Sport

Merlins Bridge ABC showcase their talent

Published

5 years ago

March 14, 2016

LETTERSTON VILLAGE HALL was the venue for Merlins Bridge ABC’s annual boxing show on Friday (26 Feb) night, and a capacity crowd cheered on the fighters across 11 bouts.

The first fight of the night saw Merlins Bridge boxer Harry Laverick face up against Macsin James from the Prizefighter Gym, and the schoolboy fighter recovered well from a slow start to take the unanimous points victory.

He was followed into the ring by Alex O’Sullivan, who continues to impress as he follows in the footsteps of his father and uncle in carrying on the O’Sullivan boxing name.

He was matched up against Lewis Bagley of Premier ABC in Swansea, and boxed beyond his years to outscore his opponent for a second unanimous decision of the night for Merlins Bridge.

The next bout saw Mostyn James (Prizefighter ABC) do what his twin brother couldn’t do in the first bout as he defeated Lee Hodges (Aberystwyth) by unanimous decision.

The bout of the evening came in the 4th fight as Lewis Barrows of the home club took on Callum Copp from Premier ABC. A very experienced fighter, Copp applied pressure from the start but Lewis put in a dogged display and deservedly came away with a unanimous decision and the trophy for best bout of the night.

Older brother Cameron followed Lewis into the ring and he blitzed David McDonagh from St Josephs, Newport with a series of punches. Although McDonagh responded it wasn’t enough and another unanimous decision favoured the Burrows family.

Merlins Bridge continued their 100% success rate, as Thomas Bradford out boxed Omar Ali from Trostre for a split decision, which many neutrals felt, should have been unanimous.

The interval saw the latest member of the O’Sullivan family, Kyle, take to the ring to showcase his skills in an exhibition match against Dan James from Tylerstown (Rhondda) and both fighters received winners trophies.

The high drama of the night came in the senior bout between Leon Davies of Merlins Bridge, who was returning to the ring after a long absence and Lawrie Davies of Tylerstown.

What had seemed an evenly matched bout exploded when the visiting fighter knocked Leon to the floor with a huge left hook. Although Leon got to his feet to continue he was put the floor again moments later to give the visiting fighter a victory by knockout.

Shannon Phillips (Afan Spartans ABC) and Kelsey Coleman (Premier ABC, Swansea) had both only boxed once before this occasion, and they were cheered on fiercely before Coleman was given the unanimous decision.

Ian Gower (Narberth & Tenby ABC) made his debut against Dan Lloyd (Afan Spartans) and despite a strong start; he was pipped by a split decision.

Welsh novice fighter Ed Woollard ended proceeding, but the Merlins Bridge fighter couldn’t match the experience of his opponent, Jake Coombs from Prizefighter, ultimately loosing out on points.

Merlins Bridge boxing supremo Graham Brockway was delighted with the night saying: “it was a fantastic occasion as it always is here in Letterston, and it was great to see such a big crowd cheering on the local fighters.

“It is always great to put on a local event, get the local boys and girls in action and generate the support for them throughout the county.

“We had a great night as a club, and even those that didn’t get the result they wanted can take many positives from the night, and work on them in training ahead of the next fight.”

Sport

Signed Wales shirts gifted to RNLI go up for auction

Published

2 days ago

February 25, 2021

James Hemingray

FOLLOWING a winning start to the Six Nations Tournament, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) have scored a winning try for the RNLI, gifting six signed rugby shirts to help save lives at sea.

Each rugby shirt has been signed by the full WRU squad and are accompanied by a certificate of authentication – a winning prize for any Welsh rugby fan.

To avoid a ruck for the WRU shirts the charity has placed all six signed shirts on an online auction, ensuring a fair game for all who wish to win the golden prize. The auction will be live until Wednesday, March 31, which allows plenty of time for supporters to bid for the team in red.

Each signed shirt includes Wales Captain, Mumbles RNLI supporter and the most capped international player of all time Alun Wyn Jones; as well as Louis Rees-Zammit, the Man of the Match in the nail-biting Scotland v Wales game.

Nick Evans, RNLI Fundraising and Partnership Lead said: ‘On behalf of the charity I would like to say a big thank you to the Welsh Rugby Union for donating these fantastic prizes to the RNLI. RNLI volunteers are on call 24-7 and are often called away from important events such as family celebrations – or international rugby tournaments – to respond to the pager if someone is in trouble at sea.

‘Like all charities, 2020 was a challenging year for the RNLI when all traditional fundraising had to stop – all our shops were closed, there were no collections and all events had to be cancelled. This is why we at the RNLI are so grateful to all the team at WRU for their ongoing support. The auction is now live and we would like to encourage all Wales rugby supporters to throw the RNLI a lifeline and place their bid for the winning prize.’

To place a bid or find out more about the charity auction please visit https://www.jumblebee.co.uk/rnliwru.

Sport

Five subs to be allowed for JD Cymru Premier clubs

Published

2 days ago

February 25, 2021

James Hemingray

THE FAW’s National Leagues Board has confirmed that JD Cymru Premier clubs will be permitted to make five substitutions in matches, in accordance with the Laws of the Game, until the end of the 2020-21 top-flight season.

FIFA extended the use of the rule, which was first introduced following the COVID-19 outbreak, citing “player welfare” as part of the reason for the temporary amendment to Law 3 of the Laws of the Game.

FIFA stated that “Some competitions which resumed in 2020 may have a shorter-than-usual recovery/preparation period before the start of their next season.”

“For many competitions, the 2020/21 season will involve matches being played in a condensed period due to a delayed start and the inability to end later than usual because of major international tournaments.”

With the JD Cymru Premier set to restart on March 2, the National Leagues Board has approved the use of the rule in the JD Cymru Premier until the end of the current campaign.