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Friday 19 May saw the under 12’s at the Sardis Road clubhouse for their annual presentation evening. This was the teams first independent awards night and it was a resounding success. The boys were awarded their players trophies along with certificates of achievement for having represented Pontypridd RFC, having shown a commitment in training and on the field of play.
Player of the Season: Michael Connor
Players Player of the Season: Dale Hughes
Most Improved Player:Jordan Jevons
For Photo's see: Pontykids Photos
There to present the awards on the night were Pontypridd’s very own Ben Rose, Gareth Jones, Adam Powell and Stuart Williams. Also present was the Konica Minolta Cup and the under 12’s players were all invited to have their photographs (Team Photo) taken with the cup alongside the senior players.
The evenings proceedings began with Team Manager Neil Hughes giving a brief run down of the season and introducing the senior Pontypridd players present before handing over to forwards coach Warren Rossiter.
Warren was joined by Adam Powell, along with Stuart Williams to present the forwards with their trophies and certificates. Proceedings were then handed over to his fellow coach Simon Rees who was accompanied by Ben Rose and Gareth Jones to presented the backs with their awards.
Then came the occasion of the special awards introduced again by Neil Hughes.
The awards were for Player of the Year as chosen by the coaches, Players Player of the Year as voted by the players themselves and Most Improved Player, again decided by the coaches.
The Player of the Year Award was presented by Pontypridd District Coach and Pontypridd flanker Ben Rose to Michael Connor.
The coaches had a difficult time this season deciding on the player of the year, with half a dozen players putting their hands up for selection. The final vote came down to who has had the biggest influence on the team this season and without doubt it has been the physical presence of the huge Michael Connor, whose attitude along with commitment has clearly reflected on the players around him.
The Most Improved Player award was presented by Gareth Jones to Jordan Jevons.
This award could have been awarded to the whole team, as every player has grown in maturity and skills beyond their years this season. But one player who has led by example throughout the season and who has also started more matches than any other player was Fritz . He may be the smallest member of the pack, but he is by far one of the most dynamic and aggressive (in an appropriate way).
A secret ballot took place on the night with each player giving the names of those they believe deserve the Players Player of the Year Award.
The Players Player of the Year Award was eventually presented by Adam Powell to Dale Hughes.
Dale has been one of the team’s most consistent players and has been the top try scorer for the last two years in a row. He has been unlucky with injuries this season, but his commitment to the team has seen him play in 17 matches at outside-half or centre despite his injuries. Dale ended last season scoring an important try in the final that saw Rhondda District win the DC Thomas Plate, so it was no surprise that he started the season with a hatrick at Ynysybwl and then finished the year with three tries at the Nelson Tournament. Dale is also one of the leading try scorers for Rhondda District’s, who he represents at under 12’s and under 13’s.
Adam Powell was presented with a crystal key-ring by Player of the Year Michael Connor for assisting with the coaching of the side during the season. Certificates of Appreciation were also awarded for Dafydd Gristock (Pontypridd under 16's flanker), along with Liam Brabon (Blues North/Wales Under 16’s centre) by their under 12’s counterparts Nathan Payne and Joshua Pritchard for also assisting with the coaching of the team over the last two seasons.
Simon Rees then called former coach Mark Griffiths to the front to receive from team captain Joel Raikes a trophy in appreciation of his years of service to the Mini and Junior Section at Pontypridd RFC. This was followed by a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ by the lads to Mark, as it was also his birthday on the day.
Leighton Jones (father of outstanding scrum-half Chris Jones) then took to the stage to thank the coaches Neil Hughes, Simon Rees and Warren Rossiter for their commitment during the season. The coaches were presented with Pontypridd RFC polo shirts with Mini and Junior Rugby Coach embroidered on them, they were presented by all four of the senior players.
A big thank you was afforded to Pontypridd under 16’s player Dafydd Gristock and Blues North under 16’s player Liam Brabon, who provided the music on the night, but who have also been actively assisting with the coaching of the under 12’s during the last two seasons. A similar thank you was afforded Adam Powell for having volunteered his time to assist with coaching the under 12’s during the season and for presenting the awards on the night.
A big thank must also go to Sam Rees for helping arrange the nights activities and for running the very successful raffle that included a rugby ball signed by the Cardiff Blues squad. Thank you to all the parents for providing food for the buffet and supporting the team during the season. And of course a big thank you to Stuart Williams, Gareth Jones and Ben Rose who were excellent ambassadors for the club on the night alongside their team mate Adam Powell.
