Pembrokeshire Youth League:

 

Young Wasps secure hard fought victory over Otters

 

Llangwm 9 - Narberth 5

 
Venue: Pill Parks
Referee: Dan Tompkins (Llangrannog)
 
On most occasions the outcome in a game of rugby is decided by a moment of brilliance, an unfortunate error or overwhelming pace and power. Sometimes it is simply down to guts and determination and an unwillingness to accept defeat. Such was the case in an absorbing contest between these two youth teams where Narberth held sway in terms of possession and territory but the young Wasps simply refused to be beaten.
 
From the first whistle to the last, the large crowd was treated to a ferocious end to end battle under the floodlights at Pill Parks in a fantastic advert for youth rugby. The first and last plays typified the whole encounter. Sam Rickwood collected the first kick off and was met with a thunderous two-man hit. Fast forward to the last play when Narberth were pressing in Llangwm’s 22 only for a huge tackle to see Seth Willington win a final turnover. It was breathless stuff between forty players prepared to put their bodies on the line and fight for every scrap of advantage.
 

Picton lands only score of the first half

 
Fletcher Picton was once again the toast of his team mates as his three successful penalty kicks proved enough to secure victory, whilst Narberth’s sole score coming from a close-range try for replacement Elliot Evans. In a game where player frustration frequently boiled over resulting in several dust ups, referee Dan Tompkins remained the calmest person in the ground. He showed admirable composure to retain control of what was a difficult game to officiate, issuing four yellow cards and a general warning to both teams, taking the heat out of the game and ensuring both teams finished with 15 men on the field.
 
The only score of a tight first half was a penalty from the boot of Picton, both teams seeing other penalty kicks drift wide. For Narberth, Lewis Reed and Wil Nicholas provided a steady supply of lineout possession with half-backs Mike Gurney and Shay Norcross controlling play well. The excellent Iestyn Comey and Brad Cramb regularly made ground with strong bursts but despite periods of pressure Narberth secured no reward.
 
For Llangwm young Kieran Sinclair in only his second youth game, stepping up from the Under 16s showed his potential with an outstanding all-round display. Behind the scrum, Ioan Hawkridge-Jones and the unflappable Liam Rees linked well with the outside men, Rees kicking superbly out of hand all evening.
 
After 15 minutes Narberth lost Jayden Scourfield to the sin bin following some back chat to the referee. Five minutes before half time both Seb McIntosh and Shay Norcross saw yellow for an altercation involving several players. Midway through the second half the influential Hawkridge-Jones received a yellow for killing the ball. Despite these setbacks both teams redoubled their efforts to keep their lines intact.
 

Equally tight second half

 
The second half remained scoreless for 15 minutes until an infringement by the Narberth forwards allowed Picton to slot his second three-pointer. This only served to spur Narberth on and an extended period of pressure finally saw them claim a deserved score. Reed again secured good lineout possession with the resultant driving maul taking them within inches of the Llangwm try line. After several thrusts it was Evans who spotted a chink in the defence and dived over, referee Tompkins perfectly positioned to award the try.
 
The conversion was missed leaving Llangwm one point to the good and Picton extended the lead to four points shortly afterwards with his third successful penalty. Narberth piled the pressure on in the closing minutes pressing for the winning score but try as they might, galvanised by their outstanding skipper Arwyn O’Loughlin, Llangwm defended for their lives. Archie Valance released Harry Williams who looked sure to touchdown in the bottom corner but for a superb cover tackle by Aaron John. The impressive Kyle Day, who had come off the bench, made a significant impact with several tremendous bursts but each time he found the door closed on him. To the final play of the game, another Narberth carry, another big tackle, another turnover and the Llangwm celebrations could begin.
 

And finally . . .

 
Llangwm coaches Dafydd Bowen and Geoff Asson were visibly and deservedly delighted with this notable victory, just reward for their hard work and dedication over a number of years with their young squad. On the night it would be unjust to single out any player for the Player of the Match award. Numerous Narberth players put their hands up with outstanding individual displays but on this occasion the award was rightly shared by 20 jubilant young Wasps for a fantastic team display of sheer determination to win.
 
