Sport
Neyland Youth beat Colwyn Bay to reach third round
Report by Jonny Sutton
A SUNNY but cold Saturday (Jan 29) at The Athletic Ground saw Neyland Youth entertain Colwyn Bay Youth in the second round of the WRU National Bowl Competition.
The visitors went straight on the attack from the outset as their kick off was fumbled into touch which allowed Colwyn Bay a foothold in the Neyland 22.
A great steal from Jasper Endean, the first of many over the 80 minutes, meant Neyland could attack from deep and clear their lines.
After 10 minutes of an even contest a quick tap and run from Rhys Power, offloading to Harvey Myles-Nash caused panic and quick ball and a snipe and stretch by Fletcher Picton resulted in a try for the home side. The conversion nailed from just inside the touchline increased Neyland’s, and Fletcher’s, score to 7.
On 15 minutes an infringement by Colwyn Bay resulted in a penalty about 40 yards out. A hell of a kick by Fletcher Picton sailed through the sticks to give Neyland a deserved 10 nil lead.
A penalty for a late tackle on fellow Ginger Liam Rees after 26 mins resulted in a yellow card for Colwyn Bay and with in a quickly taken tap Neyland where again on the attack, although the ball was lost in contact it was won back and a charge from Lloyd Stephen was followed up with Seb McIntosh crashing over for his first try of the day, on this occassion Fletcher pushed conversion past the post into a strong wind.
On 24 minutes a strong charge from Lewys Scourfield left him just short of the try line and Colwyn Bay where able to hack clear when their backs tryed to move it wide.
Four minutes before the break, Neyland were again held up after a series of drives from forwards Asha Gledhill and Toby Rees which allowed a Colwyn Bay defender to get under the ball and escape with a goal line drop out.
The half time whistle came from ref Joseph Kiff with a scoreline of 15 nil.
Ten minutes into the second half and outstanding play from Neyland resulted in the ball going one way and coming back the other and Finley Picton, on debut, giving Fergus Reynolds a scoring pass to go over in the top right hand corner. This was superbly converted by Fletcher Picton.
The scoreline could have deflated many a side but Colwyn Bay stuck to their task and got some rewards with 20 minutes left on the clock.
Sustained pressure from their forwards led to charge after charge which eventually Neyland defended by holding up over the try line. Colwyn Bay weren’t to be stopped though, they ran the drop out back and got some rewards when Scrum Half Jack Turner sniped through a gap for a converted (by himself) try.
The score now 22-7 and in the balance even though Neyland were deserving of their lead.
The last 20 minutes saw Neyland turn the screw and drive home their superior aggression a series of drives were thwarted with penalties and an indescrestion near the line saw another yellow card for Colwyn Bay.
A quick tap and go released Fletcher Picton for try no 2 under the sticks which he converted for a 29 7 lead which put the tie to bed.
With 10 to go a quick tap from a free kick by Rhys Power released Fletcher into space to beat a flurry of defenders and run in from 60 yards, on this occasion he missed his kick but pushed the score to 34-7.
Neyland finished the game with a try on stoppage time when sustained pressure saw oustatanding No8 cap a great game by burrowing over from close range, the try being duly converted by Fletcher Picton.
A final score of 41 to 7 slightly favoured Neyland who deserved the win but maybe Colwyn Bay would feel slightly hard done by in a game where a couple of dropped balls or missed passes may have resulted in a closer score.
Sport
Swifts eyes on double.
Monkton Swifts reserves have blown away the second division this season and now have the double in their sights. They face Merlins Bridge reserves in the semi final of the second division cup and lived up to their favourites tag.
Swifts won comfortably with key player Butland getting three assists and Josh Sture grabbing a brace. Waterman and Rhys Sture added the other goals as outstanding Monkton won 4-0.
Herbrandston and Johnston played in the other semi final and this was a much harder fixture to call. The promoted Herbie a younger and perhaps less physical outfit in comparison to the Tigers. Johnston quickly took control of the game when they found themselves two up after just 29 minutes.
