All the results and reports as they come in for the weekend of 17 December
In case you're wondering where the picture was taken, it's from the Ruthin v Caernarfon game!
Division One North
Bethesda 10 vs Bro Ffestiniog 17
Llangefni 28 vs Llandudno 19
Mold vs Bala - postponed
Pwllheli 0 vs Nant Conwy 25
Ruthin 5 vs Caernarfon 18
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Llangefni 28 v Llandudno 19
With Llandudno at the bottom of the league, they had travelled to Llangefni with a hope of a win against a side also struggling in the bottom three of the league table. With Llandudno being unable to play a front row, uncontested scrums were allowed for the game to continue. Llandudno kicking off to the safe hands of Llangefni, the game started with both side making inroads into each other`s territory but without managing to pierce defences to open up the scores. It was the visitors Llandudno who got the first points, from mid field position and the ball coming loose on the ground, Llandudno picked up making good passes, going from hands to hands to eventually scrum half Tom Hocknell who had ran out wide, he received the ball and seeing the open space went for the line, scoring a try in the corner. A missed conversion saw the scores 0 – 5.
Play continued with Llandudno making some inroads to Cefni territory; Llangefni fought back and some 23 meters from theLlandudno try line, Llandudno were found to be offside with Cefni going forward, penalty to Llangefni which centre half Carwyn Milburn successfully kicked cleanly through the posts, 3 – 5.
Play continued with scrappy play by both sides. Llangefni were becoming more and more in-disciplined with referee awarding scrum after scrum to Llandudno for Llangefni infringements; but it was for going over the top in the ruck by Llandudno that gave Llangefnian opportunity to go ahead with points, penalty to Llangefni successfully taken by the safe boot of Carwyn Milburn, 6 – 5.
Play continued and within minutes, and for the same infringement, going over the top in the ruck, Llangefni were awarded a further penalty from much the same spot as before. Carwyn Milburn slicing the posts again, 9 – 5.
Play continued, and with Llangefni in an attacking position, a high tackle on the ball carrier by Llandudno saw a further penalty awarded to Llangefni. Centre half Llyr Huws kicking up field to within 15 meters of the Llandudno try line. Llangefni throw in, which went clear of the line, but with a lucky bounce the ball came back to Cefni hands to drive forward, but with just 2 meters to the try line a Llandudno infringement gave a scrum opportunity to Llangefni. The ball was fed in, uncontested, came out to No. 8 and Captain Iestyn Dafydd who saw the opening on the blind side and went through crossing the line for the try, successfully converted by Carwyn Milburn, the score, 16 – 5.
Play continued with Llandudno in possession, but from a long pass on the half way line, Llangefni winger William Samuel Owen intercepted it and darted up field for the second try near the posts. Successfully converted by Milburn, 23 – 5, which was the score at the half time whistle.
The second half saw Llangefni kick off to the hands of visitors Llandudno. Llandudno the far stronger side in the second half, with 90% of play in this half played in the Llangefni territory. Against odds, the first try of the half came from Llangefni. A hard fought score which the forwards earned moving up field from the half way line, a case of pick up and drive, pick up and drive all the way `till prop Mathew Thomas was able to cross the line, try to Llangefni, but with a missed conversion the score 28 – 5.
Llandudno came back hard at Llangefni, and for the remainder of the game they were allowed to play their game in the Llangefnihalf of the field. With tries coming from centres James Gregson and Lloyd Owen, both successfully converted by scrum half TomHocknell, taking the score to 28 – 19, the final score of the game.
Llangefni travel to Ruthin in the New Year on the 7th January and next play at home against Caernarfon on the 14th January 2011.
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Bethesda 10 v Bro Ffestiniog 17
In another hard fought encounter at Dôl Ddafydd, Bro Ffestiniog took the honours by 17 points to 10 with both sides scoring 2 tries each. Scores were even at 10 points each going into the last quarter with the home forwards once more starting to dominate matters. Then, an attempted clearance by Bethesda's standoff was charged down in front of the posts and B Roberts fell on the ball to score a converted try.
