Bishop Cup:

 

Blues pace pays off

 

Llangwm 7 - Haverfordwest 49

 

Haverfordwest retained the Bishop Cup at Pill Parks as they beat old rivals Llangwm by seven tries to one in front of a huge crowd of noisy, partisan supporters from both camps with the traditional flare-ups and throwing of handbags, as once again this tough tussle showed how much a victory means as local rugby derbies are very much alive and kicking, especially in the excellent prevailing weather conditions.
 
Yet it wasn’t all plain sailing for The Blues because in the first period it was The Wasps who had the better of the set-pieces before the visitors brought on the experience of Jamie Zambas and the physical presence of Teifion Owen to steady things down, with replacement backs Logun Young, Liam Hughes and especially Ifan Williams, home from Hartpury College, making a huge impact in the points gathering.
 
For Llangwm, there was plenty of graft from a front row of Ieuan Power, Phil Llewellyn and Callum Jenkins, with Morgan Walker,  Sam Rickwood and Morgan Rees making an impact with their ball-winning on the ground – but despite that, however, it was Haverfordwest who raced into a 14-point lead with well-worked tries by Liam Hughes and Isaac Kelso-Jones, both converted by Adam Phillips.
 
Llangwm were finally ably to reduce that deficit after good work by Luke Sandell, Jake Thomas and Dylan Philpott put dynamic scrum half George James  in for a try which was converted by half back partner Breig Matthews, leaving the interval score 14-7 to the visitors.



 

Three yellow cards  see players come and go

 
At the start of the second half, home hopes were dented as a series of three players were sin-binned in quick succession, and with a one-man numerical advantage, Blues No 8 Dylan Williamson’s support play saw him round off good work by Iori Curtis, Dan Berry, Jake Evans and Devin Wiliams – with Ifan Williams arriving at the No 10 berth following the departure of Adam Phillips, to add the conversion.
 
Ifan Williams and scrum half Isaac Kelso Jones spread play at every opportunity and as a result there were four more tries via wingers Scott Candler and  Charlie Kelly, Liam Hughes again and replacement Logun Young, all four converted by No 10 Williams to set the seal on a seemingly one-sided match – but although the honours clearly  go to The Blues there is no doubt that The Wasps deserved credit for never giving up the fight but simply finding the guile and pace of Haverfordwest’s ‘Young Guns’ just too much to handle!
 
The old and valued silverware was unable to be presented to Haverfordwest by Llangwm president Michael John in an absolutely packed Llangwm clubhouse because The Blues had forgotten to bring the silverware from its resting place in their headquarters - but it mattered little in the context of the fixture because it is the result that matters.




 

And finally . . .

 
Wasps’ team manager James Lewis was quick to sing the praises of his squad and singled out prop Callum Jenkins as their man of the match for his hard work in the scrummaging stakes, but also in his winning of possession on the ground, plus his ability to carry it forward.
 
Mikey Jones, a Haverfordwest coach, picked  out 18 year olds Ifan Williams and  Liam Hughes for their huge contributions, with Ifan just shading the ‘Man of the Match’ award that he received from Michael John, who told us it was one of the biggest crowds he had seen at Pill Parks for a long time, and Roy Maggi, the grandson of the late Roy James.
 

Llangwm:
Dylan Philpott: Joe Johns; Owen Jones; Yale Grice;  Aidan Rees: Breig Matthews; George James: Ieuan Power; Phil Llewellyn; Callum Jenkins:  Luke Sandell; Jake Thomas: Sam Rickwood; Morgan Walker; Morgan Rees. Replacements: Joe Newton; Kieran Sinclair; Ben Elrick; Ryan Banner; Ian Griffiths; Alfie Elrick; James Wade; Dan Richards.


Haverfordwest:
Jake Morgan: Charlie Kelly; Jack Codd; Iestyn Arnold; Scott Candler: Adam Phillips; Isaac Kelso-Jones; Andrew Edwards: Iori Curtis; Dan Berry: Jake Evans; Rhydian Walters: Devin Williams;  Ioan Hawkridge-Jones; Dylan Williamson. Replacements: Jamie Zambas; Teifion Owen; Alfie Kehoe; Harry Makepeace; Logun Young; Liam Hughes;  Ifan Williams; Leon Gainfort.
 
Referee: Joseph Kiff.



 
 
 

Traditional Boxing Day Game:

 

Scarlets beat Exiles in cracking contest

 

Pembroke 43  - Exiles 31

 

A large crowd at Crickmarren enjoyed the winter sunshine, good conditions underfoot and lots of running rugby before Pembroke eased home in their traditional Boxing Day clash and had coaches Gary Price and Simon Edwards delighted with the end product – a continuation of the tradition that has gone on for many years.
 
Another special feature of this year’s fixture was the fact that there were THREE fathers and sons involved to continue the reputation of Pembroke being very much a family club.  It even stretched beyond that because brothers Rhys and Owain Johns alongside  the latter’s son Rhys, but also there supporting  and looking as if he could still don the kit and continue his splendid time as a prop was father/grandfather Richard ‘Badger’ Johns!
 
Kodi Bratcher played for The Scarlets as a tearaway centre and his son Kodi, now with the first team at Tenby United, both played for The Exiles and both got on the scoresheet, with dad perhaps receiving the loudest cheer when he crossed the whitewash!
 
And last, but not least was Peter Davies, who played the bulk of his games at Milford Haven, but played at Crickmarren for a while, and was joined by his son Theo to round off a special feature of this excellent game.
 
For the record, Pembroke looked strong at the start but in the second period the Exiles had moved ahead until they were hauled back late on by Lloyd Davies’s team as they used their greater experience to good effect.
 
For the record, the Pembroke tries were scored by James Allen (2), Damon Stratford, Toby Hounsell, Bowyn Clarke (2) and  Lewis Davies, three of them converted by Lewis davies and Bowyn Clarke (2).
For The Exiles, tries came from Kodi Bratcher (2),  Kevin Bratcher, James Roberts and Luke Alderwick, who also slotted three conversions.
 
Pembroke:
Zak Evans: Tobi Pratt; Charlie Shiels; James Allen; Damo Stratford: Lewis Davies; Bowyn Clarke Huw Silcox: Theo Davies; Dan Davies; Lloyd Davies (Capt): Toby Hounsell; Rob Weston: Deryn Williams; Jack Oliver; Dai Rogers. Replacements: Jonny Palmer; Evan Phillips; William Edwards;  Rhys Johns.  Coach: Gary Price.
 
Exiles:
TJ Jones: Iwan Cone; Nicky James; Kodi Bratcher; Darcy Langston: Luke Alderwick; Ross McNally; Owain Johns; Matthew Jones; Tommy Oakley: James Roberts; Harry Dawe: Joe Poole; Danny James (Capt); Robin Badham. Replacements:  Jack Hagan; Chad Monk; Kevin Bratcher; Kodi Bratcher; Emyr Johns; Huw Ivemey; Matthew Price. Coach: Simon Edwards.
 
Referee: Martin Rudd.