Blue Bulls back in the game

(Article for the June edition of the South Wales Rugby League Magazine)

Bridgend Blue Bulls Media Manager Paul Hart looks back on the first two rounds of the 2014 South Wales Conference.

Our first two matches of the 2014 were away to new side Aber Valley Wolves and home to old rivals Valley Cougars.

Traditionally when we see ourselves drawn against a new side we are pleased, sides often need time to get acclimatised to the Competition so on paper Aber Valley Wolves was a nice fixture to have on our return after missing the 2013 season.

However, Aber Valley Wolves took the opportunity to show the whole league that they are serious contenders this season as their massive pack bludgeoned their way to an impressive 52-24 victory.

The rest of the league need to take note of these new boys as they look set to steamroller the league in the style of the Bonymaen Broncos from just a few seasons ago.

The difference between the Wolves and Broncos though is that the Wolves are determined to stay in the competition long-term and not join the long list of 16 clubs that have folded since the inception of the Competition in 2003.

Our second match was against our old rivals the Valley Cougars whom we had previously met on 19 occasions and been victorious on 14 of them.

Despite our long rivalry we support the player pathway and have been hoping the Cougars do well in the Conference South.

We were however disappointed to see so many players from the Conference South side in the Cougars 'A' side that were sent to play us, and there were even players from the South Wales Scorpions in the side too.

Despite reassurances that they were just there to "make up the numbers" and their involvement would be minimal, at least one Scorpions regular appeared to be on the field for the full 80 minutes playing an influential role throughout.

I sympathise with the Cougars management as fielding 40 players on a Saturday is a tough task, but there will be plenty of weekends where the Scorpions and Cougars National side will both have their own matches so a genuine 'A' side will have to be fielded.

We did however come away with a 32-26 win and at the end of the day, for better or worse, we are just glad to be "back in the game". We look forward to all the ups and downs the season has to offer as we play our part in this great game we all love.