RGC head coach Matt Silva was pleased with he saw from his side in their first friendly outing of the summer.

The Gogs’ took the field at Ruthin Rugby Club on Friday evening against Caldy, and a large crowd saw the Indigo Group Premiership side secure a narrow 29-26 success.

Silva, who took over from Mark Jones at the helm recently, told the RGC website: “You want a few things from pre-season games – a big part is blowing the cobwebs away, looking at the physicality and the tough stuff.

“You then add in the technical and tactical aspects with the mental side with the need to keep going and digging in. We did that in the last ten minutes when Caldy pushed us.

“We play to win, and those that say the result doesn’t matter in pre-season are normally the ones that have just lost. Winning is a habit and it is good to get a win under our belt and we look to take that mentality to Rosslyn Park next week.”

The Gogs’ managed to score five tries during their pre-season triumph, with new signing Sam Williams hitting the ground running with a score on his debut.

Wales 7s vice-captain Afon Bagshaw was another to get himself on the scoresheet, with Academy graduate Sam Earl-Jones, Rhys Williams and George Roberts rounding off the tries from the hosts’ perspective.

The home side also showed their defensive resolve in the closing stages as Cady went in search of a game-winning try, but Silva’s men held firm in the face of sustained pressure that involved more than 30 phases to get their summer off to the best possible start.