The home side threw everything at Bro in the last minutes but the points never came.and Bethesda had to be content with another losing bonus point.
Bethesda's scorers were Steven Roberts and Mathew Parry (1 try each). Bethesda's attemps at goal kicking were unsuccessful and that in the end proved to be the difference.
A well deserved rest for all now untill January 7th's visit to Bala. We hope by then that all injuries have healed, that all will have had a Merry Christmas and will be looking forward to a Happy New Year.
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RUTHIN 5 v CAERNARFON 18
This match was played on a wet pitch on a cold day and commenced in the pouring rain with both sides playing good rugby considering the conditions.
Both try lines came under attack but defences held with both sides countering everything that the opposition threw at them.
Both packs played well and in the first half neither side got the better of the scrum. Eventually the Blues conceded a kickable penalty after a period of pressure from the Coffis and Kelvin Morris slotted the ball over. The whistle blew for half time in virtually horizontal sleet with the visitors 3-0 ahead.
The blues started the second half well but Caernarfon cleared their lines and on the break went over for a try. Within 5 minutes Ruthin conceded a penalty on their 10 yard line, the visitors slotted the penalty kick into touch on Ruthins 22 and drove over from the resulting line-out for their second try.
Although the Blues were playing well they were unable to capitalise on territory and Caernarfon made use of their superior pack strength in the second half to get another push over try from a lineout 5 yds from the Blues line.
With 10 minutes to go Caeddol was more like a swamp than a rugby field with both sides covered in Vale of Clwyd mud. The Blues mounted a concerted attack on the visitors line and after going through a number of phases the visitors were unable to clear their line and centre Ben Syme went over for a nice try in the corner. The conversion kick narrowly missed and the game ended with the score 18-5 to Caernarfon.
Despite the conditions this was an entertaining game of rugby with a good performance from both sides.
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PWLLHELI 0 v NANT CONWY 25
(Hanner amser / Half time 0-18)
Sgorwyr / Scorers:
Nant Conwy: Ceisiau/ Tries: EMRYS EVANS(1), JAMES JONES (1) , CARWYN ELLIS (1)
Trosi / Conversions: CARWYN ap MYRDDIN (2)
Cosb / Penalties: CARWYN ap MYRDDIN(2)
After 9 minutes play on a very good pitch, Nant went ahead following a successful penalty kick by full back, Carwyn ap. Five minutes later, centre, Emrys found a gap in the home defence to touch down beneath the posts. Carwyn ap was successful in adding the extra points. Both packs spent a few minutes then trying to gain an ascendancy and it was in the 31st minute of play that prop, James powered over for a try on the right hand side. The conversion attempt was missed. But, with 4 minutes of the half remaining, Carwyn ap was successful with another penalty kick to gibe a half time score of 0-18.
Nant expected the home side to use the cold breeze during the second period but that did not occur. After 25 minutes of play after a series of mauls by the home line, no 8, Carwyn went over for a try that was converted by Carwyn ap. This made the final score 0 – 25.
NANT’s next match is an AWAY game against CAERNARFON on Saturday afternoon, 7th January 2012 in a League match with the kick off at 2.30 p.m.
Ar ôl 9 munud o chwarae mewn gêm ar gae da, aeth Nant ar y blaen trwy gic gosb gyda’r gwynt gan Carwyn ap (rhif 15). Bum munud yn ddiweddarach, holltodd y rhif 12, Emrys, amddiffyn Pwllheli i dirio dan y pyst gyda Carwyn ap yn ychwanegu’r pwyntiau. Bu’r ddau bac yn brwydro am rai munudau’n dilyn hyn cyn i’r prop James dirio o symudiad arall gan y blaenwyr ar ôl hanner awr o chwarae. Aflwyddiannus oedd yr ymgais am drosiad. Gyda phedwar munud o’r hanner yn weddill, a Nant yn dal i bwyso, troswyd cic gosb arall gan Carwyn ap i wneud sgôr o 0 - 18 ar yr hanner.
