Fixture

Llantwit’s Druid’s Field infused the Under 8s with the guile and sorcery of the ancient Celtic priestly class, as they dipped into their book of spells to conjure up a mesmerising showing against the invaders Canton!

Hurricane Lorenzo may have blown himself out over the mid-Atlantic but he left his tail wind whipping across the pitches of Llantwit Major RFC but that did not deter the 18 players who arrived early, keen to lace on boots, don tags and march onto the field of battle.

Canton too swarmed around their coaches with their black and yellow stripes, ready to sip the nectar from the overflowing cup of competitive rugby.  Canton fielded twelve players, who must be commended for playing almost non-stop for over an hour against Llantwit’s horde.

Llantwit had three teams of six players, evenly split and committed to a man to the expansive game plan that had developed since their visit to Caerau.

Two new coaches Carter and Alex took charge of the teams on the pitch for the first round of matches with Benny and Diane putting the remaining team through some training.  Canton drew first blood in Coach Alex’s match, with some well worked tries utilizing the width of the pitch well. Llantwit responded in kind with some typical forward surges, well timed offloads and jinking runs.  

The two Logans were working in tandem, with “big” Logan Howells stretching those long legs and “little” Logan Keith fizzing around the pitch.  George and Noah, the two speed merchants, were then able to find gaps and exploit them.

Meanwhile Coach Carter was marshalling his troops into a solid defensive line that showed no quarter to Canton’s attackers.  Defenders seizing their opponents’ tags and heeding the call to retreat before fanning across the pitch. Oscar Ingram was in bezerker mode, barrelling up the wing, to quote the late Bill Mclaren, “…like a salmon up a weir.”  Lance Morgan was also heavily involved in the action, making the hard yards up the pitch. Tom Griffiths was darting and weaving like a fish in a barrel in attack and defending like a great white with a toothache in defence.

The third Llantwit team took to the field with relish, having sat out the first round of games.  To be fair to Canton they had given their all in the first round of games, yet still found the desire and energy to push Llantwit all the way.  

However, Llantwit had a eureka moment when Harri span a rifling miss out pass to Tomos and the team saw how passing could beat a man.  After that it was exhibition stuff, the ball moving through five pairs of hands before a tag could be made. Codan, the quiet assassin, showed deft touches to put over his teammate with a fine assist right on the try line.  Kacey and Jasper acting in tandem lit the fuse, to spark another move that led to a try.

It was also lovely to see ‘Fast’ Louis Morris back in the fold, after his extended trip to the hospital and he put in a typical all-action display.  Monty too was a thorn in the opposition’s side tearing down the wing like hyper-active Yeti.

After another round of matches both teams were exhausted, three cheers rang out, a truce was declared and the players bonded over a well-deserved feast of…..sausage and chips!

Coach Carter’s Man of the Match was Oscar, for his relentless drive throughout the games and Coach Alex’s Man of the Match was Kacey for his unselfish play and try assists.

May the magic continue for the rest of the season!