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Page 1 of 2 The Under 10s played the best rugby of their lives and came away with a fantastic victory at the Barker Butts tournament.
It was a ridiculously early start on a wet Sunday morning, where over 200 children and parents climbed on 3 buses for the long journey to Coventry. Even the birds were still asleep as we set off. The journey was long and dull – I’m pretty sure that someone moved Coventry a bit further away this year just to make the journey even longer. The spirits on the bus going up were high, and when we arrived at 10am we quickly set up base camp on the edge of our playing pitch. With the first game against Earlsdon just 40 minutes away, it was time to get the players warmed up. With a different set of rules to get their heads around, and new techniques to master like contesting the scrums and lineouts, the warm up was over in a flash. A couple of players had to pull out at the last minute due to them coming off second best with a scrap with a bedside table and some steps, so the squad was down to just 11 players. All the team hope that Callum and Lloyd get better soon and will be able to play in the Ponty tournament in 2 weeks. The day would be a massive test for each of the small squad as there wasn’t going to be much rotation of players when the legs got tired. Whereas in last few years, the other sides looked like they were fed on growth hormones since birth, the size difference wasn’t so big this year. Every game the boys played, they set off at a fantastic pace, securing any loose ball and winning every ruck they went into. The handling was first class, especially as the weather was pretty wet and the ball was slippery. Time and time again the ball was recycled. Adam Ash took to his new role of Scrum Half like a duck to water and was quickly in the thick of the rucks and mauls, looking for the ball. His service to Shaun, Rhys and Daniel was spot on. The forwards were on fire – they were really enjoying the pushing in the scrums, even though Jasper looked like bambi on ice a few times in the thick mud, as he was struggling for grip when they packed down. Ox really stood out on the day – he was everywhere, ripping the ball from mauls, dropping back to accept crash balls picking up and driving from the rucks. Whatever Ox was drinking, the coaches want a pint of it! Rhys also took to his new position well – he clearly has a screw loose as he just loves to crash the ball up the middle all day long. With the forwards quickly supporting him the ball was recycled once more and allowed Shaun and Lucas the space to work their magic. As well as crashing up the middle, Rhys also showed his passing skills when he frequently offloaded the ball to Jamie or Lucas. Jamie Chapman was the newest recruit on the day, and with only a few months of rugby behind him, he showed a really gutsy performance. He was always looking to take the ball at pace and always made ground. His tackling was also rock steady. Well done Jamie. Greggor put in his usual ferocious performance, and quickly changed to scrum half a few times when Adam was caught up in the ruck. His quick thinking made sure that the ball was always recycled well. There was new sense of team spirit in the camp – as by the third game the injuries were mounting up but it didn’t stop the players from putting themselves forward for selection. As the pitches were fairly small, this hampered Lucas’ running style, but he still made some exiting runs throughout the day. Game 1 Pontypridd v Earlsdon The game started off with Ponty opting to play up the slope and with Earlsdon taking the first free pass. Earlson run the ball and made some ground and retained the ball well for about two minutes when the realised that there was no way through the Ponty defence. Without the pace or skill to go around it the Pontypridd front row of Jasper, Greggor and Adam Ox drove them back off the scrums for Ponty to start to launch attack after attack. Rhys crashed up the middle time after time, the forwards won the ball and good interplay between Adam Ash, Shaun and Lucas saw our speeding winger run into the corner. Half time Ponty 5 Earlsdon 0 The second half started with Ponty playing down the slope and with the free pass. Adam Ash race passed defenders before good defence put him down, the ball was won and moved wide at every chance to Morgan and Lewis who were just held up. Morgan did go over but an Earlsdon player blocked the view of the ref when Morgan put the ball down and no try was awarded. Earlsdon counter attacked but at the next ruck Greggor drove over picked up and scored. Ponty now went for it and had two or three more chances but could not see off Earlsdon. A maul on the half way line saw Jasper break and spin and run into the corner for a great try. Final Score Pontypridd 15 Earlsdon 0 Tries – Lucas Hickman, Greggor Mackain, Jasper Powell Captain – Greggor Mackain Game 2 Pontypridd v Old Salts Ponty had learnt from previous mistakes in competition by sitting down and not taking note of what was going on but today was different. As Old Salts played Birmingham they were greeted by the entire under 10’s party watching eagerly, so come our game we knew who to watch out for. As planned Ponty let Old Salts have the first tap and as thought Old Salts played the ball to their giant, approx 5ft 5 and weighing 15st who run straight at the Ponty defence. To his shock he met a brick wall of black and white that knocked him backwards. To his credit he did get up and keep trying but he was no match for the Ponty team who worked as one to dislodge him time and time again. Quick ball was again provided by the Ponty pack and new centre Daniel Griffiths relished the open spaces and attacked the mid field. The ball was won and great runs by Lucas and Jamie almost got us tries. Prop Adam Ox crashed over from short distance to score. This was repeated again a minute later when Ox was assisted over the line by his teammates to the roar of the fans. Half Time