With the clock ticking into the red in Llanelli the champions started their bid for glory from within their own 22. After 18 phases of play they finally worked a run to the line for replacement Harrison Burke to race over in the right corner to clinch a 12-10 victory and book their return ticket to Principality Stadium on 5 December.
A penalty from outside half Rhun Davies on the stroke of half-time gave Sir Gar a 3-0 interval lead before the visitors used their driving line-out to earn a penalty try in the second half. Sam Williams then burrowed over from close range for Sir Gar and Davies’ conversion made it 10-7.
That’s the way it stayed until the final moments when Llandovery skipper Gryff Watkins sent Burke flying over in the corner for the matchwinning score.
“Making the final two years in a row is unbelievable. When we played them earlier in the season they put a big score on us so it was nice to get some revenge,” said Watkins.
“It means we can go to the final at Principality Stadium with a bit of momentum in a bid to hold onto the title.”
Sir Gar head coach Euros Evans was full of praise for Llandovery in the way they refused to give me, while home skipper Osian Williams was gutted to see his side just fall short.
“The boys have worked really hard all season, and we did a lot of preparation coming into the game. We just came up short in the end,” said Williams.
The second semi-final was equally enthralling with Coleg y Cymoed upsetting the odds to become the first team to beat Ysgol Glantaf this season. In a game of 14 tries and 95 points, Cymoedd triumphed 49-46 having been 29-20 adrift at half-time.
Joe Fernandez scored twice for Glantaf
Their star man was outside half Ben Coomer, who helped himself to 19 points with five conversions and three penalties. He ended up with eight successful kicks from 10 attempts to go with his side’s six tries.
In an amazing game at Cardiff Arms Park, Glantaf scored the first of their eight tries within 44 seconds of the start. Wales U18 hooker Tom Howe scored it after throwing to Alfie Prygodzicz at a line out 25 metres out and then taking a return pass to bag the first of his brace.
Back row man Prygodzicz would also go on to score twice, as did wing Joe Fernandez. Wing Joe Piontecki also crossed twice for Cymoedd.
It was a thrill a minute as both sides piled on the points. Glantaf, last season’s beaten finalists, had beaten Cymoedd at the same venue in the opening game of the campaign, but found themselves under heavy assault in the third quarter.
Prop Dylan Barrett made the most of a terrible mix up on the Glantaf line in the first minute of the second half to score the first of four unanswered tries as Cymoedd turned the game on its head with 26 points in 15 minutes without reply.
Joe Piontecki scored twice for Cymoedd
Instead of trailing by nine points they found themselves leading 46-29 in the 50th minute thanks to a 65 metre breakaway try by wing Calen Edwards, his second of the match. With a 17-point deficit to make up Glantaf added three more tries before the death, but a final penalty from Coomer made victory secure for the former champions.
Whitchurch HS beat Gower College 41-21 despite suffering three yellow cards to guarantee their ticket to play in Conference A once again next season. They will now host Coleg Llandrillo in the battle for fifth place overall.
Fraser Britton scored 26 points for Whitchurch with two tries, five conversions and two penalties, while other tries came from front five forwards Jack Potter and Sonny McCabe, and wing Harry Turner.
Coleg Llandrillo triumphed 29-10 at Cardiff & Vale College to leave the former two-time champions facing a relegation play-off battle with Gower College in the final game of the campaign.
In Conference B, Gwent College ran in seven tries in a 51-29 home win over Ysgol Ystalyfera to make it eight wins in a row. That set-up an all-Gwent derby with Newport HS to decide who will go into Conference A next season after they beat Bridgend College 16-14.