All the parents and coaches would once again like to congratulate and thank the players for their tremendous effort and commitment throughout the year. The team would also like to thank Preece Removals of Pontypridd and Tonyrefail Upholstery (www.tonyrefailupholstery.co.uk) for sponsoring their jersey’s again this season.
Season Overview:
Pontypridd Under 12's have enjoyed a tough first season of the 15 man game on a full field.
They started well in September winning their first game against Ynysybwl 59 – 0, with Dale Hughes scoring the first hatrick of the season and outside half Joel Raikes kicking 7 excellent conversions. But then came a tough fixture against a strong Llantrisant side. This was a very aggressive game dominated by huge tackling from both sides that saw a big Llantrisant side sneak a tough fought victory against the smaller but well drilled Pontypridd team. There was an excellent effort by both sides, in a game where neither team deserved to lose. Every player in both teams deserved praise for the intensity and pace of the game that would have left many senior professional clubs in awe...
October provided some bad memories for Ponty, starting with a dire and scrappy game against Ystrad Rhondda that they capitulated 24-0 in their worst performance for three years? This was followed by an away match against their toughest opponents of the season Bridgend Athletic. With their heads still low after the Ystrad performance Ponty gave away some soft early tries before fighting back in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to challenge a team that the following week would also defeat a highly rated Rhondda District side.
A five week break due to severe weather saw Ponty take on near rivals Llantwit Fardre who had swelled their ranks with over a dozen district players. Despite the strength in depth that Llantwit possessed it was a tough encounter that neither side deserved to lose, but unfortunately it was Ponty who would lose through sheer bad luck, conceding a late soft try through a dropped ball behind their own line that gifted Llantwit a 12 – 7 win.
The following week the lads redeemed themselves with an impressively professional performance against Beddau that they won 62 – 0. In an excellent team performance with outstanding play by several players, it was outside half Dale Hughes who stole the show, scoring five fantastic tries. Buoyed by this performance the lads faced a strong Aberdare side that contained several Heart of Wales District players. In a tough encounter Ponty came away deserved winners by 41 – 5, led throughout by the driving play of the forwards, especially Michael Connor, along with the sharp passing of scrum-half Joel Raikes and the trickery of outside-half Dale Hughes.
Following the Christmas break Ponty faced their nemesis this season, Ystrad Rhondda. In a game of two half’s, Ponty conceded some early tries to go into the break losing 19 – 0. The second half saw a determined Ponty dominate all aspects of play, but a resilient Ystrad defence meant that Ponty still failed to overturn their bogey team and eventually lost 24 – 5. Their second half performance showed what they were capable of and the next three matches proved it.
The first of these was against a Llantrisant team that Ponty had lost to earlier in the season, but this was a different Ponty side… Despite conceding an early try, this proved to be a completely one sided contest that Pontypridd totally dominated and went on to win 49 - 7. In a complete team performance of Barbarian rugby, several players shone… Michael Connor again led from the front and scored a fantastic 40 yard try that was the pick of the match. Other scorers included Kubilay Han Aytac who scored a fantastic wingers try on his debut for the side and the impressive Josh Pritchard who scored a deserved hatrick.
This was followed by another awesome performance against Ynysybwl whom they defeated 65 – 7 in a game that saw significant changes at half-time without the young Ponty side letting up in attack. An away fixture at Nelson saw much the same from the lads, led by fullback Oliver Bailey who scored a fantastic hatrick and outside-half Joel Raikes who was successful with 7 conversions. This was a fantastic few weeks by this young Pontypridd side that in three games had scored 28 tries and conceded 3, in a total of 214 points to 19.
Unfortunately the bubble was soon burst with an away fixture to Abergavenny and the loss of Dale Hughes to a dislocated shoulder. The Abergavenny game proved a tough encounter, but it was a case of what could have been. Despite a good start by Abergavenny it was Pontypridd who were dominant for most of the match and could easily have won the game if a bit more luck and refereeing decisions had gone their way.
With their heads again down following what felt like an unfair defeat, Ponty now faced the Osprey Cup semi-finalists Bridgend Athletic. Despite playing well throughout the second half, Ponty failed to score a point and a poor first half resulted in their biggest loss of the season, or any other season come to that, of 60 -0. Not deterred, the boys then faced an improved Beddau. But the Pontypridd forwards proved dominant, thanks to the ever present Jordan Jevons and the busy Nathan Payne, who both lead by example throughout in an impressive win of 64 – 7 that completed the double over their near rivals.
