WHAT a thriller it turned out to be as RGC made the most of home comforts in the Welsh Premiership.
The North Wales side secured a 34-26 success over Aberavon.
RGC had all the possession and territory in the opening stages, but they couldn’t turn this into points early on.
Dion Jones and Sam Earl-Jones were finding space with some great kicks, but Aberavon managed to stifle the Gogs' attacks near the try line
Sam Earl-Jones went close with a great run but he was stopped yards from the line before the pack were held up over the whitewash.
The pressure told and RGC were awarded a penalty try when Stef Andrews deliberately knocked on when the hosts went wide.
The full back was also shown a yellow card.
A minute later and the Wizards got on the board with a penalty from Aled Thomas.
It was RGC who were making the yards with ball in hand, though, putting them back on the front foot.
Try number two came after half-an-hour when Rhys Tudor finished with an airborne dive in the corner with Dion Jones hitting the extras.
Aberavon's first foray into the RGC half ended with a try after some good phases before Aled Thomas hit the conversion to close the gap to four points.
From the restart, Sam Earl-Jones ripped open the defence with a solid run but again found a red-and-black wall that stopped him in his tracks just before half-time.
It was the visitors that got the scoreboard moving in the second half with the boot of Thomas hammering a penalty from distance.
Aberavon were having more of the ball and the penalty count was going in the wrong way from an RGC perspective.
The boot of Thomas got his side into the lead with another successful penalty.
Minutes later, super defence line-speed and Rhys Tudor's tackle earned RGC a penalty and Dion Jones gave his side the lead again with the kick.
The Gogs found themselves down to 14 when Jessie Williams was yellow-carded and the man advantage was turned into points for the Wizards with a try by the posts. Scrum-half Rhodri Cole converted.
The game swung in RGCs favour momentum-wise as Dion Jones hit the post with a penalty before a minute later, the hosts were back in front.
Theo Mayell collected the ball for a try and the boot of Jones hit the extras for a 24-23 lead.
RGC extended the lead when the pack drove over and Mayell grabbed his second of the game, which also made sure of a bonus point.
Dion Jones kicked over the extras.
The Wizards weren’t out of the game and Cole hit another penalty to give his side some hope in the last five minutes.
That hope was dashed when the on-form boot of Dion Jones sealed the win with a final whistle penalty.
RGC coach Ceri Jones told the club's website: “We put ourselves under pressure second half but we found a way to win.
"It was good to see us deliver what we talked about during the week – physicality, kicking at the right times, chop tackles and getting over the ball.
“I thought Bryn Jones was outstanding, Aberavon normally come up and physically dominated but Bryn was the aggressor today and Dan Owen was a standout again as captain.
"The backrow were a constant nuisance and we really made a statement today.
"We now have that run of home games and it's about finding that consistency, the curse of the coach is that as soon the whistle goes on this win, it's onto the next game.
"We have the Ebbw Vale game next and that chance of a cup semi-final.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here