Abertillery 17, Thurrock 33

" Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships."- Michael Jordan

PRE-season matches and "warm-up" games are, to an extent, a 'phoney war', but useful to coaches and players in inspiring teamwork and collaboration.

With the Rugby World Cup imminent, coaches have been experimenting with combinations and scenarios with an eye on the ultimate prize. Sometimes there are massive surprises as well as injuries and disappointments.

After last week's denouement at the hands of Fiji, England seem to be struggling, while Wales seem dependent on players recovering from injury and the potential magic of Louis Rees-Zammit!

What on earth must a befuddled and bemused Ian Foster be thinking after the All Blacks' capitulation against the behemoth South Africans?

Thurrock have made good progress over the past few weeks and, even though this was a Bank Holiday weekend a proud 'band of brothers' made the journey to Abertillery's iconic stadium in the Welsh valleys, a ground which had hosted all of the Southern hemisphere's great teams.

The holiday traffic and a series of accidents delayed the kick-off and Director of Rugby Martin Jones and Abertillery' s Nick Meredith agreed a late start.

With Jake Bedding injured, Thurrock fielded a new half- back combination with young Elliot Chew having the opportunity to make his debut alongside Loughborough graduate Blake Burns (the son of Thurrock favourite, Damian).

As coaches Dave Stevens and Dave Catchpole continued to experiment they were delighted with the introduction of cousins Harry and Jack Love, Ben Flatt, Dylan Bodimeade and Alfie Bailey.

Outstanding clubmen Anthony Catchpole and Sam Jennings added ballast to the front row with impressive recruit, George Miles staking his claim for a front row berth.

Over the last few weeks there has been much "ebbing and flowing" but the long journey and " bonding" opportunity seemed to have galvanised the visitors.

Abertillery, having had a couple of great seasons including their epic Cup victory at the Principality Stadium, appeared to be daunting opposition on their home patch, but nobody in the Thurrock team had read the script!

From the offset leaders Ben Timson and Niall Clifford tore into the Abertillery phalanx with zeal.

Setting up good field position through the superb line-out skills of Caolàn Watts-Adams suddenly Geordie, James Rodger, careered through a gap with a fine turn of speed to open the scoring.

This gave Thurrock the incentive to set up a wave of set- piece attacks. Blake Burns and Elliot Chew were flooding the mid-field with inviting passes, and, from a clever delivery, Niall Clifford stormed through a gap with devastating power to score a superb try.

Henry Bird and Clifford were causing havoc with their power and directness, both in defence and attack, while last season's find, Harry Reynolds, was proving a genuine threat every time he got the ball.

Abertillery were just about hanging on through the " siege-gun" boot of Mike Williams and the obstinacy of Callum Kelly and Matthew Catlin. Catlin who had represented Crawshay's last season and Watts-Adams were having a terrific battle in the line-out with Lawrence Brown enjoying the contest with Dafydd Cripps and Jordan Legg.

Young Lewis Jayne was in competition with Blake Burns and both came out in considerable credit.

Dylan Bodimeade made a few incursions from full- back showing his pace and Alfie Bailey was uncompromising in the tackle.

With New Zealander Jamie Orr still side- lined by injury Dan Ulph stepped on.to the flank and continued his rampaging form of last season and when Clifford went off for precautionary measures, he stepped into the centre with real authority.

This was the cue for Henry Bird and Ben Timson to take a strangle-hold on proceedings. Their dominant tackling and foraging paved the way for the younger players to make their mark on the game. Ben Flatt and the Love cousins excelled, while Sam Jennings and Jeavon Griffiths had a contest of Jurassic proportions!

This period of dominance up front enabled the excellent, Lawrence Brown to crash over, before the dazzling Harry Reynolds ripped through the defence for another grounding.

With Blake Burns adding a couple of conversions and orchestrating play, Thurrock had gone into an amazing 26 point lead, but their resolve was about to be tested as Nick Meredith rung the changes.

Mention must be made of Elliot Chew, making his debut at scrum- half. Having made the long journey in his grand-father's car, he stepped into the position for the first time on a pitch once graced by Wales and British Lion, Allan Lewis! Allan Lewis was the first "spin- passer" in the Northern hemisphere and Elliot Chew was stepping into unfamiliar territory!

He handled the pressure with aplomb, tackling and testing the opposition with his pace and ingenuity.

In the meantime, Blake Burns was impressing with his all-round game and this is a partnership of great potential.

Abertillery re-organised and started the second period explosively through some heavy duty carrying before a superb " cut-out" pass put Kurtis Haile over in the corner.

Thus began a period of home superiority as the home pack started to " turn the screw".

A series of yellow cards from outstanding referee, Simon Rees, added to the drama as Abertillery clawed their way back into this roller- coaster of a game.

Jack Summers, struggling with a back problem, was valiantly trying to impose himself and with Joe Everley, a fine prospect, Abertillery came back into the game.

Indeed, with a couple of quick tries, the home side came back strongly.

Thurrock played their master card, throwing on long- term injury victim Kodie Holloway. Holloway is incredibly brave and has a fine range of skills. Able to operate at scrum-half as well as his preferred position on the flank, he is a consummate performer. His introduction gave the visitors renewed impetus and it was not surprising when he romped in under the posts to set the seal on an historic victory.

"From Abertillery in the east to the snow-capped hills of Bonymaen in the west, the valleys have never looked so good." - Peter Stead in "The Heart and Soul of Welsh Rugby"

Thurrock have had a long and lasting connection with Wales and this game at this magnificent venue will live long in the memory.

Much had been learned and the selectors have been given a 'headache' ahead of the season's league opener away to Holt.