Bedwas RFC Athletic 13 Nelson RFC Nomads 12.
Dragons Athletic League Cup final, Thursday 14 May 2026.
Match report courtesy of Dean Picton, images courtesy of Angela Brideaux.
Bedwas Athletic made it four straight league and cup doubles in the most dramatic of fashions with a last-gasp penalty breaking Nelson hearts.
Tries for the Nomads a double from winger Iestyn Knowles with Bedwas replying through Morgan Jones and man of the match Ben Reynolds.
The cup final nerves clearly hadn’t fully settled for both sides as a slew of mistakes in attack made the opening quarter of the game a scrappy and cagey affair.
It took just shy of the twenty-minute mark for either side to have a clear-cut chance and it was the Nomads who made the first impression on the scoreboard when Nelson pushed to break the deadlock.
The game felt like it needed the opening score to settle the game and a Nelson try shook Tyler Picton’s Bedwas to life with an extended period of pressure was epitomised by a dominant scrum in the Nomads twenty-two allowing scrum half Morgan Jones to dive into the corner and bring the game all level.
Bedwas’s back line of Jones, Jennings, Picton, Lintern, Lee, Pesci and Jackson started turning the screw and were a constant threat to the Nomads.
The Bedwas pack were outstanding in fitness and delivered what was required with big tackles and dancing feet…especially from Dave Bisof, Dewi Thomas and Harvey Picton. The front 5 made a big difference in a dominating effort from Brideaux, Davis and Clubbe with the robust unit of Morgan Phipps to back them up.
The Nomads thought they grabbed the lead before half time, but was ultimately chalked off for a penalty in the build-up.
Nelson went back ahead in the early stages of the second half, the Nelson’s backline exposed space to perfection and crossed again for a deserved try.
Kyle Jackson surveyed the pitch like a roaming seagull after a bag of chips and played out of his skin at full back to keep Nelson back.
The back row of Dewi Thomas, Ben Reynolds and Harvey Picton covered every blade of grass to keep Nelson at Bay.
Just six minutes later, Bedwas began to show why they were in the hunt for a quadruple of doubles with Ben Reynolds replying with a try to close the scoreline to 12-10 in favour of the Nomads.
The introduction of forwards Ethan Abbot, Josh Godden, Ethan Nash, James Perry, Harrison Jones and Marcus Prosser bolstered the Bedwas Charge.
Wingers Ieuan Harding and Gavin Evans made an important contribution to the fitness of Bedwas late on and kept the attack going.
Bedwas threw absolutely everything at Nelson for the remaining half an hour and the Nomads stood firm all the way until the last play of the game when Bedwas stole the game with a last gasp penalty kick from experienced outside half, Owen Thomas to break Nelson’s hearts.
