Pembrokeshire County U19’s 25  - Ceredigion County U 19’s 0

 
Pembrokeshire County’s first game of the season in the Wynne Lloyd Cup against neighbours Ceredigion ended with a was a very impressive home win at Pembroke RFC.
Previously Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion have been combined as Pembrokeshire & District Youth but this season they are testing the water to see if they can compete as a “stand alone” team and the performance of both teams showed that there is a considerable amount of talent at Under 19’s in the district as a whole.
 
The kick- off was delayed due to snow in the north of the county but by the time both teams were ready to roll conditions were perfect as Pembrokeshire took the game to the visitors from the first minute with captain and number 8 Sam Dolling leading the way with several big carries and he was well supported by Gethin Thomas (Haverfordwest), Ifan Phillips and Michael Ryan (both Crymych).
 
The home side’s line out was in outstanding form with Narberth’s Morgan Lewis dominating possession and as a result of one of these drives Pembrokeshire were awarded a penalty and Neyland’s Toby Heyman slotted the first points of the match.
 
From the restart Thomas again fed Dolling and, after a number of phases that included all the forwards, the ball found its way to Phillips, who popped up in the centre berth and with a very clever cut-out pass found fellow Crymych player and flying wing Dylan Thomas to score out wide.

Ceredigion started to get some possession but their early attacking efforts were thwarted by the home centres Aaron James (Neyland) and Tomos Phillips (Crymych) who were a formidable pairing and never looked like letting any breaks down the midfield.

More Pembrokeshire pressure ended up with a five-metre scrum and from the set piece Dolling picked up and fed Neyland scrum half Chris Morgan, who had the simple task of drawing the winger and putting Tenby’s Jordan Asparassa in at the corner for a classic try.
 
The pack platform was giving Crymych flanker Guto Davies the opportunity to show how good a player he really is and again after good work from Asparassa it was Davies who was in the right place at the right time to score the third try which Hayman converted to make the half time score 20 – 0 in the county’s favour.

Ceredigion started much better in the second half and put the home team under a great deal of pressure for long periods but again the Pembs team had the answer to all questions that were asked from them.

After another Davies turn over the ball was moved wide and Thomas, with still a lot of work to do, duly delivered and finished the scoring for the night. Ceredigion played their part in this match and they will give their next opponents a run for their money as they are a very well-drilled  and physical side.
 
This squad was flying the flag for Pembrokeshire and there were several performances from players who showed they would not be out of place at a higher level and a repeat performance in their next match against East Carmarthenshire away on Monday 16^th February may get them some higher recognition.

“We have had a limited time with this squad but as a coaching team we were delighted with the standard of the performance and everyone who saw this game can see the talent that Pembrokeshire County produces every year”, said Randal Evans (Pembs U19 coach).

“A big thank must go to all the clubs that made the players available and Pembroke RFC for the use of their ground and club house."
 
“A big thank you also goes to Dick and Tim Parry of Parry’s Service Station, Robeston Wathen, for their continued support of youth rugby in Pembrokeshire.”