Centre Alex Evans was the star for Porthcawl, landing three out of four of his kicks at goal, scoring a try and assisting with another as they put their west Wales opponents under incessant pressure under the Principality Stadium roof.
Aman’s side contained Carter Williams, son of Wales’ record try scorer Shane, at full back, but two tries from their captain Griff Rees weren’t enough to contain their expansive opponents.
Porthcawl edged a nervy first half, with all nine of their points coming from the trusty boot of Evans on a rain-soaked pitch. They enjoyed more possession but were frustrated by a rigid Aman defence, who were well-drilled and stopped every attack thrown at them.
Aman’s only score of the first half came from Rees, who appeared out the back of a driving maul to cross the whitewash and keep his side in the game.
Evans was involved in Porthcawl’s first try, his quick hands setting up Nate Conniff-Jenkins to cross in the corner and extend his side’s lead. The game was made comfortable by Evans once again, taking it upon himself to drive through the Aman defensive line and score a brilliant try.
He added the conversion to take his personal points tally to 16 for the match. Aman added a second try through Rees, but it was a mere consolation score in the end as Porthcawl held on to comfortably take the title.
WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY . . . Porthcawl CS head coach Gregg Davies
“The boys felt they should win it. They had to work hard to get there though. It was very nervy, but they have been good enough all season and they deserved that. I’m so proud of them.
“Alex Evans is a talented boy. He’s playing a year above in district rugby already, he’s a great footballer and an all-round talent. He’s got great vision and the big occasions like this really suit him and his game.”
WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY . . . Ysgol Dyffryn Aman head coach Tom Hancock
“It’s frustrating because the boys will feel that they haven’t performed to the best of their ability. There’ll be natural disappointment there but credit to Porthcawl, they were the better team. Their ability and their accuracy were a little bit higher than ours.
“It’s not about winning all the time. The boys will have no regrets and they will have a lifetime memory playing a game here, whether they know it just yet or not.”
THE LINE-UPS
Year 9 U16 National Cup Final
Ysgol Dyffryn Aman: Carter Williams; Kyle Swistun, William Garland-Griffiths, James Bentley, Oliver James; Tomos Bull, Iwan Bull; Kelston Fairhurst, Griff Rees (captain), Dai Thomas, Llyr Thomas, Kalvin Antonito, Ellis Griffiths, Osian Thomas, Cai Morris
Reps: Jac McEachran, Oliver Lyons, Josh Doorbar, Giovanni Coppola, Josh Ladd-Davies, Leon Woodley, Alfie McLeneghan, Rhys Jones, Hari Jones, Joshua Davies, Daniel Loynton, Flynn Ahearne
Coaches: Dyfrig Dafis, Tom Hancock, Talfan Davies
Porthcawl CS: Josh Sealey; Regan Kimpton, Aston Bevington, Alex Evans, Nate Conniff-Jenkins; Matthew Clatworthy, Rhys Evans; Lewis Hollenbach, Zak Sheriff, Joe Hall, Ethan Stone, Reuben Evans, Adam Willis, Corey C-McGinnley, Jack Davies
Reps: Tomos Dafydd Vaughan-Jones, Felix Wren-Owens, Louis Towell, Corin Walters, Euan Jenkins, Jude Brace, Matty Timms, Jack Parrott, Lucas Mundy
Coaches: Gregg Davies, Andrew Stradling
