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Well the dust has had time to settle on what was an eventful tournament and I have to say I have never been prouder than I am today of our incredibly talented team. Today from beginning to end they were brilliant ambassadors for our club and the very epitome of what what rugby should be about. It want just during games that I was proud of them but the way they conducted themselves between games, the way they shook hands with opposition players after games and the way they respected the referees who all told me what a pleasure it was to referee such a polite group of young people. We pushed the best clubs in Pembrokeshire today. We narrowly lost to St David’s. We led Narberth and Crymych and we beat a Pembroke team containing several county players and we did it in style. For some that was their first taste of of tournament rugby and my word were they good. Poppy was outstanding all day, a braver player you’ll not find. Poppy took a big knock to the head and came off for a short while before the magic healing abilities of wine gums supplied by her mum got her back on the pitch and straight back into the thick of it. What a tournament for Poppy. Strong in the tackle, always looking to make ground with the ball and then naturally assuming scrum half duties at ruck time. A real tough cookie today who was instrumental in our win when supplying the pass that created two of our tries. An excellent days work from an excellent player. Austyn assumed captaincy duties in our first game today confidently telling me he was the man for the job and then introducing himself to the referee as the captain. Fair enough I thought, that’s the Austyn confidence I love to see. He then backed that up with some outstanding performances in both attack and defence and improved with each game. There were some very large players today who will be having nightmares about the little fella from Llangwm who kept throwing himself at them. Austyn was simply superb today and is a real asset in tournament rugby because he’s as enthusiastic in the dying seconds of the last game as he is in the first seconds of the first game. A great tournament for Austyn who ran himself into the ground for the cause.

Trystan was for my money the most combative player from any team on display today. He had no fear of any physical impact and was at the bottom of rucks scrapping for the ball all tournament. He also carried aggressively and effectively and is an absolute nightmare to tackle with his leg drive and strength. Trystan was integral to our counter attacking game plan and worked tirelessly jackling the ball at rucks to enable us to attack a fragmented defence once he’d turned the ball over. He was exhausted at the end of the last couple of games which was a testament to the amount of effort and energy he put into every performance.
Mari was once again effective in everything that she did. Mari is one of our top tacklers and really put her body on the line today in a top class defensive effort. Mari’s confidence grew with every game and by the last game against Pembroke she had one arm outstretched organising the defence around her and made some great runs to pin Pembroke back in attack as well and allowed us to get a foothold in their half before delivering the decisive blow to kill the game off. An outstanding first tournament from Mari.
Alex was without a shadow of doubt the best tackler on display in any team today. His defence today was unbelievable. I don’t know what the official stats were today for the most tackles made but I’d hazard a guess that this tackling machine was top by some distance. As the weeks have gone on Alex had also gained in confidence when attacking and today we saw plenty of that. The guy has brilliant hands and can time a pass perfectly and on two occasions gave the last pass to a try scorer. A brilliant all round display today from Alex.
Edward played today carrying an injury which prevented him running at full pace for too long but still added something in each game. He made several breaks in our first game and looked really pacy in attack whilst also making his tackles in defence. Edward like Austyn is great in a tournament setting as his energy is infectious and spreads through the group. This was a good comeback from Edward who reminded everyone of what he is capable of.
Jack returned today after missing last week when being away and hit the forums running making plenty of meters in attack with his physical approach and quick feet. We’re not the biggest side in the world so it was great to have Jack back in action today to get us over the gain line. Jack was suffering with blisters today but still played an active part in all the games and really looked the part. Jack really took some stopping and sucked defenders in with his powerful surges which created space for other players. A fantastic effort form Jack today.
Harry was classy, physical, quick, elusive and showed a real rugby intelligence. Harry formed the best centre partnership of the all the teams involved with Leo today and worked with him and George to attack form everywhere. They’d have attacked from the changing rooms if they’d have had the chance. Harry was phenomenal in attack and made several breaks in each game. Harry also defended resolutely and aggressively and put the opposition back lines under huge amounts of pressure causing them to spill the ball when faced with collecting that and the flying Harry at the same time. Harry’s only mistake today was when he told me he couldn’t see what the difference between Pembroke and Pembroke Dock was. Other than that he was as he always is brilliant.
Manny was excellent today and really put his body on he line for the team. As his dad I was very worried at one point as he injured his shoulder and then got back into the defensive line clutching his shoulder to make the next tackle. I was very proud of him today and after a lengthy and tearful debate after his injury he insisted that he had to play in the last two games and then put in his best two performances. This team is his world and that really showed today. A proud dad and a proud coach.
George in my opinion put in his best performances today and that’s saying something after his countless tries this season. He grew into the tournament and the better the opposition the better George played. Having Harry and Leo working as a mini team with him was a joy to watch. George scored 8 tries today and by the last game was on fire running in two long range efforts. He was purring in attack and looked like a formula one car racing a go kart towards the end. He was also great in the periods between games asking about how he could improve his angles of running and have an even bigger impact. He had a big impact on proceedings today and it was great to see how happy he was with his game at the end.
Leo was simply outstanding today. Leo had a massive impact on the tournament and was the top try scorer with 10. Leo also dominated the tackle area and won countless rucks. He’s really clicked with Harry and George in his last few performances and they ran our attacking game with aplomb. Leo also had a very positive impact on his teammates who look up to him. He was encouraging and supportive and for such a good player completely selfless when putting other players into space. For me Leo was the outstanding player of the tournament for all the sides concerned and from watching the other games he had more of an impact than anyone else.
I should mention the parents and families today as well who come all the way to Cardigan to support the team. Our team are very lucky to have such supportive families and are a great reflection of how much time and effort you all make for them.I was very proud to be involved with our club today.

Marc Davies