CARDIGAN 5 tries

TENBY U9s 3

A biting cold wind welcomed the travelling U9s to Cardigan on Sunday.

From the off, Cardigan scored an unopposed try, with all the Tenby players appeared frozen to the spot. In fact, Cardigan were gifted another two tries before the Swifts thawed out.

Jo F. made one of his cutting runs through the Cardigan side to score for Tenby, but with a fourth try on the half-time whistle, Cardigan led four tries to one.

The second-half was a different affair. Daniel and Corey produced their usual hard tackling game and Cameron made his charging runs which always made 15 or more metres and took three and four Cardigan players to stop him.

Dylan and Elliot cover lots of ground so that no Tenby player is ever isolated and it was their unsung play that kept Tenby camped deep in Cardigan territory. Cameron nearly scored from one of his charges, but went to ground and then Jo D., with quick thinking and smelling a gap, dived for the line, only to realise he had come up just short.

Tenby were now showing more commitment, determination and looked dangerous.

Daniel scored a fine individual try, stepping off both feet and showing deceptive speed, and Jo F. scored Tenby's third try to close the gap to Cardigan 4 Tenby 3.

The referee, who had an excellent game, seemed reluctant to blow the final whistle now that some entertaining rugby was being played.

Ben and Greg, the 'new' boys in the side, completed their apprenticeship and showed the confidence to run with the ball and hold it until a secure pass could be delivered.

Having all the possession and territory in the second-half, Tenby deserved to equalise, but they finished the game as they had started, frozen to the spot, to allow Caridgan to score unopposed for a final result, Cardigan 5 Tenby 3.

In the second-half, Tenby showed their true potential, but they need to play from the off and not give their opponents such a head start.

However, the most important result is that the boys thoroughly enjoyed the fixture.

Tenby fielded: Corey Morris, Daniel Fairlie, Jo Dennis, Jo Farrell, Dylan Griffin, Elliot Randal, Cameron Wood, Ben Vickery and Greg Caine.

FURNACE RFC U11s 7 pts.

TENBY RFC U11s 14

Deep into Welsh rugby territory we travelled to test our skills against a squad whose backdrop was the famous Stradey Park. As this was a friendly, an experimental approach was taken and for the first time our squad played on a full-size pitch.

At first we coaches appeared worried at the thought of our squad venturing onto such a large stage, but such worries soon vanished as each and every player burst into brilliant action. They played the pitch as if they were veterans, using every inch of it to ensure fast running rugby.

Captain Michael Robins played on the wing and was definitely king of the touchline. No Furnace player passed him and when in attack he was rarely tackled. His approach to the game instilled spirit to the rest of the gang.

Our forward division, which was now including two flankers, took to the field after a sharp reminder that clear-out ball sets the backs up to let them do what they do best. This was exactly what they did. Each maul and ruck was taken at speed and with controlled aggression, which kept their opponents on the back-foot all the time. The boilerhouse crew of Lewis Davies, Jonathan Miller, Sam Fletcher, Nino Rogers, Andrew Cooke, Daniel Gosnold and Ross Grey played their hearts out and on such a large pitch managed to keep up with the ball throughout the full 40 minutes.

Scrum-half Ianto Griffiths carried his game extremely well, even though some of the ball presented to him was not of the quality a scrum-half would like. He ensured quick ball for Lloyd Thomas, who played the number 10 jersey very well indeed. He took control of all back line and open play moves and instigated great leadership skills to ensure the correct decision was made each and every time. Inside centre Tom Baker had a quiet game in attack, but a monstrous game in defence. However, when he did have the ball in hand, he maintained the attack by swift passing to Lewis Canton, who scorched his way up field before releasing the 'winger with the stinger', Joseph Richards, who had a brilliant game.

Last again, but not least, young Lewis Hodgson found another gear in his rugby tackles and knocked all in front of him flat over, then quickly to his feet stole the ball to feed his hungry supporting forwards. A flanker in the making without any doubt.

First try went to our powerhouse Lewis Davies, who charged down a half-hearted clearance kick to score, and the second went to Lloyd Thomas, who finished off a great spell of Seasiders' pressure to bring the game to 14-0.

