Sport
Neyland Youth beat Llangwm to lift Griffiths Plate
NEYLAND Youth earned victory over rivals Llangwm to secure the Griffiths Cup Plate on Good Friday (Apr 15).
A wet and warm morning greeted the teams but with the rain easing by the 1pm Kick off, it left perfect conditions for the game and Neyland eventually came out victorious 27-3 in a competitive battle between the old rivals.
Historically ties between these two sides have been nip and tuck affairs with 1 score between them so it was Neyland who would have been delighted with their start.
A cagey opening few minutes were suddenly changed when Outside Half Tyler Sutton intercepted a pass from near halfway and speed away to score in the top left hand corner. Fletcher Picton narrowly failing with a difficult touchline conversion.
Playing down the slope and with the breeze Llangwm tried to use kicks to put the All Black’s under pressure – Iwan Davies and Harry Makepeace regularly gaining territory with long raking kicks but the cover of the Neyland back 3 – Liam Rees, Lucas Jones and Fergus Reynolds – meant they couldn’t ever turn the territory into points.
The Llangwm pack, led by Arwyn O’Loughlin and Joe Phillips also tried to create opportunities but the defence around the fringes from Neyland was superb throughout – big hits coming in from Seb McIntosh, Jack Rogers and the always energetic Jasper Endean, returning from a recent shoulder injury.
Midway through the half, ill-discipline at the breakdown gave Llangwm Scrum Half Davies an opportunity to strike 3 points and he duly obliged.
Llangwm continued to keep the pressure on but again the Neyland defence stood firm. Callum O’Riordan, returning from a season long sabbatical, was outstanding in the centre, driving into tackles and continually knocking Llangwm players backwards and causing knock ons.
The Neyland pack, led by Skipper Asha Gledhill, slowly started to exert more and more pressure on their bigger pack opponents.
As the half came to a close, Llangwm had an opportunity to go in front at the break but a long range penalty fell just short Leading at the break and with the slope and slight breeze with them, this had to make Neyland slight favourites going into the second half.
As the game went on the front row of Harvey Myles, Asha Gledhill and replacement Lloyd Stephens started to gain the upper hand in the scrums which enabled scrum half Rhys Power to dictate play and territory.
Llangwm continued to try to attack using forwards Jake Thomas, Fflyn Tjonk and ex All Black Aled Rogers but big defence from counterparts Toby Rees, Jack Rogers, and Zac Stewart continued to keep them out A powerful scrum from Neyland resulted in their second try when Seb McIntosh, who had switched to No 8, picked up and drove over the line from 5 yards out, Picton duly notching the conversion to put Neyland in front.
Llangwm continued to battle but by now Neyland tails were up and they sensed there were more tries in it for them.
The third try arrived not long after when another powerful scrum allowed Power to feed Man of the Match Sutton who dummied his way past the defence to slide home for his second and Neylands third try, Picton again adding the extras.
As the game entered the final stages a charged down kick by Llangwm centre Dom Asson almost resulted in a breakaway try but O’Riordan was back in place to gather and clear the danger with a superb counter attack down the touchline.
A huge penalty from almost halfway from Centre Fletcher Picton could have been the highlight of his day but he saved that for the very last play when tapping a penalty on the far side of the field, he pushed off the tired Llangwm defenders and sped to the line in the opposite corner.
Replacement kicker Liam Rees striking the post with the final kick of the match A deserved victory for Neyland in an entertaining match in front of the highest crowd for a game in Neyland for many a year.
Neyland: Liam Rees: Fergus Reynolds; Callum O’Riordan; Fletcher Picton; Lucas Jones: Tyler Sutton; Rhys Power: Harvey Myles; Sebastien McIntosh; Asha Gledhall: Lewis Scourfield; Toby Rees: Jack Rogers; Jasper Endean; Zac Stewart. Replacements: Lloyd Stephens; Owain Turner; Zac Evans; Dylan Evans; Bobby Jones; Finlay Picton; Coaches: Colin Picton; Ollie Rothero. Team Manager: Charlie Watts.
Llangwm: Harry Makepeace: Lucas Chamberlain; Ieuan Grey; Dom Asson; Oliver Kersey: Owen Phelps; Iwan Davies: Aled Rogers; Soloman Oxenham; Charlie Wilson: Jake Thomas; Flynn Tjonk: Evan Thomas; Arwyn O’Loughlin (Capt); Joe Phillips (VC). Replacements: Matthew Cole; Ioan Jarman; Ben Hawkins; Owen Evans; Leon Hood. Coaches: Dafydd Bowen; Jonathan Whitticombe; Jeff Asson. Team Manager: Jonathan Willington.
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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