It is only the third final in the Dewar Shield competition that the west Wales side has reached, and their reward is a big day out in the opening final in the WRU’s ‘Road to Principality 2024 programme’. The game is the first of three finals at Principality Stadium on Wednesday, 6 December (Kick-off 3pm)
MYNYDD MAWR & DINEFWR SCHOOLS 2023 DEWAR SHIELD RECORD
SF: M Mawr & Dinefwr 31-13 Pontypridd; Q-F: M Mawr & Dinefwr 41-21 Islwyn; Pool Matches: Beat – Carmarthen 45-8, Pembrokeshire 32-5, Llanelli 26-5, Ceredigion 17-10
The 2023 MMD squad
Seventy-four years ago they beat Neath, Llanelli and Aberavon on way to the final before running into a star-studded Cardiff team that was chasing a post-war hat-trick of titles. They boasted a future Wales captain at scrum half in Lloyd Williams, a wing who would turn into one of the all-time greats in rugby league in Billy Boston and a future British heavyweight boxing champion in Joe Erskine.
The 1949 final was played at The Gnoll, Neath, and ended in an 8-3 win for the holders, who had taken Pontypool’s unbeaten record in the semi-finals in a game that attracted a 10,000 crowd to the Arms Park. Mynydd Mawr went all the way to the smei-finals the next season, before going t=down to Aberavon.
Since then it has been slim pickings, despite the area spawning international players such as Des Jones, Peter Rees, Carwyn James, Handel Greville , D Ken Jones, Gareth Davies, Barry John and Jonathan Davies.
The Mynydd Mawr side that reached the Dewar Shield final in 1949
MYNYDD MAWR FINALISTS IN 1949
Arthur Bowen, Joey Davies, Malcolm Davies, Meirion Davies, Roy Davies, Ryan Davies, John Evans, Colin Israel, Adrian Jones, Howard Jones, Hywel Jones, Terry Lewis, Len Mathias, Alan Merchant, Eifion Richards, Ryan Roberts, Doug Roberts, Ray Thomas and Alun Stephens
That side held two reunions to mark reaching the final, in 1989 and 1999, and now the target for the ‘Class of 23’ is to come up with an even bigger reason to celebrate in the years ahead. It has been a case of ‘so far, so good’ this season with six wins out of six.
Warren Leech, the former Wales age-grade international and Scarlets player, heads up the MMD rugby academy, combining that with his job as a teacher at Maes y Dderwen Comprehensive School. A former Scarlets U20 and U18 assistant coach, and head coach at Newcastle Emlyn, he says this season’s success is all down to the hard work put in by his players.
“We only have four schools to pick from and while this area has always been a rich talent pool, the numbers work against us. We’ve tried to become more professional in our outlook and offering and we try to make the players feel special,” said Leech.
“We’ve been doing a lot of video analysis, working hard on core skills in training and turning all our games into ‘David v Goliath’ occasions. So far, the boys have risen magnificently to the challenges and we’ve got one more huge one to come against Bridgend.
“We’ve studied them and know all about the power of their pack. But I’ve told the boys it’s not about the opposition, it’s all about them concentrating on what they’ve done well all season, putting into practice what they’ve learned and make the most of a wonderful opportunity.
“We want to give Bridgend a test and we know we can do that if we turn up and play like we can.”
The amalgamated Mynydd Mawr and Dinefwr regions will be 20 years old next year and Leech would love to mark the anniversary with a title. That, however, is not the major goal of the programme he runs.
“We’re here as coaches and administrators to give the boys the chance to be the best they can be. We offer them the chance to step up and represent their area,” said Leech.
“Very few go on to become fully fledged international players, although we did have a certain Jac Morgan sitting on our replacements bench a few years ago. Math Jones played for us two seasons ago and he is now at Gordons School, in Surrey, linked to the Harlequins, and in the Wales U18 training squad.”
Bridgend are back in the final after a 16 year wait, and will be seeking a first title since 1990. Like Mynydd Mawr, they have managed to remain unbeaten this season and will come into the final on the back of a crushing 29-5 win over Cardiff in the semi-final.
