Fixture

After the downpour came the sublime October sunshine, and with the sunshine came a sumptuous try fest to entertain the fans on a balmy Sunday morning. Having not faced off for 3 seasons rivalries were resumed between Nantymoel and hosts Llantwit in the Under 14 age group and it produced a game that had the whole shebang. With the result in doubt until the final play, the players conjured a fantastic spectacle that saw 13 tries scored in a narrow 1-point win for Nantymoel.

Despite playing the first half up the slope, it was the home side who made the better start. Capitalising on some errors from the visitors Llantwit found themselves 24-5 to the good after tries by Tyler Lee (2), Dylan Rees and Bayley Hillberg. This seemed to kick start Nantymoel into life and some lacklustre defending provide the impetus for the away team to run 3 tries before half time and draw the game level. Despite some honest words at half time things looked to be capitulating for Llantwit as 2 more tries made it 34-24 to Nanty. However, resolve seems to be the new vibe for the U14’s and they soon turned the game back in their favour with tries from Dylan Rees and Bayley Hillberg. With Nantymoel now on the ropes it was their turn to reply and after a period of sustained pressure from their pack resulted in them retaking the lead with less than 3 minutes to go. A moment of controversy then ensued when a seemingly good try by Hillberg was overruled by a late touch call. Undeterred Llantwit still pushed for that final score and Lee could have added to his tally but he fell just short of the line which gave the visitors the easy task of kicking the ball out of play for the victory.

A great performance by both sets of players and an excellent advertisement for grassroots rugby. The one big negative for the home side was the injury to Llantwit number 8 Daniel Qaimuri who suffered a dislocated knee early in the game. The team now move on to their next match away to Llandaff on the 9^th October.