Bottom-placed All Golds win at the Gnoll as Parry scores

The South Wales Scorpions' play-off hopes stuttered on Sunday as Dave Clark’s men suffered a disappointing 32-20 defeat at the hands of bottom-of-the-table Gloucestershire All Golds. Steve Parry came back to haunt his former boss with a try, whilst ex-South Wales man Chris Vitalini also found his way onto the scoresheet.

Following his departure from the Gnoll, record Scorpions try-scorer Parry hinted that differences with the coaching set-up were to blame for his exit – but he made a point to the Scorpions backroom team with a try as Gloucestershire claimed maximum points in South Wales.

All Golds fully deserved their victory, controlling the ball for long periods of time. They took advantage of a stuttering start from the Neath side, who found themselves 16-0 down after only 15 minutes as tries from James Greene, Maxime Claustres and Tyla Hepi did the early damage.

The hosts reduced the deficit with their first meaningful attack of the match thanks to a converted James Greenwood try, before Dalton Grant reduced the arrears to just four points.

Hopes of a Scorpions comeback were dashed shortly after the interval as Vitalini showed impressive handling skills on his return to the Gnoll to score, before Parry’s try and Tim Bergin’s conversion re-established a 16-point advantage for the University of Gloucestershire-based side.

Tries from Jack Murphy and Greenwood saw Clark’s men threaten a comeback once more, but Phil Cowburn’s try and a late penalty kick from Mark Barlow ensured the All Golds secured only their second league win of the season, whilst the Scorpions just barely bagged a bonus point.

With five league games remaining, the Scorpions will need to improve to avoid finishing in the bottom third of the division and missing out on a spot in the end-of-season play-offs – a situation which many fans would regard as outright failure. Gateshead Thunder must, therefore, be comprehensively put to the sword when they visit the Gnoll on July 28th.

Full Time – South Wales Scorpions 20-32 Gloucestershire All Gold
Attendance - 370