Fixture

With new-born lambs in the nearby fields, and a clear blue sky overhead, it was almost a perfect spring day as the combined Llantwit Major U15 and U16 team welcomed opposition from just along the coast, in the form of Porthcawl RFC, although a stiff, cool, westerly breeze, reminded everyone that it’s not quite time to put the thick rugby supporters coat away just yet.

The recent fine weather, coupled with the clubs efforts to protect the playing surface over the Winter, meant that instead of the quagmire of recent fixtures, the playing surface of the Llantwit Major first team pitch was in good condition, firm underfoot and ready for a fast game.  With this in mind the coaches agreed to split the game into 4-quarters, so that the 15-players of Porthcawl and 16-players of Llantwit major could still have a competitive game without the luxury of substitutes.

With 12-forwards and 4-backs, the home team were forced once again to play players out of position, and it was great to see flanker, Rob Dixon offering to take swap places for the second half with one of the unlucky forwards who was covering the wing in the first half.  As it turned out, a number of injuries throughout the game saw players moving positions to cover what was needed, when it was needed which was good to see, but didn’t really help in continuity.  This was made worse when the home outside half, Daniel Taylor, was forced from the pitch during the first half after being caught by a leading elbow in the act of making a tackle.  

The Llantwit Major players are known for just getting on with the job though, so without fuss they adjusted to all the changes that were needed and continued to battle away.  Having played twice already this season, the home team knew how potent the Porthcawl backline could be, and today was to be no different as they played some great rugby and capitalised on Llantwit mistakes to pull away into a comfortable scoreboard lead.  Although the scoreboard kept ticking over for the visitors, the game was still fiercely competitive, with the home team constantly threatening with great direct running and hard charges, epitomised by a man of the match performance from full back by Dexter Milburn.

It was one of these breaks from his own half that allowed the home team to gain entry to their opponents half.  A second charge from captain and number 8, Jakub Jeziorski pushed Porthcawl back into their own 22.  A dart from Rob Dixon was followed by another huge effort from prop Lewys Ingram from 5-metres out, which was stopped just a metre from the line.  Quick ball from the ruck made it’s way to outside centre, Kelyn Joseph, who from first receiver position eyed up two of the smaller Porthcawl defenders and ran straight at them, ducking his should in the challenge to deflect the first double-hit, then handing off a third, before just escaping the grasp of the last defender to cross for his fifth try of the season, 10-metres to the right of the posts.

With the tough task of following Jack Robson’s 87% conversion success rate in his man-of-the-match performance from the kicking tee in the last game, this time it was regular kicker Ieuan Harrison who stepped up for the conversion.  With tougher kicking conditions this week, the kick was pulled just wide by the left footer, which was frustrating as it was exactly what Ieuan had been successfully practicing up to an hour before kick-off.  

Frustration was then going to a constant feature of the rest of the game, with large periods of pressure from the home team being repelled by a stubborn defence, intermixed with the occasional rapier strike by the dangerous Porthcawl attack.  The third quarter proved especially dominant fo the home team who were camped in the visitors 22 for 10-minutes, but could find no way through the green and black line, although hooker Corey Cox on return from a long term injury came closest, being pushed back with the try line just out of reach.

Referee Liam Padmore, resplendent in his new, official referee top eventually blew for full time with the visitors comfortable scoreboard winners.  The Llantwit Major team once again left the pitch fully in credit, not only for their attitude in the game, but also after the game, with an elaborate tunnel to salute the winning team bringing a smile to players and coaches alike.

Plenty to look forward to in the remaining games for the combined team, and also for the future of next years U16s, with the current U15s working hard to encourage new players to training sessions to hopefully allow them to continue with their rugby at Llantwit Major.  As noted recently by the club’s Mini and Juniors chairman, Mark Reece, the spirit shown by the U15s in playing up for so long should be applauded.  Boys who can do that are exactly the type of people that the club want to see playing for them, and so they will do whatever they can to support them going forward.

As for today’s game, congratulations go to Porthcawl for their win, but also to the home team for once again not taking a backwards step and playing with smiles on their faces