Bedwas RFC 50 St Josephs RFC 24
WRU Admiral Championship (East), Saturday 10 January 2026
Match report and photography by Ian Lovell.
After a lengthy period of inactivity both sides will be relieved to finally get out on the paddock and fulfil a fixture.
Having escaped the worst of Storm Goretti it looked as though a heavy over night frost might have caused another postponement due to one corner of the pitch being firm. In the end both sides and the referee were happy to proceed as planned.
So, on a cold early January afternoon a cagey start ensued with errors made by both sides.
Bedwas took the lead after nine minutes as Adam Williams forced his way past several defenders to cross in the corner. James Dixon was off target with his conversion kick.
Shortly afterwards St Josephs reduced arrears via a penalty goal for outside half Rob Sweetman.
The game whilst being a competitive became loose with both sides guilty of errors but with twenty-three minutes gone scrum half Luke Crane ran through to increase the Bedwas lead. Dixon successfully added the conversion.
The game became an arm wrestle with neither side imposing themselves. St Josephs reduced the arrears as half time approached courtesy of centre Jack Rowlands improved upon by Sweetman.
St Josephs were reduced to fourteen just before the break as outside centre Harry Hassall sinbinned for what the referee deemed a deliberate knock on.
Bedwas lost Ben Sier to injury shortly afterwards with Tom Fitzpatrick coming on as his replacement but the was still time for a Bedwas catch and drive try with captain Dale Rogers being last up off the turf to claim the try. Dixon again was off target with his conversion.
A fired up Bedwas increased their lead three minutes after the break as Lewis Bowden burst through to touchdown to the right of the posts. Dixon added the conversion and the important bonus point in the bank.
Bedwas made changes before St Joseph’s were again reduced to fourteen men as Number 8 Ollie Young was penalised at a ruck.
Superior manpower then saw Bedwas add their fifth try of the afternoon and a second try for Adam Williams shrugging off would be tacklers to cross in the corner, Dixon converted.
Bedwas began to find some rhythm and five minutes later hooker Mike Dacey crashed over from close range, Dixon again converting.
It was all Bedwas at this stage as a break by Luke Crane saw the supporting Aaron Billingham set up for try number seven, Dixon converted.
St Joesphs pulled a try back with six minutes to play courtesy of an interception and sprint to the line by Harry Hassall converted by Sweetman.
Bedwas were not finished and just before the end of proceedings James Hallett ran through to complete the scoring, Dixon being unsuccessful with his conversion kick.
The Bedwas Man of the Match award sponsored by Casa Mia Restaurant oof Caerphilly was awarded to Adam Williams.
Next week Bedwas travel to Bridgend Athletic RFC for a keenly anticipated Championship East fixture.
Today’s match was kindly sponsored by ISTL Mechanical and Electrical Engineers. We thank them for their generous support and hope they had an enjoyable afternoon.
Today match images can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/bedwasrfc/albums
