On a cold and wet Friday night 17 February 2006 at a muddy Penygraig RFC, Rhondda gave a display of possession rugby at its best.
Rhondda started brightly, putting The Heart of Wales on the back-foot right from kick off. The Rhondda pack led by their abrasive captain James ‘Hog’ Parry (Treorchy RFC) and the impressive Ethan Lewis (Treorchy RFC) make constant inroads into the HoW defence. Despite resilient tackling by HoW, Rhondda fly half Bobi Sheppard (Ystrad Rhondda RFC) made an explosive break straight through the midfield to set up the awesome Garyn Daniels (YGC Y Cymer) for the first try of the match.
From the restart Rhondda continued the onslaught and it wasn’t long before their lightning quick wing Callum ‘Sid’ Roberts ((YGC Y Cymmer) got on the score-sheet thanks to some fine work by the forwards and sharp passing by the backs. It was only resilient defending by HoW that kept the score line down, with Rhondda dominating territory and possession throughout the rest of the half. But despite their best efforts the HoW defence couldn’t prevent Rhondda scoring another try before the break. Again the forwards were dominant and shoved the HoW over their own try line for Connor Mitchinson (YGC Y Cymmer) to pick up and drive over for a deserved try and a half time lead of 15 – 0 to Rhondda.
The second half began with early pressure by the Rhondda leading to a quick try by their busy captain James Parry. With HoW barely touching the ball thanks to the dominance of the Rhondda pack, the game was over as a contest by this point and it wasn’t long before Rhondda’s dominance led to another try by the ever present Meurig Davies (Ystrad Rhondda RFC) that was successfully converted by fly-half Bobi Sheppard. Despite the one way traffic, HoW never gave up and their persistent tackling right up to the final whistle was an inspiration and deserves to be commended. But no amount of tackling to stop the Rhondda onslaught, with their support play, particularly amongst the forwards as sharp as you will ever see at this age.
With several key changes towards the end of the match, Rhondda’s attack remained consistent and their wonderful ball winning flanker Dewi Walding (Treorchy RFC) scored a deserving try after all his hard work that was again converted by Bobi Sheppard. The changes did affect Rhondda’s play for a short period and allowed HoW to gain some possession and put the Rhondda defence under pressure. But Rhondda held firm, with HoW barely making their way to the Rhondda twenty-two before Rhondda cleared their lines and forced HoW back into their own half. With the game drawing to a close, Rhondda forward Ethan Lewis went over for the last try of the match that was converted by Bobi Sheppard for a final score of 41 – 0 to Rhondda.
Outstanding throughout the game were Captain James Parry, wing Callum Roberts, centre Callum ‘Bonesy’ Phillips (YGC Y Cymmer), Jack Foulkes (Wattstown RFC), scrum half Sam Jones (Ystrad Rhondda RFC), Garyn Daniels, Connor Mitchinson, Meurig Davies, Pheon Radford (Ystrad Rhondda RFC) and Dewi Walding.
Try scorers for Rhondda: Garyn Daniels, Callum Roberts, Connor Mitchinson, James Parry, Meurig Davies, Dewi Walding and Ethan Lewis. Bobi Sheppard kicked three conversions.
Rhondda Squad:
1. Garyn Daniels - YGC Y Cymer, 2. Ethan Lewis - Treorchy Comp. / Treorchy RFC, 3. James Parry (c) - Treorchy Comp. / Treorchy RFC, 4. Connor Mitchinson - YGC Y Cymer, 5. Jack Dunning - Treorchy Comp. / Treorchy RFC, 6. Pheon Radford - YGC Y Cymer / Ystrad Rhondda RFC, 7. Dewi Walding - Treorchy Comp. / Treorchy RFC, 8. Meurig Davies - YGC Y Cymer / Ystrad Rhondda RFC, 9. Sam Jones - YGC Y Cymer / Ystrad Rhondda RFC, 10. Bobi Sheppard - YGC Y Cymer / Ystrad Rhondda RFC, 14. Dale Hughes - Porth County / Pontypridd RFC, 12. Jack Foulkes - Porth County / Porth Harlequins RFC, 13. Anthony Harris - Tonyrefail Comp. / Tonyrefail RFC, 11. Callum Roberts - YGC Y Cymer, 15. Luke Rees - YGC Y Cymer / Treorchy RFC, 16. Liam Rees - Porth County / Porth Harlequins RFC, 17. Rhys Johnson - YGC Y Cymer / Porth Harlequins RFC, 18. James Winter - Tonypandy Comp., 19. Callum Phillips - YGC Y Cymer, 20. Daniel Morris - YGC Y Cymer, 21. Bradley Watkins - YGC Y Cymer.
Pontypridd RFC Outside-Half and Rhondda District player Dale Hughes did not play and will not be available for 4-6 weeks after dislocating his shoulder in training.
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