RGC opened their Principality Premiership campaign with a disappointing 31-10 defeat at Llandovery.

The Gogs were punished for a lacklustre first half display which was the catalyst behind their downfall, and Mark Jones’ side will look to put things right this Saturday when they open their home fixtures against Llanelli at Parc Eirias.

Despite the eventual scoreline the visitors drew first blood when Jacob Botica fired over a penalty, before Jack Maynard levelled matters with a free-kick of his own shortly after.

The Drovers got their noses in-front for the first-time courtesy of a penalty try following a strong period of pressure, which also saw RGC back Tiaan Loots receive a yellow card.

Things went from bad-to-worse for the away side midway through the half when Lee Rees crossed the white wash after a sweeping team move, with Maynard adding the extras.

The Gogs came out after the interval with a renewed sense of purpose and they reduced the arrears in the opening five minutes of the half when new signing Alex Taylor marking his competitive debut with a try in the corner. Botica added the conversion.

Chances came and went for Jones’ men through Harri Evans, Evan Yardley, Tom Hughes and Aron Hughes, who all came close to touching down but were narrowly thwarted by the resolute home rearguard, while scrum-half Efan Jones was superbly held up on the line at a crucial stage of the contest.

The hosts were reduced to 14 men after Mathew Moore was dismissed for a head-butt following a scuffle between the two set of players, but they regrouped quickly after Loots failed to collect a Botica pass and Aaron Warren took full advantage by racing away for the deciding score. Maynard continued his excellent form with the boot to fire over the conversion and round off the scoring.