Gyda’r tîm cartref yn chwarae’r gyda’r gwynt deifiol yn yr ail hanner, disgwylid ciciau i lawr y cae. Ond, ni ddigwyddodd hynny ac, ar ôl 25 munud o chwarae, plymiodd Carwyn (rhif 8) trosodd ar ôl sawl cymal o chwarae ar y llinell gartref. Troswyd y cais gan Carwyn ap i roi sgôr derfynol o 0 - 25.
Bydd NANT yn chwarae I FFWRDD yn erbyn CAERNARFON nesaf ar brynhawn Sadwrn 7fed IONAWR 2012 mewn gêm gynghrair gyda’r gic gyntaf am 2.30 o’r gloch.
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Division Two North
COBRA vs Wrexham - Postponed
Denbigh 5 vs Colwyn Bay 13
Llanidloes vs Abergele - Postponed
Newtown vs Machynlleth - Postponed
Rhyl 7 vs Dolgellau 19
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Denbigh 5 v Colwyn Bay 13
With little to choose between the sides Dinbych’s winning streak came to an end with this narrow defeat against Colwyn Bay on a pitch which by the second half had become a quagmire making the result a lottery and the side making the fewer mistakes the winner. A strong diagonal wind driving showers of rain and hail across the pitch made handling difficult and the game one of two contrasting halves with the side playing with the elements in their favour dominating territorially and only held at bay by the determined defence of the opposition. Although Dinbych were the more ambitious side trying to handle the ball at every opportunity Colwyn Bay owed their success to their bulkier forwards who were able to exert more sustained pressure and through their tactical kicking which kept the home side penned deep in their own half as conditions deteriorated in the second half.
Dinbych played with the wind in the first half and at first play was fairly even but the Bay took the lead in the fifth minute when the home side attempted to launch an attacking move from inside their 22 only for it to break down with a handling error. From the resulting scrum Bay’s livewire scrum half Ian Marshall stole away on the blind side to cross near the corner for an unconverted try. Dinbych responded with some good attacking play with both forwards and backs combining well in the difficult conditions and got their reward with an incisive attack from the Bay 22 which ended with skipper Geraint Madoc Jones going over wide out for an unconverted try. Although Dinbych were dominating territorially they were unable to put sustained pressure on the visitors whose bulky forwards had the edge in the scrums and gained good yardage with driving mauls to relieve the territorial pressure.
With the scores tied at five points apiece at the interval the Bay soon made good use of the wind at their backs to pin Dinbych into their 22 and seven minutes into the second half made the pressure tell as they disrupted a Dinbych scrum and from the play which developed No 8 Ben Evans was able to force his way over for an unconverted try. Despite the rapidly deteriorating conditions Dinbych still attempted to play themselves out of defence by excellent pick and drives by the forwards and with Andy McCord showing good handling skills at outside half to set up centre James Wynne with good possession to breach the first line of defence on several occasions . However when moves broke down in the conditions astute tactical kicking by the Bay kept Dinbych pinned deep in their half. With specialist prop Gareth Jones coming on as a replacement Dinbych now began to dominate the scrums and the forwards gained good ground with their pick and drives. Unfortunately Dinbych were increasingly bogged down as they were continually forced to regroup in their 22 by the Bay’s kicking and fell further behind in the sixty fifth minute when they conceded a penalty fifteen metres out near the posts which outside half Spencer Lumby converted which was to deny Dinbych a deserved losing bonus point. Dinbych did well not to concede a further score in the final fifteen minutes as they were now reduced to fourteen men as injuries took their toll.
Despite the defeat this was a good performance by Dinbych with the forwards gaining in strength in the set pieces as the match progressed whilst their work in the contact area and open play matched their bulkier opponents. The backs had little opportunity to shine in attack in the difficult conditions and the defence of the whole side was tremendous given the pressure they were under at times.
