Haverfordwest RFC’s talented under 14s team recently enjoyed a tour to the South-West of England for the Leicester Tigers Challenge Cup and played so well that they returned undefeated with the prestigious trophy.
They had started their fundraising by packing bags in Tescos and carried on with other fund-raisers before the effort proved worthwhile on a brilliant trip enjoyed by players, coaches and families alike at Butlin’s in Minehead.
The event started in earnest as coaches attended a Friday evening briefing whilst the players relaxed in the swimming pool and everyone tested out what the camp had to offer.
Quality play on the opening day
That led on nicely to the rugby on Saturday, played in a variety of conditions as the weather proved changeable. But even the rain failed to dampen the Haverfordwest squad’s play or their families’ support.
At the end of the afternoon the team found themselves sitting second of six teams, only behind Abergavenny on try difference, with both teams winning three from three. This set the competition up for a thrilling all-Welsh encounter on the Sunday morning, in what was clearly going to decide the winner of the group.
Big battle begins
On Sunday morning there was an air of nervous anticipation as Haverfordwest prepared for kick off against a very confident Abergavenny team. The pitch was still muddy from all the games that had been played on it over the weekend and the conditions were still wet, ensuring that it would be a game dominated by tight forward play.
It was quite clear from the start that the Blues forwards were ready for this and cleared every ruck and maul that could only leave Abergavenny wondering what had hit them. As the game continued, Abergavenny’s scrum began to dominate and it was clear that the Blues were not going to have everything their own way.
Blues score three vital tries
It continued to be a hard-fought first half with Abergavenny not giving up and sending their big centres into the Blues’ smaller back line, but the defensive work matched the intensity of the forward play. Just before the interval Haverfordwest forwards rounded off a series off pick and drives – and crossed the line, with Jordan Williams touching down amongst a mass of bodies, to give his team a 5 – 0 lead at half time.
The second half started in much the same fashion. A loose Abergavenny clearance kick was fielded by Ben Evans in his own half before he accelerated on an arcing run to beat the defence and score the second Blues’ try, also won him the ‘Tigers Special Moment’ Award.
The Blues were not going to let this game slip by and continued running hard at the defence, but having dominated at the ruck and maul, the Blues were now able to find space out wide.
It was Ben Evans again, running in the third try, that sealed the game for the Blues in what was an outstanding performance by the team that barely made a mistake all game and left Abergavenny wondering what had happened.
St Peters slope off – to leave the Blues as clear winners
It left the Blues to face a St Peters team who had lost all their games and not scored a single try but as the team completed their warm up and went on to the pitch they discovered the St Peters team had withdrawn after watching the Blues v Abergavenny game!
When an official had confirmed this, it led to wide spread cheering and a number of mud slides by players, coaches and team managers, much to the delight of all the supporters before an evening of celebrating at the awards ceremony, which saw the team collecting the trophy and their medals.
Thanks to all
Haverfordwest U14s would like to thank everyone who has supported them, especially the donations by the community in Tescos and helped us to put Haverfordwest and Pembrokeshire in the rugby spotlight at Leicester Tigers.
On a weekend that showed a real coming of age for the team it seems unfair to single out any individual player as everyone put in a huge contribution and should be rightly proud of not only the standard of rugby they played but also their behaviour around Butlins and were a credit to the town and county.
The touring squad consisted of :- Matthew Roch (Capt), Ben Levison, Jordan Williams, Nathan Greggain, Louis Thomas, Sam Davies, Josh Davies, Josh Young, Bryn Cameron-Jones, Geraint Worby, Ieuan Harris-Jones, James Hart, Sion Williams, Tom Pratt, Callum John, Jake Morgan, Jacob Lay, Luke Dyer, Tom Grehan, Oliver Macintosh, David Evans, Ben Evans.
Their superb results were as follows:
Drybrook RFC 5-15 Haverfordwest RFC
Haverfordwest RFC 10-5 Wiveliscombe RFC
Chew Valley RFC 0-5 Haverfordwest RFC
Abergavenny RFC 0-15 Haverfordwest RFC
St Peters RFC v Haverfordwest RFC (Won by default)