ROCK solid Ruthin started their Division One (North) campaign with a good home win against Llandudno.

The seasiders had beaten the Blues with ease at the beginning of the last campaign, but Ruthin got the better of their opponents on this occasion.

There were a good number of young players in the side, together with some older heads, while some previous players were welcomed back to the club.

The first half was played in fast and rather loose manner by Ruthin, whose forwards dominated the game.

Despite this, Llandudno kicked two penalties through Byron Davies to claim the early advantage.

Ruthin countered and Daf Lloyd kicked a penalty to reduce the deficit and put the home side on the scoreboard.

Both sides had a player sin-binned during the half and while Llandudno were down to 14 men, the ever-dangerous Josh Wilson scored an unconverted try to send Ruthin in at the break with a slender 8-6 lead.

After the interval, Ruthin resumed with a classic run-in from Josh Wilson.

Leaving opponents grasping thin air in his wake, Wilson touched down some 15 metres from the right touchline and Nathan Jones’ conversion attempt just missed via the left hand post.

As the game progressed, Nathan Jones produced some excellent line kicks that gained Ruthin many metres and kept Llandudno on the defensive.

The scrum continued to be a dominant factor for the Blues, despite a number of substitutions among the forwards, and although Llandudno tried hard to narrow the deficit and gain a losing bonus point, Ruthin fought hard to deny them

It was a noticeably improved performance compared to the first game of last season and it augers well for the coming few months.