First up will be girls in a repeat of their Welsh Schools U18 final showdown of last season with Coleg Gwent. Then it will be the turn of the boys to take centre stage with an all-schools shoot-out for the WRU’s WSC Rugby U18 title.
Their clash with Ysgol Glantaf will be the first time in the history of the elite tournament that two schools have reached the final. Whoever comes out on top will become the first school to lift the trophy after dominance in the past from Cardiff & Vale College (2), Coleg Gwent (2), Coleg Sir Gar (4) and Coleg Y Cymoedd (4).
WSC RUGBY CUP FINALS
2010/11: Coleg Sir Gar 20 – 19 Coleg Gwent
2011/12: Coleg Gwent 17 – 16 Coleg Sir Gar
2012/13: Coleg Sir Gar 18 – 16 Coleg Morgannwg
2013/14: Coleg Sir Gar 25 – 22 Coleg Y Cymoedd (formerly Morgannwg)
2014/15: Coleg Y Cymoedd 13 – 3 Coleg Sir Gar
2015/16: Coleg Y Cymoedd 44 – 24 Coleg Sir Gar
2016/17: Coleg Sir Gar 27 – 23 Coleg Y Cymoedd
2017/18: Coleg Y Cymoedd 29 – 10 Coleg Sir Gar
2018/19: Coleg Y Cymoedd 28 – 19 Coleg Sir Gar
2019/20: Coleg Gwent 11 – 8 Coleg Y Cymoedd
2020/21: No competition
2021/22: Cardiff & Vale College 23 – 17 Llandovery College
2022/23: Cardiff & Vale College 35 – 30 Coleg Sir Gar
Last year Llandovery beat Coleg Gwent in the Bowl Final, but there has simply been no stopping them this season. They won all seven games in Conference A and then saw off defending champions Cardiff & Vale College in the semi-finals.
“It’s going to be a great day out for the school with two teams in finals, but the most important thing is it turns into a great experience for the players in both teams. We’ve also got players in the Mynydd Mawr & Dinefwr U16 Dewar Shield final,” said Llandovery College director of rugby, Nathan Thomas.
“Our whole aim within the rugby programme is to get players to push on to the regional set-ups and to be as good as they can be. All the players have worked so hard this season, and they deserve their big day out.
“Having two schools in the final will be a break with tradition and we have bags of respect for Glantaf. They are so dangerous with the bran off rugby they play.
“We like to move the ball when we can, but the difficulty in trying to go toe to toe with them in a running game is that you can come unstuck. That said, they beat Sir Gar thanks to three driving line-out tries in the semi-final, so they also have some firepower up front.”
It will be Llandovery’s second final after they played at the Principality Stadium in 2021 against CAVC. Having hit the front, they were eventually overhauled before going down to a 23-17 defeat.
History shows that the finals are close run affairs. Only once, in 2015 when Sir Gar beat Cymoedd 44-24, has there been a runaway success.
Given it was 23-21 to Llandovery when the two teams last met in Conference A, another tight tussle is on the cards. And Thomas is hoping his side can maintain their unbeaten record in the tournament this season to ensure head coach Sam Williams gets the perfect send-off before he returns to Cymoedd for next season.
Also backing flanker Joe Denman’s men to take the title for the first time is one of Llandovery’s greatest rugby alumni, George North. He won the first of his 118 Welsh caps to date in the same year he left school, scoring two tries against the Springboks as an 18-year-old.
George North in his Llandovery College strip
He has just returned from his fourth World Cup, only the fifth Welsh player to achieve that landmark, and is the first to pay tribute to the guidance he received at Llandovery College in his formative years.
“My memories of Llandovery are very fond. I remember how beautiful the grounds were and the fact that the whole college was built around Tredegar – the first team pitch,” said North.
“I remember the passion and the pride that the college had in its rugby team. When you played for the 1st XV in the big local derby game against Christ College, Brecon, you earned your coveted red socks, which was great.
“I loved the fact the whole school came out to watch every home game, and I loved my time at Llandovery’ We formed a real brotherhood when boarding there. The friendships that I made at the college are still as strong now.
“I want to wish Llandovery College all the very best – go well, enjoy it, enjoy the occasion and smash it.”
LLANDOVERY COLLEGE ROAD TO THE FINAL
22 November
Semi Final: Llandovery College 29-11 Cardiff & Vale College15 November
Llandovery College 24-21 Coleg Sir Gâr8 November
Cardiff & Vale College 33-36 Llandovery College25 October
Llandovery College 38-17 Whitchurch HS18 October
Coleg Llandrillo 15-30 Llandovery College11 October
Coleg Gwent 0-49 Llandovery College4 October
Llandovery College 23-21 Ysgol Glantaf27 September
Coleg y Cymoedd 16-37 Llandovery College
