider the finest fly half to have played for the Carmarthenshire independent school.

A minute’s silence was the prelude of another no holds barred contest that has been fought on and off since 1879.

To win, Brecon needed to keep the ball away from the dangerous Llandovery backs and they succeeded for long periods, their pack brave and fearless in the close quarter engagements.

But the Lilywhites had that extra bit of pace and thrust when in possession and their five tries were the result of swift handling and running that the Brecon backs could not cope with.

The Christ College back row of James Thomas, James Griffiths and Tom Lowry were immense in attack and defence and were cruelly let down by a scoreboard that belied the closeness of the battle.

They and hooker Ioan Evans could not have played better, taking and giving shuddering tackles as they covered acres of ground but Llandovery always had the potential to score from anywhere.

Tomos Price, a scrum half by trade, was a fine fly half and orchestrated things well to create tries as well as scoring one fine solo effort at a crucial time.

Wales U19 centre Gryff Watkins and wing Thomas Williams were real handfuls behind the scrum and the talented trio were influential in all that happened.

A Watkins try after a strong carry from prop Josh Wrigglesworth and a Price conversion were the only scores of the first half when a large crowd took note that the Breconians were really up for the fight.

And there was a fleeting glimpse of a surprise early in the second half when carry after carry brought the visitors a try for hooker Evans, well converted by promising fly half Archie Lavington.

The Christ College forwards kept up the pressure at 7-7 only to see Llandovery suddenly hit them with two tries in as many minutes.

Griffiths broke cleanly to send Williams in before Price twinkled past one defender after another to make it 17-7.

With Brecon pounding away at the Llandovery line, they lost the ball in contact, Price found Williams with an accurate cross field kick and the powerful wing accelerated clear.

Down but never out, Brecon responded manfully with a sniping effort from replacement scrum half Ollie Morgan only for the hosts to have the last word with a sweeping move that worked in full back Gabriel Speakman for a converted try.

“It was a cruel end,” said Brecon coach Dan Parry.

“As the boys played their hearts out in their best performance of the season.

“They go away, their heads high”

Llandovery coach, Nathan Thomas who played in the fixture on two occasions, added: “Fair play to Brecon, they made us battle hard all the way and their pack was fit, aggressive and tireless but that is what we expected from them.

“It was a fine advert for this oldest of Welsh school fixtures.”

No one disagreed.

Tries: T Williams (2), G Watkins, T Price, G Speakman

Cons: T Price (2)

Tries: I Evans, O Morgan

Con: A Lavington