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Division Three North
Benllech 0 vs Llangollen 26
Flint 5 vs Rhosllanerchrugog 38
Harlech 26 vs Holyhead 0
Welshpool 43 vs Bangor 7
Welshpool 43 v Bangor 7
Bangor arrived at the Maesydre with a youthful side, looking to finish 2011 with their first league win of the season and, for the first twenty minutes of the game, they hardly looked like a team without a win this season. The visitors soaked up a lot of pressure in the opening exchanges and frustrated the hosts with some excellent defending.
They were unable to stop big second row Sam Ward from touching down with three defenders hanging on to him as Pool secured their first points of the afternoon, converted by Daley to give a score of 7-0 after twenty minutes.
If Pool thought this was the moment the floodgates would open, they were immediately reminded that the visitors were not ready to throw in the towel and Bangor enjoyed some good pressure of their own. However, a five minute blitz with Pool scoring three tries as the half neared its conclusion virtually finished the game as a contest as Pool were 24-0 up at half-time. The three tries were scored by Ryan Griffiths, Daley Jones and Jamie 'Chegs' Evans. Daley converted his own try.
The second half was virtually a mirror image of the first in the first twenty minutes with both sides 'huffing and puffing' but unable to put points on the board. It needed something special from Pool's rampaging flanker, Wayne Maguire, to break the second half deadlock with a great run to touch down, Daley converted to make the score 31-0.
Pool's outside half, Daley Jones, finished an excellent move five minutes later with another try, extending the scoreline to 36-0.
With the light fading fast, and the newly-serviced Maesydre floodlights malfunctioning again, it was Bangor who grabbed the next try in the gathering gloom, converted to add some respectability to the scoreline at 36-7.
Pool had the last word however with captain, Andy Thomas, touching down under the posts after a free-flowing move and Daley, capping a fine performance, added the conversion to give a final scoreline of 43-7.
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Division Two West
Builth Wells 17 vs Felinfoel 21
Glynneath vs Aberystwyth - Postponed
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Division Six Central
Crickhowell 16 vs Llandrindod Wells 8
This was a dour match, dominated by forward play, with Llandrindod playing against a much improved Crickhowell and, due to the intensity of the Crickhowell forward play, unable to create real structure to their game.
Llandrindod's Joe Bradley was the first to score with a penalty kick early in the half, but very soon afterwards a blistering run by Crickhowell wing Steve Morris saw him touch down but the angle was too great for a successful conversion. Llandrindod were still on the defensive when Crickhowell increased their lead with an Adam Howells penalty.
Llandrindod had more possession in the second half, thanks to stirling work by the forwards, with Geraint Evans causing Crickhowell no end of problems with his driving runs. The home side increased their lead with another Howells penalty but the game was still Llandrindod's for the taking if they could have gained some real advantage from the
possession they were winning.
The match really swung away from Llandrindod when Crickhowell forward Kenny Birch touched down following a loose maul. Not converted. Llandrindod's try came in an improbable fashion. The referee was going to call time at the next breakdown when substitute winger Bon Williams, who had only been on the pitch a few minutes, gathered the ball just inside the Crickhowell half, beat one man, handed off the next and scored in the corner. Again, no conversion.
Llandrindod now have no match until 7th January when they host CIACS in the League.
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Division Seven East
Girling 60 vs Tref-Y-Clawdd 0
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Gwynedd League
Bala 2nds 0 vs Nant Conwy 2nds 5
Bethesda 2nds vs Porthmadog
Bro Ffestiniog 2nds vs Pwllheli 2nds - Postponed
Dolgellau 2nds vs Llangefni 2nds
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North Wales Youth Division One
Caernarfon 24 vs Llangefni 64
COBRA vs Colwyn Bay
Pwllheli vs Rhyl and District
Ruthin vs Denbigh
Wrexham vs Mold
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North Wales Youth Division Two
Bro Ffestiniog vs Welshpool - Postponed
Llanidloes vs Newtown
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