The home side did eventually find a dent in the visitors' armour, which saw the biggest lad on the pitch plough through to bring the final score to Tenby 14 Furnace 7.

Extremely pleased with you all. The full size pitch did not scare you and your open play was a joy to watch.

Last note must be to young Nino Rogers. His bravery in attack and also defence proves he is well suited to play with this squad. Well done Nino - you were brilliant.

TENBY U13s 24 pts. CARMARTHEN 24

A cold, wet and windy day, with a very heavy slippery pitch, did not prevent both teams from serving up a veritable feast of rugby, defying the wintry conditions.

Within the first minute, Danny Williams burst through the opposition back line with some strong running, but having beaten all the cover, he lost his footing and slipped over. From the ensuing ruck, he managed to return to his centre position and made no mistake this time as he scored under the posts. Guto Griffiths converted.

It was the ideal start for Tenby and the whole team pulled together to make some big tackles on some enormous opposition forwards. The teams were very evenly matched and no quarter was given by either side.

Carmarthen scored a couple of well-worked tries, so the pressure was back on Tenby when the teams changed ends.

The Tenby parents were very vocal in their encouragements and support of the boys as always, but an added bonus were the U12s parents who stayed on to add their voices, which was greatly appreciated.

After the break, Tenby hit back with another try from powerhouse centre Danny, which was again converted by Guto. The match was in the balance with each side looking for the killer blow.

Luke Deadman capped a fine all round performance by picking up two vital tries, one running in from a good 75 yards.

The two-coach Griffiths' new fitness regime paid off, with the Seasiders finishing strongly and almost snatching a win in the last seconds. It was a great performance, so well done lads.

Thanks again must go to Iwan and Simon for all their hard work and enthusiasm and special thanks to Phil Baker for keeping the boys 'topped up' and 'teed up'.

TENBY SWIFTS U10s 30 pts.

CARDIGAN 10

A squad of 16 players made the trip to Cardigan without their manager Mike Evans and coach Craig O'Neil, and no sooner had they arrived and changed than the heavens opened and they all dived for cover in the stands.

Unable to have their usual pre-match warm-up, it was great to see Tenby attacking from the start. The Tenby forwards contested the ball well in the loose and the backs tried on a number of occasions to break through the opposition's line.

Rob Fairlie made several punishing runs down the left wing, only to be forced into touch at the last minute. His efforts, though, were not to go un-rewarded and he was soon to score Tenby's first try.

Cardigan were soon to re-group and pressurised Tenby's forwards, but some good clean possession from the mauls gave the threequarters the opportunity to show their pace time and time again.

However, Cardigan made some good tackles on the wing which prevented Tenby scoring on a number of occasions, until the nimble feet of Harry O. eluded them and he was the scorer of his side's second try.

The elusive running of Philip Horsley proved too much for their defenders too, as shortly before half-time he added a further try to the tally.

The second-half saw the tables reversed and Cardigan started to use their large forwards to break through Tenby's defence. Tenby were unable to bring the big men down and a solo charge through the centre opened up Cardigan's account.

A few minutes later, Cardigan used the same ploy and the same big fellow scored a replica try to close the gap to five points.

It really looked as though Tenby were going to struggle to maintain their lead, but then Curtis Hurlow sprang to the rescue and from his own five-yard line ran the entire length of the pitch to score on the right wing.

Not satisfied with one try, he proceeded to outpace the defence again and soon Tenby had five tries under their belt and that would have been enough. But not so for Ieuan Williams, determined to add his name to the score sheet this season. And so in the closing minutes of the game Ieuan, using all the strength he could muster, charged over Cardigan's line for what is hoped will be the first of many tries for him this year.

Team: Ashley Andrews, Ross Edwards, Daniel Edwards, Robert Fairlie, Loui Fecci, Alex Heesom, Philip Horsley, Curtis Hurlow, Deri Isaac, Luke James, Rhys Lewis, Leo Morland, Ryan O'Neill (capt.), Harry Owen, Sam Turton; Ieuan Williams.