Ponty 10 – Old Slats 0 The second half started with Old Salts looking battered and bruised and Ponty were in no mood to slow down. The game flowed for Ponty and real width was being put on the ball with Shaun Bowditch running the game from fly half. He was a real box of tricks that Old Slats could not cope with. With the game won Adam Ash got the ball and scorched down the touchline for a cracking try. By now Ponty were buzzing and each member of the team wanted to knock back Old Salts with Shaun, Lewis and Rhys coming up the middle looking for work. The game ended but Ponty started. There was an amazing atmosphere amougnst the players and for the first time in months you could sense the team sprit that we had before Christmas was back. The down point was that Morgan sustained a leg injury that forced him out of the tournament we hoped his strong running and try scoring ability would not be missed to much. Full Time Ponty 15 – Old Salts 0 Tries – Adam Morris 2, Adam Ashford Captain – Adam Morris Game 3 Ponty v Birmingham Bees Ponty played the bees last year and was well beat; this would be a measure of how far we had come. The game started at a ferocious pace with Ponty setting the tempo. The bees could not get passed up and the viet Pont were now dominating with Greggor, Ox and Jasper winning turn over ball and Daniel ruling the lineouts that’s all we had to do was keep cool. Adam Ox again raced in from 1 meter to touch down after good work by Rhys and Jamie both of who were now on fire. From the re start good tackling again forced turn over ball and Adam Ash raced away for another try. Ponty really took control and started moving the ball around, six and seven phases would pass and Ponty still had the ball. Jasper just followed everything and got to the breakdown first, Greggor got stuck in where it hurt and Ox made sure Adam was safe to get the ball away. If not Dan and Rhys done great jobs of cleaning out this enabled Shaun to get Lucas and Jamie going for the corners. Just before half time Shaun made a break, danced his way around defenders, threw a dummy and crossed the line. After what seamed an age everyone screamed put the ball down but he looked blankly. Daniel came in and took the ball and stood there and looked at the crowd saying “what?” After about 45 seconds the ref had enough and blew for half time. A classic moment for all the wrong reasons! Half Time Ponty 10- Bees 0 The second half started and Ponty for once looking tired and hoping to score early and close the game down. Form the free pass confusion saw the bees intercept and score a try. Ponty now look shaken but to their credit fronted up to the bees and never took a backwards step. Lewis Allen came on for the second half as fresh legs and boy did he use them. Covering tackles, crash balls, runs for the corner he did them all. There was no way the bees were going to score and as the final whistle blew we knew it was going to be a special day. Tries – Adam Morris, Adam Ashford Captain – Shaun Bowditch Game 4 Ponty v Barkers Butts Ponty won the toss and opted to play up the hill. Barkers were very similar to us in playing a running game. To do so you need to have the ball and the viet Pont were in no mood to let them have. At the first scrum they were driving back at a rates of knots and their scrum half threw a wild pass out that was intercepted by Shaun who went racing in. This gave Ponty confidence and we really started to play. Unfortunately Jasper got injured and we were now down to 9 for a 9-aside game. Each and every player got stuck in with Greggor winning turnovers for us and the backs making the ground. Just before half time good move saw Shaun release Rhys who gave a perfect pass to Lewis Allen who rounded the defence and went for the corner. A massive hit almost put him in touch but he remained cool and scored the try. As the whistle blew for half time we knew it was in the bag and with the cries of 7 minutes left Ponty had a drink and lined up for the second half. Barkers did try and go for broke but Ponty were to strong and turn over ball was again spun wide only for Jamie and Lucas to be caught inches from the line time and time again. Barkers tried to run out of defence but the Ox would not let them pass chasing their wings around the pitch before dumping them on the floor. With Greggor and Daniel bossing the rucks it made the end of the game easy and Shaun run in from 20 meters to cap a great day. The count down began, 45 second, 30 seconds last play and finally champions and well deserved. Full Time 15 – 0 Tries – Shaun Bowditch 2, Lewis Allen Captain – Rhys Grainger Coaches Comments At the fourth time of asking Ponty travelled to Barkers Butts and played the best rugby I have witnessed by this team. Full credit goes to all players but especially, Greggor Mackain who was awesome and every where, Adam Ashford for playing out of position and Lewis Allen who although did not start a game was a great squad member coming on in the 2nd half to run the other teams ragged. An extra special mention goes to Adam the Ox Morris who played his best rugby by far. He destroyed the scrums; won the lineouts tackled everything and played with a smile on his face. I’d like to thank the parents for their support and thank the players for their attitude. There was no running around in between games just players sitting down eating fruit, even if it was covered in sugar! This hopefully was the resurrection of this team having dipped in form recently. The skill levels, tacking and pure dogged determination this team showed was amazing and great to be part of. We won and we deserved it. We were the best team and we are proud of it. I’d like to thank all of the teams involved for a great day and many thanks to our great friends at Barkers Butts for inviting us. Once again well done to each and everyone of you I hope you enjoyed it and by the sound of all the singing on our journey home, via Birmingham, I think you did.
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