However when Scott Murray was shown a red card just eight minutes later, Herbie would have been confident of staging a comeback. Despite being a man light, Johnston held Herbie until the final minute of the 90, when Alex Ouzman gave Herbie late hope. The Tigers held firm however and progress to the final where they will be underdogs. A tag that I’m sure the players and manager Steven Allen won’t mind too much.
Sport
Tenby hit five against downbeat Bridge
On a beautiful day in Tenby, the hosts welcomed Merlins Bridge to The Clicketts, fresh from their West Wales semi final defeat midweek.
The Bridge squad was missing some influential players after picking up some injuries and the visiting team asked questions over the fitness of the pitch, which, according to the Bridge management, was too hard.
The referee waved these away and the game was on, with the Tenby squad clearly thinking they were already in the heads of the Bridge team.
Almost straight from Kick off Tenby set their stall out with some great attacking play, which Jerome Mansbridge benefitted from in just the second minute putting the home team ahead.
The bridge players weren’t at the races and Tenby capitalised scoring a further 4 first half goals, including a Mansbridge hat trick, leaving the away team bewildered and 5-0 down at half time.
What could have been a hugely embarrassing defeat for a team that harboured title hopes at the beginning of the season, turned around somewhat at half time, when Dai Davies, the club captain, almost singlehandedly dragged them to a much higher level in the second half, ensuring his players kept their discipline and worked hard against a very good Tenby team. Undoubtedly Merlin’s Bridge were the better team in the second period, but the damage had already been done in the first half, and despite Bridges best efforts, the score remained 5-0 to the home team.
In a game which saw Tenby jump to 4th in the league, they can be hugely proud of their season and will look to build on that for their next in Division one.
A fantastic game on a beautiful day with a good home crowd watching, the team from the Clicketts will be justifiably happy with their afternoons work.
Tenby 5-0 Merlins Bridge.
Sport
Preseli poses a challenge for novice crews
THE END of April will see the popular novice night rally organised by the Teifi Valley Motor Club being held in Pembrokeshire. On the weekend of 27th and 28th April, Rali Bro Preseli will see 75 novice crews tackling the winding and challenging roads that Pembrokeshire has to offer.
Clerks of the Course, father and son Richard and Jason Davies along with Aled Richards have a terrific route lined up for competitors. Starting as usual at the Crymych Mart, the route will appeal to all novice drivers and navigators.
“It will offer a bit of everything. It will be challenging but easy to follow with some whites thrown in the mix. Aled has designed the whole route and we’ve done the donkey work,” said Jason, now in his second year as Clerk of the Course.
As regular competitors, Jason and Richard wanted to give something back to the sport and they enjoy being on the organising side of the things.
Jason, who won the Bro Preseli with his father in 2013, explained: “We’ve competed in the Preseli on several occasions, and we decided to give something back to the sport and that’s why dad and I thought it would be a good idea to help.
“It’s interesting to see how it all comes together and the work involved, and there’s a lot of that,”
He also won the event with Tim Hand in 2016 and was fourth overall in 2019.
Aled Richards, Joint Clerk of the Course, knows the routes of Rali Bro Preseli like the back of his hand having only ever missed it once since its formation in 2003. He’s driven on four of them in 2005 – 2008 with the best result of a 4th place with Arwel Jenkins in the navigator seat.
Aled has been Chief Marshal on Rali Bro Preseli since 2013 before moving on to being Clerk of the Course this year and competitors can look forward to a great event.
Aled told the Herald: “This is the first time I’ve been Clerk of the Course, but we have a good team with Dylan Davies as Chief Marshal and Olwen Davies as Secretary.
“I live some 30 miles away from the actual route, but we’ve been around it twice and I’m confident it will be a good yet challenging night. Some of the whites are currently waterlogged but the farmers have been brilliant and offered to help clear the tracks before the event and we are very grateful.”
The rally, kindly sponsored by Arjay Factors and Home James Taxis, will have four official Spectator Points on the night and the locations will be available at signing on.
The Clerks of the Course and the Teifi Valley Motor Club would like to thank all those who have helped to organise the event – landowners, homes en route, petrol at Brian Llewellyn a’i Ferched, and the start and finish venues – Crymych Mart and the Teifi Waterside Hotel.
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