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It was a privilege to witness such an outstanding display of rugby this morning in a high quality match in which each and every member of the team contributed something different to the combined performance resulting in a spectacular win.
We fielded a team with the combined under 9s and 10s squads which showed everyone how hard they have worked in training recently to produce a fantastic and mature performance.
In traditional Llangwm under 10s fashion we conceded a try from kick off to add to the tension and give ourselves even more of a challenge against a physically imposing Cardigan team which we responded to perfectly. Leo immediately struck back and was once again instrumental in both our offensive and defensive play and ran himself into the ground for the team. Leo was a focal point going forward and the team fed off his confidence and the momentum he gave us. Leo scored a brilliant hat trick but was also a colossus in the tackle area halting the larger Cardigan players and allowing other players to contest the ruck once he’d felled them. Leo could’ve scored 5 tries today but unselfishly passed the ball on the line a couple of times showing what a team layer he is. Always a pleasure to have this young man in the team and see the positive effect he has on everyone around him with his encouragement for his team mates and his natural ability to lift those around him.
Skipper Iestyn was outstanding today. There is no part to the game that this guy isn’t excellent at whether carrying the ball, tackling, rucking, game management or communicating with other players. Iestyn scored a couple of long range tries today after side stepping, running around or running over opposition players and ended my favourite move of the game when chipping over the top of the defence from our 22 for George to chase and gather before following up and taking an inside pass to score. It’s hard to believe that sort of game awareness happens in an under 10s match but it did and it was great to see.
Manny was excellent today both going forward and in defence and put a real shift in tackling the large Cardigan attackers and stopping their momentum. Manny scored an excellent try taking a brilliantly timed pass from Iestyn and dragged 3 players over the line to score a try which was rich reward for the effort he put in today.
Poppy was brilliant today and has developed so much skill in such a short amount of time. Poppy puts in more effort that anyone in training and it showed today. Poppy’s positional play was fantastic and she was consistently at the base of every ruck whipping the ball away like a seasoned scrum half to keep the game moving forward and not let the Cardigan defence rest which enabled us to score several tries from her organising the attacking play for us. Poppy was also excellent in defence today and didn’t miss a tackle showing her determination and aggression when chopping much bigger players down.
Trystan produced yet another dogged and immensely physical performance as is now his trademark. Trystan is an absolute menace at ruck time with his combative approach and knowledge of the dark arts which somehow seem to see the ball emerge on the Llangwm side despite there being no physical possibility of that happening prior to Trystan’s human missile entry into proceedings. What was great to see today was Trystan celebrating putting in try saving tackles several times. You can’t buy spirit like that and it says an awful lot for his character and commitment to his team that he celebrates turnovers and tackles in the same way he celebrates tries.
George did what George does best today. George scored a great try and kept the Cardigan team guessing when side stepping and swerving in and out of tackles all game. Cardigan were soon keeping an eye on George due to his elusive running which freed up space for others and created tries in the process. George was massively unlucky not to get a hat trick today when his pace meant he slightly overran the final pass on a couple of occasions. George learns so quickly though and immediately rectified this to score a cracking try. In the same way that Trystan did George was celebrating tackles and winning rucks and his positive attitude had a big impact on the team.
Harry was our go forward guy today and is in my opinion consistently the classiest operator at centre in Pembrokeshire. Harry broke the first tackle each and every time he had the ball today and really reminds me of Allan Bateman from a few years ago in the way he glides over the surface and makes an outside break effortlessly. Harry showed great game awareness today on several occasions when making a break on the outside of defence and then stepping back inside to take the play away from the danger of the touch line. Harry also passed brilliantly to put Leo and George away a few times and was the glue that held the side together. I love Harry’s confidence in trying something different to unlock a defence and we saw the Harry show and go a few times today which completely bamboozled the Cardigan defence.
Another game and another unbelievable defensive display from Alex today. A year younger than everyone else today and yet he displayed a tackle technique that was faultless. It basically goes if you’re within 5 metres of Alex carrying the ball you’re getting tackled whether you’re ten times the size of him or not. A few times in the second half when Cardigan had broken the defensive line and looked odds on to score Alex hunted them down and tackled them to prevent a score. He doesn’t know it because he’s pretty quiet and unbelievably polite but his actions inspire those around him. A few of the older payers told me afterwards that when Cardigan broke away and looked like scoring they 100% knew that Alex would stop them. You can’t get much higher praise than your team mates thinking so highly of your play and I know everyone rates Alex as a very good quality player.
Lastly Mari. Mari was amazing today. At one point Mari put in four tackles in a row after finding herself as the last defender in an unbelievable effort to repel the Cardigan attackers. Mari was a massive presence defensively and didn’t miss a tackle. It wasn’t just the amount of tackles that Mari made either, it was the quality of the tackles and their timing which was perfect. Mari like Poppy works really hard in training and it all clicked for her today in a fantastic performance of quality play, grit and determination which was great to see. Mari was also very good going forward and is deceptively quick making meters in attack and showing good skill levels to get the ball away when being tackled.
The player of the game award today is shared between Mari and Alex who were both excellent today in a performance in which each and every member of the team made huge contributions. Well done everyone. What a great spectacle to witness.

Marc Davies