CROSS Keys put in a spirited display before eventually falling to defeat at Principality Premiership title hopefuls RGC, writes Dean Jones.

The home side made a positive start and went ahead after two minutes when Rhys Williams rounded off a move to open the scoring. Jacob Botica added the conversion.

Keys got a boost when Iolo Evans was sent to the sin bin soon after, but Josh Prosser fluffed his lines with a penalty miss following the incident.

This proved to be crucial as the hosts extended their advantage on 24 minutes when Williams grabbed his second score of the afternoon. Botica fired over the conversion.

Immediately following the restart the away side finally get on the scoresheet when a driving maul resulted in Darren Hughes going over on 26 minutes, with Prosser converting.

Botica’s penalty on 28 minutes restored the Gogs’ double-digit cushion, and they grabbed the initiative further on 33 when Tiaan Loots produced a burst of pace before crossing the whitewash for an unconverted try.

The Keys pack continued to dominate and they got themselves back into the contest just before the break thanks to a powerful surge from Scott Matthews on 40 minutes. Prosser converted.

After the interval Keys fell further behind when Mei Parry touched down after direct play straight from the kick-off on 41 minutes for an unconverted try, but they struck back again when Scott Andrews dotted over on 44. Prosser added the extras.

Some more good build-up from the Gogs’ brought another try courtesy of Alex Schwartz on 56 minutes, and the away side were dealt a fatal blow when Evans and Hughes went over in quick succession on 59 and 63, and Botica despatched all three conversions.

This was a blow that Keys could not recover from despite a try from Matthew Powell on 78 minutes, and their misery was compounded on 81 when Danny Cross touched down. The same player converted to round off the scoring.

RGC: Tries: R Williams (2), T Loots, M Parry, A Schwartz, I Evans, T Hughes, D Cross; Cons: J Botica (5), D Cross; Pen: J Botica.

Cross Keys: Tries: D Hughes, S Matthews, S Andrews, M Powell; Cons: J Prosser (3)