Swansea Freshers had the superior history in the fixture, and the side were confident going into the game.

And coach Oliver Tarbard was pleased with how his side lived up to their expectations of the game.

“I was confident beforehand because the freshers have never lost a varsity match,” he said.

“However, we knew that there was a lot of pressure on the boys. But they took this in their stride and lived up to expectations taking all the chances
they were given.”

The first half opened tentatively, with no clear cut opportunities and lots of penalties being conceded by both sides in the middle of the pitch, and it was penalties that would dictate the first half.

First, after nine minutes, Swansea were awarded a penalty in a close, central position, and Liam Crandon put Swansea 3-0 ahead.

This lead lasted only three minutes, however, as a Cardiff penalty levelled the score.

But Swansea retook the lead through a fine effort from distance from Crandon, and went into half time 6-3 ahead.

Just two minutes into the second half, a magnificent counter-attack down the left gave Swansea men to spare and David Young went over for the first try of the game.

And seven minutes later, after great pressure in Cardiff territory, Swansea scored again when Oliver Young was able to find a gap in the defence to
extend Swansea’s lead to 16-3.

With a little over 20 minutes to go Cardiff found themselves with men over to score a try of their own, which they converted to bring themselves
back into the game at 16-10.

But the difference in class between the teams was evident, and the only further addition to the scoreline was through Crandon, who had missed both conversions but was successful with another penalty.

Tarbard was delighted with the quality of his side’s performance.

“The score was close at half-time but I said in the team talk to keep the pressure up and the aggression high.

“I knew we needed to keep our discipline as Cardiff were only entering our half when we conceded penalties. I was confident that we would run riot in the second half.

“The boys did the university’s rugby club proud and I think it took a few hours until the boys finally realised what they had achieved.”

SWANSEA UNIVERSITY 19-10 CARDIFF UNIVERSITY

Swansea ran in three converted first-half tries and another unconverted in the second as they raced into a 20-0 lead against Aberystwyth.

However, Swansea were made to work for their victory as they were forced to endure a cavalier fightback from Aberystwyth, who slid in three tries in the last ten minutes.

Captain Martin Jones sang the praises of prop Chau, who was successful with three out of his four conversion attempts, “which in that weather was incredible”.

“If he hadn’t kicked those points, the scoreline would have been a lot closer.”

Speaking of his team’s performance, vice-captain Owain Morgan stated: “I’m proud of the lads, they were dropping like flies out there with cramp… The weather wasn’t great but we stuck at it and I’m proud of them”.

Swansea were truly dominant in the first half as they held on to the ball much better than their opponents in the testing conditions.

Captain Jones stretched across the line within sixty seconds of the match kicking off for the breakthrough, which Chau duly converted.

Morgan added another before winger Ryan Looker broke clear of the Aberystwyth line and made it three.

The first-half performance of Swansea was outstanding in all areas of the pitch as Aberystwyth failed to get within touching distance of their opponent’s try line.

The second half was largely similar as the first for the first thirty minutes or so as second-row Daniel Williams burst through to make it 20-0, although this time Chau could not find the target.

With 10 minutes left on the clock Swansea took their foot off the gas slightly and Aberystwyth looked to capitalise.

Aberystwyth broke clear of the Swansea defence three times as they brought the score back to 20-12; however, all three tries were unconverted as their kicker could not adjust to the conditions.

Despite this, Swansea did manage to weather the storm in more ways than one, as they took the spoils from bottom of the league Aberystwyth.

Swansea’s first win of the season will give them confidence as they travel to the top two teams in the league; Gloucestershire and Glamorgan in their next two games.

“If yellow had been given I don’t think anybody would have argued,” he said.

“But in the eyes of the law a stamp is a red card.”

Swansea’s passing, something which Savage mentioned they had worked on in training, was much improved as they stormed into a ten-point lead in the opening 15 minutes.

The first of those points came via a penalty from Jack Shields which was followed nine minutes later by a try from Ben Doney, which was also converted by Shields, following some good play down the wing by Tayo Adesanya.

Hartpury however soon came back into the game with two tries themselves thanks to Will Hewer and Joshua Meadows.

Both were converted by the boot of Alex Moore. This left the score 14-10 to the visitors at the break.

Swansea looked to have got back into the game when Shields scored another penalty early in the second half.

But Hartpury were able to make the extra man count and Charlie Hubert found the gap to score another try, again converted by Moore.

Swansea continued to battle hard and managed to score an unconverted try through Sean Byrne to take the score to 21-18 in Hartpury’s favour.

Swansea could have leveled the match before the final whistle when they were awarded a penalty that narrowly went wide of the posts.

Savage is defiant following the defeat and believes they can still push for promotion.

He added: “It’s a tough ask, we’ve made it hard for ourselves but we’re not ones to shy away from a challenge and the season is far from over.”

The defeat came on the back of a disappointing season which saw Swansea finish fifth in the Premier South A, while Cardiff finished third and completed the double over the green and white army.

The latest defeat was also the first time Swansea had lost the Varsity rugby match in three years.

Coach Richard Lancaster said: “We just didn’t execute our game plan.

