Friendly Rugby:

 
 

Fishguard & Goodwick 34 - Pembrokeshire Vikings 14

 

Referee: Gary Wilkes, who had a good game with his sensitive use of the whistle.

 
This long-awaited friendly fixture between Fishguard & Goodwick and The Pembrokeshire Vikings finally came to fruition as they met at The Moors in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd, most of whom were cheering on The Vikings, despite being regular supporters of The Seagulls, writes Bill Carne.
 
 
 
The match was organised by The Seagulls’ team manager for the day in Steve Rowe and Gethin James, the new coach of the Vikings, and was sponsored by Mark George, Micro Digger Hire, and Sarah Sinnott Hair.
 

Lovely link between the teams – and a great family finish

 
There was a lovely link between the teams because Luca Morrillo is one of the most important supporters of The Vikings, not least for his ability to raise their morale, but also because he is the regular team mascot and showed his ability to play her alongside his father Andrew, who was a tough as teak prop for many years with Fishguard but on this occasion was playing alongside his son against his former team-mates.
 
And the loudest cheer of the match came in the closing seconds when The Vikings went on the attack and gained good possession from a line out which allowed scrum half Shaun Treadwell to find Luca with a perfectly-timed pass, before the Vikings’ skipper cleverly used his wheelchair to evade the clutches of the home defence and sped to the corner to claim the touch-down.
 
Then came the icing on the Morrillo family cake as Andrew showed he wasn’t just a big old prop by casually lining up the touch-line conversion and sending it unerringly between the posts!
 

Legends leading the way for The Seagulls

 
It nicely rounded off an entertaining tussle where The Seagulls were able to include genuine ‘Legends’ like skipper Romeo Colella and his lieutenant, Randall Williams, with former hooker Graham Williams showing that all that running around at Iron Man and other  extreme sport events has never excited him as much as this did!
 
Gerwyn Reynolds, the PC49 of Fishguard & Goodwick RFC, showed he can still handle the close exchanges and the George twins also featured, although no-one knows who scored the try brace credited to them because of their still being almost identical, even in early middle age!
 
Gez Mathias and Mark James also got their names on the scoresheet and there were cameos from younger players like Ed Rathbone, Ritchie Hunter, and Alun George.
 

Senedd Sam appears for Fishguard

 
Of special interest was the fact that also making a special appearance, fresh from sitting around chatting all day at The Senedd in Cardiff, was the area’s assembly member in Sam Kurtz, who serves the region so well - and who allegedly landed one conversion from his position at outside half but certainly wasn’t a new Phil Bennett or Barry John!
 
For The Vikings, new coach Gethin Bateman continued to show his good form on the pitch, as he has done since the early Viking days, with his teenage daughter Megan also deserving a mention as the only female on view.
 

Skipper Luca leads by example

 
Luca had been elected captain for the day and certainly led by example, as did Dafydd Cole, who was his usual effervescent self and not only scored a good try but was the popular choice as post-match Man of the Match – well done Daf!
 
Other Vikings to catch the eye were Ben Couceiro, Paul Clayton, John-Joe McDonagh, Graham and Jack Elliott, Dave Roberts and Kyron Owens - although the whole squad were stars in their own right for playing against such an experienced team.
 
Both teams deserve every credit and there is no doubt a return match will be in the pipeline after such a great afternoon here at The Moors
 
Fishguard & Goodwick:  Carl Williams; Dan Harries; Ben Jones; Ed Rathbone; Alun George;
Graham Williams; Ifan Evans; Randall Williams; Ritchie Hunter; Mark James; Mark George; Gez Mathias; Ioan Jones; Romeo Colella (Capt); Sam Kurtz; Gerwyn Davies; Ross Griffiths; Matthew George.
 
Pembrokeshire Vikings: Kyron Owens; John Joe McDonagh; Andrew Morrillo (Vice-Capt); Luca Morrillo (Capt); Ben Couciero; James Tyler; Graham Elliott; Gethin Bateman; Shaun Treadwell; Jack Elliott; Lucas Lewis; Joe Lewis; Paul Clayton; Josh Price; Dave Roberts; Ross Price; Dafydd Cowl; Megan Bateman; Logan James.