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The under 10s played Neyland this morning in Neyland. We’ll get the result out of the way first. We lost. We made our customary slow start and before we knew it we were a few tries down in the blink of an eye. The guys recognised at half time without prompting what they needed to improve on and showed some real guts and determination not to mention superior fitness levels to put in a much improved performance in the 2nd half. It’s days like today that will improve your rugby education. You’ll learn more from defeat than from victory and we have a group of youngsters who learn quickly.
Today was a testament to the character of our little team of warriors. When faced with an uphill battle they began to realise that they were the equals of their opponents and grew into the game. Jack had his best game to date showing power and confidence in his making several powerful carries that really stretched the Neyland defence having an inspirational affect on his team mates. Trystan begun to compete at every breakdown thwarting quick ball for Neyland and turning ball over for us to attack and really got involved in the physical battle. Harry carried with aggression and intent today making more meters than anyone, always breaking the first tackle and always taking several defenders with him when tackled. He also showed great game awareness in releasing the outside player with well timed passes. Skipper Iestyn was excellent today. His physicality and ability to decide when to hit rucks, when to tackle and when to pass or run combined with his aggression made him a very difficult proposition for Neyland. Iestyn’s game came to a premature end when he sustained what looked like a broken nose whilst fighting for the ball in typical dogged fashion. Edward made several breaks today and was very unlucky not to score in the corner in the 2nd half after making a great run rounding the winger and getting dragged down just short by the cover defence. Leo was a welcome guest today after playing for the under 11s earlier and inspired those around him with his display. Leo made the break for George’s try and gave Manny the pass for his try, big contributions that had an impact on the game for us. George ran himself ragged today. George scored his customary try after supporting Leo’s break and outstripping the defence. The most pleasing part of his display was his rucking. George was the player who won the penalty in the ruck at the end of the game that set up the try after running the length of the field to get there. We had a debutant today in Poppy. This was not only Poppy’s first game for Llangwm but her first game ever. Poppy didn’t look out of place and carried the bell several times, tackled well and even took part in the scrums. Well done Poppy. Manny had a vastly improved 2nd half today. His tackling was good and his rucking was aggressive and accurate. He also carried well and ended up scoring our last try taking several players over the line with him.
My man of the match today is Jack who’s carrying inspired the team in the second half to really take the fight to Neyland. Well done Jack.
Although we lost today our commitment to battle to the end was exemplary. You can’t teach that sort of willingness to fight until the last whistle despite knowing the game is done. That takes courage and determination and real respect for your team and friends. That fortunately is something that our kids have in abundance. Marc Davies