“Once Cardiff scored their first try, it became a game of set plays, which was nutrition for the Cardiff side to play the style of rugby that suits them.”

He added: “It’s disappointing as it is the last game of the season. It is something to store and use as fuel for next season.”

Swansea University started off the brighter of the two teams, going 6-0 up after 10 minutes, courtesy of Swansea fly-half Aled Lewis’ boot.

Cardiff recovered from their slow start and 15 minutes later, lock Nicholas Huntley dived over the Swansea try line but the conversion was missed by fly-half Cameron Plimlow.

On the half hour mark, Cardiff’s dominance led to Swansea conceding a penalty on their five-metre line, providing the opportunity for openside flanker Arthur Ellis to cross the line and hand Cardiff a 12-6 lead with a converted try.

Three minutes later, Plimlow extended the lead to 15-6 by scoring a drop-goal from 22 metres out.

Swansea were dealt a blow in the closing stages of the first half when scrum-half Tom Rowlands was sent to the sin-bin for deliberately obstructing a player whilst in an offside position.

Five minutes into the second half, Plimlow extended Cardiff’s lead to 18-6 by slotting his second drop-goal from 15 metres out.

And soon after the their third try of the match came through prop and captain Jake Cooper-Woolley.

It started from a line-out 10 metres from Swansea’s try line which was collected by Craig Lodge and knocked down to Jonny MacDonald, and he fed Cooper-Woolley who evaded the tackles of Swansea’s Michael Thomas and Reuben Tucker to score.

The try was unconverted yet Cardiff’s lead was extended to 23-6 with 30 minutes to go.

Swansea went on the attack and 10 minutes of sustained pressure resulted in Cardiff’s Ellis receiving a yellow card for a culmination of offences.

And with 15 minutes left, Swansea scored their first try of the match following an attack down the right, and winger Jackson Szabo managed to cross over after being tackled by Cardiff’s Rhys Howells and Charlie Simpson.

Fly-half Aled Lewis added the extras and reduced the deficit to 10 points, with the score 23-13.

But Cardiff made sure there would be no late fightback by scoring two more tries.

The pick of them came two minutes from time from a delicate move along the backline which saw replacement winger Steffan Morgan switch an inside ball to fellow winger Howells who crossed the try line.

Cardiff captain Cooper-Woolley said: “We had maximum effort from the boys and the result shows it.”

Swansea University 1sts 13-33 Cardiff University 1sts

Swansea have enjoyed success in recent years at the Varsity event, winning 16-12 at the Liberty Stadium in 2010 and 28-18 in the inaugural game at the Millennium Stadium last year.

Last season’s win capped a fantastic season for Swansea, who finished second in Premier South A division.

But their fortunes have changed this season as Swansea have been plagued by poor performances and results to match, picking up just 15 points in 12 games and finishing fifth.

In contrast, newly-promoted Cardiff finished third in the same league with 21 points.

And to add further Swansea’s misery in the league this year, Cardiff did the double over them 18-13 and 25-12.

But Smart still feels that Swansea will come out on top in the Varsity finale.

“I believe there is a strong chance for us to win,” he said.

“The boys have to take the opportunity now and put in the hard work that is needed to win such a big game.”

Smart feels the delicate blend between experience and youth will be the key recipe for the squad ahead of the varsity clash.

“This year we have a squad with experience.” he added: “The boys have previous varsity caps but we also have some good, fresh talent coming through.”

Smart thinks the biggest hurdle for his side is to overcome is his team’s fitness ahead of the clash at the home of Welsh rugby.

“We just need to keep working on fitness,” he said.

“The pace of the Varsity game is the quickest we face all season, so you can never do too much fitness for it.”

Swansea have sought further help in preparation for Varsity with the appointment of former Ospreys head coach Sean Holley.

When speaking to AU Media, Holley said: “I have the upmost respect for Richard Lancaster [head coach] and Steve Mallalieu [back’s coach].

“It’s quite a big preparation time to the Varsity and they’ll be looking for some type of experience to give them an edge.”

Holley added: “I’m more than happy to try and bring that.”

Hearn has witnessed the improvement of the side first hand after previously being the vice-captain last season.

“Over the three years that I have studied at Swansea University, women’s rugby has grown and gone from strength to strength,” she said.

“I am confident that we have a strong team which has done extremely well this year, with everyone giving their all.”

Despite losing to Cardiff in the last two Varsity events, Hearn is sure key preparations will secure a win.

Hearn identified the issues behind last 54-5 defeat and hopes to improve these areas for the game this year.

She added: “We started off well and looked promising. However, a few tries from them and us conceding some penalties meant that our head dropped.

“It was clear that our fitness was a weak point for us.

“Varsity preparation will consist of a few team building sessions, along with several contact based and fitness sessions.

“This will be practised alongside more skill specific match play preparation nearer the big day.

“Throughout the season, we have had to deal with some injuries and the loss of some key players so, as a team, I believe we’re ready to face anything.”

Swansea finished third in the Western 1A Division, while Cardiff survived a relegation dogfight in the Premier South Division.

Hearn added: “As always, playing Cardiff will be a tough competition, but I think we’re ready for it.”

