Dewar Shield Play-Offs:

 
 

Newport Under 16s 7 - Pembrokeshire Under 16s 25

 
Venue: Whithead RFC, Newport
 
After the disappointment of their narrow defeat against Swansea (West) the Pembrokeshire Under 16s added the adjective ‘resilient’ to their compliments this season as they bounced back with this convincing win over their counterparts from Newport – and now face Rhymney Valley at Haverfordwest (Friday, 13^th December) with a fifth place in this prestigious competition up for grabs.

 
There is still debate around the county abut their previous defeat but head coach Aled Waters and his staff had clearly made sure that his young charges were fully focussed, even with several changes to give other squad players the chance  to show their capabilities – and the end product was a convincing win against quality opposition where they ran in three tries to their opponents’ one.


 

County show their strength in depth

 
The county showed their strength in depth as centre Daf Williams sustained a knee injury in the warm-up and they lost centre Dylan James with a nasty head would after only ten minutes but Niall Smith came on out of position and had a good game, as did all the other replacements when they were given a run out in the second half.
 
Considering the long journey to Newport, the county team soon settled well and opened their account with a close-range surge by their pack which saw Ethan Lewis, skipper Ollie Tucker, Alfie Thomas and Will Diment involved before prop Jamie Cogger claimed the touchdown on his debut in the competition.
 
Then outside half Madoc Evans landed a penalty after good work on the floor by Sean Bolger, Llyr Mathias and Iori Thomas – and they went close again soon afterwards but Newport showed they weren’t going to roll over and lie down as they responded with a try from their excellent No 8 Jaziah George which outside half Dylan Lee converted.
 

Evans leads county attacks as pack plays well

 
Madoc Evans then added a try and conversion as the influential No 10 put in a little chip ahead which he caught before speeding to the posts for the simple conversion, which he followed up with a second penalty to give his team an 18-7 interval lead.
 
The game was played on an inevitably heavy pitch and conditions worsened after half time but Pembrokeshire again had the better of the play and managed the only score when outstanding skipper Ollie Tucker rounded off a strong surge through the middle and Evans converted to bring his personal haul to 15 points.
 
The backs’ man of the match was Madoc Evans and the forward was Will Diment.
 
So next Friday evening it will be a case of junior rugby roads leading to Haverfordwestfor the Pembrokeshire Under 16’s team’s final match of the campaign – and a huge crowd is expected to cheer them on, including us at PembrokeshireSport.co.uk because they really are a talented group of players which this web site firmly believes is well worth a watch!
 
Pembrokeshire: Alex Rigby-Stock: Iestyn Robb; Josh James; Tyler James (Niall Smith); Iestyn Preddy: Madoc Evans; Daf Killian (Gareth Wilcox):  Jamie Cogger (Finn Bruins); Ethan Lewis (Rhys Lewis); Ollie Tucker (Capt): Will Diment (Ianto Evans);  Alfie Thomas: Sean Bolger; Llyr Mathias (Manny Davies); Iori Thomas (Harvey Thomas). Replacements: Rhys Lewis; Josh Slater; Finn Bruins; Ianto Evans; Harvey Thomas; Gethin Wilcox; Niall Smith; Daf Williams. Travelling reserves: Manny Davies, Ollie Thompson.