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Denbigh U14 29 v Ruthin U14 29
In the best traditions of derby games between Dinbych and Rhuthun the game was hard but cleanly fought and both teams showed huge respect to each other. The neutral spectator will have thought the final outcome was a fair one given both sides efforts.
Both teams ran in 5 tries apiece with Dinbych’s coming from a brace for Harri Evans and one each for Jake Vaughan Thomas, Josh Morris and Gruff Roberts.
Rhuthun started with the greatest purpose but it was Dinbych who scored first, against the run of play at the time. Captain and scrum half Iwan Johnson took a quick tap penalty on the visitors; 22 metre line and it was fed wide to Jake Vaughan Thomas on the right wing to cross for an unconverted try.
Rhuthun however continued to demonstrate their hunger to avenge the defeat by Dinbych in the season’s previous encounter at Cae Ddol. The home side on the other hand demonstrated their ability to switch off in defence. The hosts were punished for their lack of concentration as some strong running by the Rhuthun back row saw them run in 3 tries in quick succession with two conversions giving them a commanding 5-19 lead.
Dinbych realised that they faced a rout unless they picked up their game and fought back in the closing stages of the first half. Harri Evans picked up from a base of the ruck on the visitors’ 22 metre line and bulldozed through the Rhuthun defence on the left touchline to cross for an unconverted try.
As the interval approached, Rhuthun were in possession when a huge tackle on their scrum half by flanker Will Morris caused the ball to be spilled forward into the welcoming hands of fly half Josh Morris. With the advantage being played Morris broke away to cross in the right hand corner. At the half time whistle, Dinbych looked to have clawed their way back into the game with the score standing at 15-19.
No sooner had the second half kicked off than Dinbych’s defensive concentration collectively went wandering again and Rhuthun ran in another unconverted try to again open up their lead to 24-15.
This served as another wake up call for Dinbych as they went on the offensive again. A Rhuthun infringement in midfield allowed Josh Morris to kick a penalty into touch 10 metres. Dinbych won the line out and drove forwards to find themselves held out by a well drilled Rhuthun defence. Finally Harri Evans picked up again and broke through a couple of Rhuthun tackles to power over for his second try. Josh Morris’ conversion brought Dinbych to within 2 points of Rhuthun’s tally.
Dinbych then took the lead for the second time in the game thanks to two examples of excellent individual skills. With Dinbych pressing on the half way to breach the Rhuthun defensive line again, a superbly executed reverse pass from flanker Rhys Davies proved to be the key needed to unlock the barrier. The pass reached the fleet footed Gruff Roberts who saw his gap and took the opportunity to run in a well taken try from 30 metres out. Morris’s conversion meant Dinbych had the advantage at 29-24.
Rhuthun were not beaten and with 6 minutes remaining, struck back with a try just wide of the posts to bring the sides level. Dinbych’s players and supporters gave a collective sigh of relief as the conversion attempt sailed wide of the posts to leave the scores at 29-29. A nail biting last 5 minutes saw both teams exchanging possession and scoring opportunities but the game remained deadlocked at the final whistle.
Dinbych were pleased not to have lost their unbeaten record to Rhuthun this season, but will want to reflect on their defensive frailties in the opening quarter. Particular mention must be made of Under 13s regular Conor Hinchliffe who was drafted in due to the absence of a number of Under 14s forwards. It was a tough test for his first game at the higher age level, but Hinchliffe put in an impressive and mature performance in the second row.
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