The following match was a case of a bad day at the office for Pontypridd who were missing several players, had only 16 squad players to choose from and were short of two forwards. So it was no surprise that they eventually lost 34 – 10 away to a strong Pontyclun side. Pontypridd started horrendously conceding three early tries, with their own handling errors gifting Pontyclun the ball along with the tries on each occasion. From that point on Pontypridd were always fighting an uphill battle and despite their valiant efforts it proved too much of a deficit to make up.
The following match proved another away fixture to a strong Caerphilly side, again small errors along with key injuries hampered Pontypridd who with a bit more confidence could have won the game despite the strong wind and uneven surface, but they were unluckily defeated 15 - 5. But they soon made up for this loss with a fantastic display of attacking rugby against a strong Abercynon side. This was a game of flowing rugby by two sides that were determined to play rugby the way it is meant to be played. With excellent control by two impressive packs with some outstanding passing and movement amongst the backs. Pontypridd deservedly came away with superb 15 – 0 victory.
The final home game of the season saw Pontypridd host the touring Dutch under 13’s side the Dukes. The Dukes proved great ambassadors for Holland along with rugby as a whole, with their enthusiasm and attitude, but despite a valiant performance it wasn't enough to defeat this ever improving Pontypridd side that won the very competitive match 38 - 22.
The final weekend of the season saw Ponty compete in the Nelson tournament. In their first match Pontypridd defeated Tonyrefail15 – 0, Pontypridd totally dominated this early game, with Tonyrefail defending well to keep the score respectable. Ponty took their chances well, showing great enterprise and some excellent expansive play.
The second match saw them face the hosts Nelson who they defeated 20 – 0. Pontypridd dominated play and could have scored further tries had it not been for the excellent defensive work of this developing Nelson side. The third match was between the two best sides at the tournament, Pontypridd and Ystrad Mynach. In a tough and physical encounter key injuries during the match disrupted the Ponty defence and despite a valiant effort, Pontypridd were denied a late try that would have given them a deserved draw, final score 10 – 5 to Ystrad Mynach.
Pontypridd went into the final match against St Alban believing that second place was guaranteed even if they lost, this provided the opportunity to give everyone a fair run out. Despite losing 10 -5, this was an excellent performance that saw several fringe players put their hands up for future selection. The final score saw the board showing Ystrad Mynach as overall winners with Ponty as runners up, but a late complaint by St Albans saw their abandoned match against Tonyrefail earlier on the day classed as a draw that awarded them two points, thereby given them second place, one point in front of Ponty???
It’s been a very disruptive season with more games than ever before called off and for the most part there was little we could do or there was little choice, who can forget just how wet November was? The lads also lost two coaches whom they were very close to and of course all started secondary school for the first time. So a very disruptive year all round for these young lads who have all developed as exciting prospects for next season.
Overall it was a fifty-fifty season with 22 games played, 11 won and 11 lost. In those 22 games we scored 530 points and 89 tries. An average of 24 points per game or 4 tries. Top scorer was of course Joel with his awesome boot with 122 points and Dale as top try scorer with 20 tries in 17 matches. Congratulations to Steffan on deservingly winning most man of the match awards with 5 and to Liam who run him a close second with 4 awards.
It’s going to be a very busy season next year, as we will for the first time, be independent from the Mini Section. There are several tricky away fixtures that cumulate in the trip to Holland. So we’re going to need some commitment from the parents to help provide food after matches for several travelling team’s from further a field than in recent years and to help raise funds for the trip to Holland. So any suggestions or volunteers for either of the above would be greatly appreciated.
Training will cease after the presentation for several weeks, please could the lads return to training up Coed-y-lan fields on Saturday 1st July at 10.15am, we look forward to seeing them all there. There are plans afoot for trips to the beach, BBQ’s and other events over the summer. Next season promises to be a great year, with plenty of attractive fixtures. Now the lads have a whole season of the 15 man game behind them, they will start to gel more as a unit; so though there should be far tougher matches, they should still have a more successful season.
The Under 12's record for the Season:
Games Played: 22
Games Won: 11
Tries Scored: 89
Points Scored: 530
Player Statistics:
NAME MoM Tries Kicks Pts
Joel 3 9 38 122
Dale 3 20 4 108
Olly B. 2 11 55
Josh 2 10 50
Michael 2 7 35
Chris 1 5 25
Liam 4 4 20
Gareth 1 4 20
Nathan 2 3 15
Jordan 1 3 15
Geraint 3 15
Steffan 5 2 10
Garin 1 2 10
Mikey 1 1 5
Dan 1 1 5
Kublai 1 5
Alex L. 1 5
Oliver D. 1 5
Alex K. 1 5
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