Dewar Shield thriller ends in stalemate as GC South and Neath Schools share the spoils in the Dolgellau sunshine
What a wonderful way to start the weekend!
You could sense that something special was about to happen as the young warriors in Black from the South and those in Blue from the North jogged on to the pitch, passing the Bardic ring of stones, ready to do battle in this Dewar Shield encounter in the glorious, crisp and sunny surroundings of Dolgellau.
The visitors got in to their stride from the off, exerting a lot of pressure on the home defenders who battled defiantly to hold back the continuous onslaught. However, there was little the hosts could to do to prevent Neath's number 15, Cameron Gladwyn from scoring the first points of the game with a well-worked try, converted by centre Luke Williams to give the visitors a 0-7 lead after seven minutes of play.
Neath had a glorious chance after ten minutes to go ahead by two scores but, just feet short of the line, they were denied by a last-ditch tackle by a GCS defender who had chased back almost the length of the field, and the ball was scrambled clear.
Such was Neath's early stranglehold on the game, it was sixteen minutes before the GCS side made their first serious attack. The hosts failed to score on this occasion but they were gradually pulling themselves back in to the game and starting to enjoy possession and territory of their own.
With half-time approaching, a bullocking try by GCS hooker Tom Jones, breaking through a number of defenders, brought the score to 5-7, the conversion attempt narrowly missing.
Early in the second half it was the hosts who took the lead for the first time with a Sam Jones penalty.
Neath, stunned by this score, got back in to the game and again enjoyed a period of pressure, making the GCS defenders work their socks off to keep them out. Again, as in the first half, the sustained pressure eventually told and the visitors regained the lead after ten minutes of the half with a very well worked try. Centre Luke Williams narrowly missed the conversion but made amends three minutes later when he slotted over a penalty to earn some breathing space for his team with a lead of 8-15.
GCS didn't let their heads drop and the next period of play was a very cagey affair, both sides knowing how important the next score was going to be. With time running out, the hosts stepped up their workrate and eventually found a way through for Osian Jones to score a try close to the posts to bring the score to 13-15.
It was left to my man of the match, hooker Tom Jones, to tap the conversion over to bring the scores level at 15-15.
On the day, a draw was a fair result after an excellent game of rugby, played in great spirit, well refereed, with both sides being a credit to their regions.
Report by Gary Williams
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