In the blue riband event of the day it was an East v West affair as Rumney Youth faced Pontarddulais Youth in the final of the Youth Cup.
Pontarddulais found their feet the quicker of the two teams and took an early three point lead from a penalty kicked by outside half Brandon Wood.
Rumney immediately struck back with a try from scrum half Morgan Williams which was converted by No10 Jake Hillman. The Cardiff based team’s lead was short lived however as Pontarddulais reclaimed the lead with two further penalties from the assured boot of Wood.
He extended the Pontarddulais lead by a further three points with a very well taken drop goal. The half concluded shortly after Rumney had scored a penalty from the reliable boot of Hillman. When referee Rhidian Crompton blew for half time, Pontarddulais held a slender advantage with a 12-10 lead.
The second period was a tense contest as the two teams struggled to gain ascendancy. It took 29 minutes before a score came in this spell and it then proved to be decisive. From a dominant Penarth scrum in the Pontarddulais 22 metre area, outstanding flanker Lewis Hill powered over the west team’s goal line. Hillman converted that try and soon after kicked another penalty to seal the victory for Rumney Youth by 18-12.
Hugo Souto, Rumney’s purposeful captain, lifted the Youth Cup presented to him by the WRU’s Head of Participation Ryan Jones.
It was another East v West encounter in the Plate Final when Penarth Youth played Burry Port Youth.
The West Carmarthenshire team started well when full back Steffan Powell kicked a penalty after a couple of minutes play. When Penarth found their feet they scored a try on the right wing by Rhys Evans after an excellent passing movement.
Powell restored the Burry Port lead with a very well struck penalty goal from some distance. For the rest of the half the teams cancelled each other out and Burry Port took their one point lead into the half time break.
Burry Port kept the ball in hand at the beginning of the second half and exerted pressure on the Penarth line as they elected to kick penalties to touch rather than kicking for goal.
Penarth withstood the pressure and as the half progressed became more confident in their attacking game. With the teams locked into a tight game it was Penarth who scored the vital try.
With support from his forwards, Gruff Shewring forced his way over the Burry Port line for the vital Penarth try which was converted by outside half Joe Williams to give Penarth a 12-6 victory against Burry Port.
In the first match of the day, Bridgend Athletic Youth II took on Treorchy Youth in the Bowl Final.
Treorchy were quick off the blocks and established a lead that they did not surrender. After a breath taking run, full back Liam Lloyd touched down and soon after second row Gareth Thomas drove over the Bridgend line following a five metre lineout. Both tries were expertly converted by outside half Ethan Dunning who extended the Rhondda team’s lead with a penalty after 17 minutes.
As the half went on Bridgend Athletic II gradually adjusted to the pace of the match and began to exert some pressure on Treorchy but they could not make any impact on the scoreboard and the half time whistle blew with Rhondda team holding on to their 17 point advantage.
At the start of the second half Bridgend Athletic II dominated possession. A series of powerful runs by outstanding No 8 Will Barraclough led to a try for the green and golds by second row Rhys Durlucia. The conversion by No 10 Matthew Hobby set the scoreboard to 17-7 in favour of Treorchy.
Further strong runs from Barraclough and centre Joe Patterson seemed to be swinging the match in Bridgend Athletic II’s favour but impressive forward power from Treorchy restored a two score lead when they were awarded a penalty try after Bridgend had collapsed a well-constructed rolling maul.
To their credit Bridgend Athletic fought back and prop Thomas Zielinski scored making the score 24-12 in favour of the Rhondda team wearing their famous black and white jerseys.
Treorchy flanker Cerith Lloyd had been prominent throughout and his industry about the field was rewarded with a penalty which was kicked to the corner. From the lineout that followed the rehearsed Treorchy driving maul saw powerful prop Frazer Hughes burst over the Bridgend line.
With the educated boot of Dunning again converting this try Treorchy had established a telling lead.
Bridgend Athletic II is a team made of players with great resolve and it was they who had the last say when Rhys Gamble scored a try converted by Hobby. Shortly afterwards referee Karim Cosslett blew the final whistle with Treorchy winning the WRU Youth Bowl by 31-19.
The appreciative and sun kissed crowd had seen three very competitive finals in Welsh Youth rugby’s annual showcase. Much credit must go to the coaches of the six teams that had prepared over 130 players to play with skill, passion and good discipline on this excellent advert for Youth rugby.
