Nant Conwy 17 – 20 Colwyn Bay

Only able to field 11 players, Nant Conwy generously volunteered one of their players for the pink winger’s shirt. While the Mermaids may have lacked players, they didn’t lack support: countless parents and coaches turned out to watch.

The game got off to a great start for the Bay, a stolen ball from a ruck set up a try for centre Amy Bird – not that it was easy, she ran through at least 5 would-be tacklers on her way!

Then a lack of discipline at the breakdown allowed Nant to score. Very good handling skills and some ferocious tackling saw Colwyn Bay score twice in a short period of time; Amy in for the second in her brace of tries and Gwen Harries ran in between the posts.

Nant Conwy came out with a brand new starting 12, although the Mermaids had no substitutes so played on. Just after half-time a lull in the defensive work from the tired Mermaids allowed the opposition to score.

With much of the possession, Colwyn Bay didn’t really do much with it for the next 10 minutes, and then following several warnings from referee Ray Howells (in his last refereeing game in this hemisphere) a penalty try was awarded after a high tackle on Nant Conwy’s scrum half Sian Williams. This was converted, leaving Nant leading 17-15 with 2 minutes remaining.

Loud cheers from the Nant Conwy supporters made the Mermaids more determined to win! Following a dropped kick-off, the Bay had a scrum in the Nant Conwy 22. The ball travelled from one side of the pitch to the other, resulting in an effective rolling maul, which surprised all the coaches, as most of the girls have never been taught this!

Captain Kumari Tilakawardane broke away from this, and a good 1-2 with Paige Davies sent Kumari in for a score, though it took a while for the ref to see as they were buried under a pile of Nant players! The final whistle then blew, marking a very well-earned victory for the girls.

Colwyn Bay decided to give Sian Williams the Nant Conwy player of the match award, the Coaches’ award went to Amy Bird for some outstanding tackles and breaks (and 2 tries) and Nant Conwy’s player of the match went to Ellie Evans for excellent angles of running and support play. After a meal in the Red Lion, the girls went home happy, with the supporters’ cheers ringing in their ears!