Brython Thunder recorded a first win of their campaign, beating Edinburgh Rugby 14-7 in Round 6 of the Celtic Challenge at the Hive Stadium, Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon.
This was the first of two back-to-back fixtures with Edinburgh, with the return fixture at Parc y Scarlets in two weeks’ time.
The victory for the Welsh side keeps Thunder’s hope for a play-off place alive.
Prop Stella Orrin and wing Seren Singleton crossed for tries and fly-half Ffion Williams landed two conversions to seal a deserved win.
Flanker Branwen Metcalfe, fly-half Williams and replacement scrum-half Seren Lockwood were impressive for Thunder who dominated the first half but were only 7-0 ahead.
After a nervy opening for both sides, it was Metcalfe who made the first real break of the contest and was hauled down by some desperate defence in the home side’s 22.
The visitors’ impressive rush defence put real pressure on the home side and they dominated territory in a mistake-ridden first 20 minutes.
Thunder’s try finally came from an intense period of pressure and a five-metre scrum and impressive drives saw prop Orrin crash over from short-range for the try. Ffion Williams added the conversion to make it 7-0 to the Welsh side midway through the first half.
Thunder dominated territory and possession and were a constant threat with ball in hand but just lacked the killer instinct.
After the break, Edinburgh came out fired up and dominated the opening exchanges of the second half but were kept at bay by the visitors’ defence.
The home side went down to 14 players after a yellow card for replacement Charlotte Russell for a professional foul and Thunder took full advantage when wing Singleton crossed wide out after a period of patient phase play to stretch the visitors’ lead. Williams landed a fantastic conversion to make it 14-0 to the Welsh side on the 70th minute.
A great defensive effort by Thunder saw them hold up Edinburgh over their own line, but the home side’s skipper Hannah Walker did cross for a late try.
However, the celebrations by the Thunder players at full-time showed how much the first win meant to them.
The Celtic Challenge has a bye next weekend and Thunder will be back on home soil in Llanelli when they face Edinburgh Rugby at Parc y Scarlets on February 14 (KO: 12.30pm)