Swansea secured promotion by winning all eight league games including being awarded a walkover against Varsity opponents Cardiff in December and securing a 24-0 victory in the return fixture.

Cardiff have experienced mixed fortunes though finishing fifth in the league, winning four games and losing three, with their last victory coming away at the University of Newport in a 17-7 win.

Swansea coach Rhys Dixon has prepared his unbeaten side for the test against Cardiff by increasing the intensity of the training.

The training has been enhanced by Griff Harding and Gareth Beer, whose work is recognised by Dixon.

Harding has helped forge the backline into an offensively and defensively potent force, with the side scoring 304 points and only conceding 39.

Beer has spearheaded the gruelling strength and conditioning training sessions for the freshers’ side in preparation for their Varsity match on May 2.

“The ability to work closely with the 1sts, including contact drills and even the occasional bit of analysis from former Ospreys coach Sean Holley has really injected a professional attitude into the team,” he said.

Dixon has picked out the commitment of captain Jack Perkins, the physicality of No. 8 Liam Neil and kicking skill of back Jack Shields as key advantages in what he describes as “the result that really matters most this season.”

Vice-captain Eliza Slinn was proud of the attacking mind-set of Swansea’s forward pack in blustery conditions.

“Naturally our open play and offloading comes off really well, so we’ve worked on our set-pieces”, she said.

“It was nice to see it come into action.”

Swansea started the game brightly, with captain and inside centre Lizzie Hearn making incisive breaks.

But it was Marjons who scored the opening try. 15 minutes in, a defensive kick from Swansea saw Leanne Cording take advantage of the space and score.

The scores were soon levelled up, Burt powering over the line from the back of a five-metre scrum.

Five minutes later, Swansea set up a maul 10 metres out and scrum-half Katrina Morris peeled off and darted through the defence to score.

Swansea lost concentration and allowed winger Stacey Saunders to get round the back and score to take the lead going into the break.

The second half saw a revitalised Swansea side.

Burt scored her second try of the game after powering through the Marjons defence after another scrum.

Her hat-trick was complete when she found herself on the overlap.

The victory was complete with Hearn and Slinn both scoring tries.

Slinn added: “I’m really pleased the girls kept their cool and the forwards did an amazing job today.”

Captain Richard Smart was pleased with the win and admitted it was the “only option.”

He said: “We needed to get the winning momentum going.

“It’s always a great feeling to get a win against someone who beat you previously.”

Swansea started brightly capitalising on Hartpury’s poor discipline.

Fly-half Aled Lewis converted two penalties in the first 11 minutes.

The second coming from inside Swansea’s own half.

The opening try of the game came after 27 minutes when Jackson Szabo scored.

The winger finished off a sweeping move involving the back line and evading two tackles to cross over the line in the left corner.

Lewis missed his conversion and moments later attempted a drop-goal from 45m which drifted right of the posts.

Four minutes before the break, Hartpury’s Sam Harrsion hit back with a try of his own for Hartpury.

He received the ball from the ruck and breached the Swansea defence to go over unchallenged for an uncoverted try.

With Swansea leading 11-5, they looked to increase their lead with an early break in the second half.

Wing Tom Bonnell was set free by outside centre Elliot Jones but Hartpury’s Graeme Lawler dived in to make try-saving tackle.

And it spurred the visitors on as in the 56th minute fly-half Jack Debreczeni barged his way through the Swansea back line to score their second try of the game and keep their championship dreams alive.

But Swansea were boosted soon after when when Hartpury’s No 8 Brandon Walker was sin-binned for a culmination of offences which reduced the  travelling side down to 14.

The consequent penalty conceded by Walker was converted by Lewis leaving the home side with a 14-10 lead at the hour mark.

Then, with eight minutes left, Swansea upped the tempo and prop Chris Francis crossed under the posts to score for Swansea and confirm the victory.

Replacement fly-half Ianto Griffiths adding the extras.

“We showed a lot of promise in attack which is always good, we are looking more threatening,” said Smart.

“There is still work to be done but overall I am very pleased with the win.”

Swansea will now try to finish the season in the highest possible position.

Hopes of third remain a possibility.

The tight contest went into extra time with the players suffering from fatigue.

“It was a tough game, Sheffield Hallam played really well, and it was very evenly matched,” said captain Lizzie Hearn.

“Everyone gave their all, I’m happy even if it was a loss.”

Hallam had the majority of the possession in the opening 15 minutes.

Swansea gifted the ball to the opposition with sloppy passing and narrow play.

The home side managed to turn it around towards the end of the half, forcing back the visitors into their own 22.

The second half began in a flourish with Swansea scoring their opening try.

Hearn’s run from the centre allowed her teammate Sasha Owen to score down in the left corner.

The resulting conversion kick was missed.

Hallam surged back into the game five minutes after Swansea’s try with one of their own.

The resulted kick was short of the mark.

The game went into extra time with the score at 5-5.

Hallam scored the winner 10 minutes from time.

Hearn was down as a result of a challenge a minute earlier and the Swansea backline was left short as Hallam snuck past to score.

Swansea University 1sts 5-10 Sheffield Hallam University 1sts