BRIDGEND SCHOOLS 2023 DEWAR SHIELD RECORD
SF: Cardiff 5-29 Bridgend; Q-F: Rhymney Valley 9-16 Bridgend; Pool Matches: Beat – Swansea East 34-17, Neath 26-7, Swansea West 20-15, Aberavon 39-15, Swansea Valley 57-8
“We’re really excited to be in the final for the first time since 2007. We have not won this competition for almost 30 years and are confident that we have a good chance this year,” said Bridgend & District Schools secretary, Gregg Davies.
“We’ve had some great performances against both Swansea teams and were really happy with the way we played against Cardiff in the semi-final. We are almost at full strength and have a really strong bench, although will miss our centre Harry Winn who unfortunately had a nasty knee injury in the semi-final.
“I’ve been involved with some very good squads over the last 16 years and it’s exciting to finally reach a final. I’m proud of the hard work of the coaches and players that got us here.
“Win or lose, we’re going to enjoy the experience and I’m sure the players will give everything on our national stadium and have no regrets come the final whistle.”
The last Bridgend team to carry off the Dewar Shield was led by back row forward Owain Price and contained two future internationals in centre Gareth Jones and No 8 Nathan Thomas. They beat local rivals Maesteg Schools over two legs, winning 24-3 at home and 20-12 away.
There were two tries each for wings Nick Edwards and Nick Walsh in the second leg to seal the deal and win the title for the 10th time.
The last Bridgend side to win the Dewar Shield in 1990
BRIDGEND SCHOOLS WINNING TEAM IN 1990
Andrew Tucker; Nick Walsh, Gareth Jones, Paul Morgan, Nick Edwards; David Hearing, Kevin Mabley; Robert Davies, Anthony Padgett, Graham Thomas, Lee Manning, Steve Dalton, Mark Hopkins, Owain Price (capt), Nathan Thomas
Reps: Paul Richards, Mark Lewis, Dafydd Jones, Ian Collier, Matthew Pearce, John Reape
The other victories came in 1984, 1982, 1979, 1977, 1973, 1971, 1970, 1966 and 1934, while the 1936 title was claimed by Mid Glamorgan Schools.
The great Wales and British & Irish Lions centre Jack Matthews was in the 1934 side that lost 6-0 to Newport. They reached the final four times in the Sixties, losing in 1960 and 1964, even with future internationals JPR Williams and Wilson Lauder in their ranks, and 1967,
Their first win came in 1966, when they beat a Rhondda Schools side containing future Wales Grand Slammer and 1971 British & Irish Lions wing John Bevan. The Bridgend side was captained by D Dicks.
The first Bridgend team to win the Dewar Shield in 1966
Rhys David skippered the sides that won back-to-back titles in 1970 and 1971, and there was further success in 1973, 1977 and 1979. The 1973 side, led by Chris Dew, ended a run of 48 successive wins by Cardiff when they beat them 20-10 in the first leg of the final, before completing the job with a 16-3 home win.
That side had a powerful front row containing future Maesteg prop Alan Henson, father of Gavin, and Wales hooker Wayne Hall. Six years later it took an injury time from Kevin Mountjoy to overcome Llanelli.
The first leg had ended up as a 7-7 draw at Stradey Park and it was 0-0 with the seconds ticking away at the Brewery Field in the return. Then Mountjoy conjured up a moment of magic to score a late, late try to clinch the title 4-0.
There were two more wins to savour in the Eighties, with a win over Swansea Valley in 1982 and then Neath two years later. It took a late penalty and drop goal from future Wales outside half Adrian Davies to win it in the second leg in 1984.
Neath won the first leg 15-11 before going down 23-14 in the end at the Brewery Field to lose 34-29 on aggregate. Then came the win in 1990 and a frustrating spell since with no wins in three more finals in 1999, 2004 and 2007 – and a loss to Merthyr in 2005 in the Plate Final.
