D4 East: Chepstow 3 Tredegar Ironsides 15

AFTER a long lay-off through injury, Mark Body returned to the first XV on Saturday, but Chepstow suffered another blow when ball-carrier number eight Ian Hughes was stretchered off and could now be out for several weeks, writes Keith Fairbank.

Hughes went over awkwardly four minutes into the second half, and was taken to hospital with damaged ligaments, but manager John Lewis hopes he will be back before the long end-of-season run-in.

The weekend 9-9 draw between strugglers Crumlin and Nantyglo means Chepstow's two fixtures with relegation-threatened Monmouth in March take on even added significance.

But although results have again conspired against Chepstow, Lewis was left reflecting on a better performance.

He said: "I felt the scoreline did not reflect the gulf between the two teams. Had our finishing been more clinical, we could have had three tries on the scoresheet."

Opponents Tredegar, meanwhile, utilised their quality backs to impose numerous attacking options, but the resilient Chepstow defence showed resolve not to buckle under the pressure and restrict the Ironsides to 15 points.

Tredegar opened the scoring with a penalty, but Chepstow responded quickly with one from Mark Roberts to tie the scores at 3-3.

The visitors then scored their first try of the afternoon before Chepstow missed a golden opportunity to again draw level.

Andrew Morris made a strong run down the right but failed to see Hughes when a simple offload pass would have put him through. Morris was tackled into and Chepstow remained five points adrift at the break.

Hughes suffered his injury just after the restart, before Ironsides mustered their second try and converted to kill off their hosts.

But Lewis reflected: "Overall, the team effort was gutsy and they did well in containing their highly placed counterparts."

Chepstow's next match is away to Trinant on Saturday, March 4.