Llangwm: Charlie Wilson, Seb McIntosh, Kieran Sinclair, Seth Willington, Arwyn O’Loughlin (c), Sam Rickwood, Flynn Tjoonk, Joe Phillips, Ioan Hawkridge-Jones, Liam Rees, Harry Makepeace, Fletcher Picton, Ieuan Gray, Aaron John, Iwan Davies. Replacements: Matthew Cole, Owen Phelps, Jake Thomas, Dom Asson, Fergus Reynolds
 
Narberth: Joel Davies, Callum Levitt, Jayden Scourfield, Harry Harris, Lewis Reed, Will Nicholas, Yori Morgan, Iestyn Comey, Mike Gurney, Shay Norcross (c), Harry Williams, Brad Cramb, Archie Valance, Max Morgan, Dan Jones. Replacements: Elliot Evans, Ben Davies, Owain Thomas, Kyle Day, James Morgan
 

Scarlets secure narrow victory at Crickmarren

 

Pembroke 18 - Haverfordwest 17

 
An exciting and hard-fought match at Crickmarren saw Pembroke emerge victorious by a single point after Haverfordwest had fought back from a 15-point deficit in the second half but The Young Scarlets were just about good value for victory.
 
The teams were well-matched and in that first half both had half chances but a mixture of over-eagerness and taking wrong options saw flanker Rhydian Eynon score the only points of the period with an unconverted try.
 
Taylor Gullam and Luke Coleman caught the eye for the homesters and cheered on by a good crowd Pembroke added two further unconverted tries by prop Tommy Oakley and centre Jack Nicholas to build up a decent lead going in to the final quarter.
 

Young Blues fight-back in vain as Scarlets Youth stay focussed

 
But Haverfordwest had other ideas and outstanding flanker Logun Young grabbed a try for his commitment and left winger Evan Curtis added a second as their young team (including five just out of under 16s) raised their hopes.
 
Pembroke responded with a period of pressure, however, and skipper TJ Jones landed a vital penalty to take his team eight points clear.
 
The Young Blues had the final word, however, when a series of offences near the Pembroke line saw them awarded a penalty try and defeat by that narrowest of margins.
 
Home head coach Phil Greenwood was full of praise for the way his Pembroke squad played and was delighted with the improvements after hard work in training whilst opposite numbers Steve Parry and Andrew Thicker were understandably disappointed to go so close and lose but again were pleased with the way their very relatively young squad, which has only come together this season, gave total commitment.
 


 

Huge crowd watch Young Seasiders beat their Whitland counterparts

 

Tenby United 22 - Whitland 14

 
Referee: Ken Davies
Venue: Heywood Lane
 
A crowd estimated at 500+ watched this floodlit youth match at Heywood Lane after Tenby United Firsts had won on Saturday against Tycroes and the majority of supporters stayed to watch this entertaining tussle which had been switched from Whitland because of pitch conditions and showed all that is good in local youth rugby.
 
It was skilful, fast and furious, with no quarter asked for or given, with experienced referee Ken Davies playing his part with his no-nonsense approach whilst allowing his young charges to express themselves to the full.
 
Catching the eye early on for the Young Borderers as centre Monty Minton and hooker Tom Monk, recently joined from Narberth, caught the eye and it was Monk who opened the scoring from close range before Lennon Reynolds added the extra points.
 
But Tenby soon fought back with good work by skipper Kyle Rossiter and especially front-rower Iori Richards in the ball-carrying stakes helped put Jake Henson in for an unconverted try, which they followed up with another five-pointer by Richards that saw them lead 10-7.
 
But as fortunes ebbed and flowed Whitland rounded off the first half scoring near the interval when powerful No 8 Lewis Jones ploughed over and Lennon Reynolds again converted.
 

Highly competitive second half sees The Young Seasiders take the verdict

 
The second half was equally as competitive but it was Tenby who held a slight edge and managed to stop Whitland scoring again despite their going close a few times – and the home side had a try by front rower Rhydian Baines, fresh out of under 16s rugby, and a fourth try claimed by second row Jacey Brown.
 
Max James slotted one conversion and generally played well in the centre whilst Cameron Brown was chosen as their man of the match in recognition of high work rate but also his encouragement of others, especially when skipper Rossiter had to leave the field injured.
 
Tenby United coach Mark Heywood was delighted with his team’s win and praised the hard work put in by his new assistant coach Ashley Bonser, whilst opposite number Shane Williams felt his team had played well and on a different day might have snatched the verdict – and sportingly praised the opposition and referee Davies for his contribution to an excellent game.