Dewi George – one to look out for in junior rugby

                    

When Fishguard & Goodwick under 15s beat their counterparts from Neyland  in the Junior Finals’ Day at Pembroke it was generally agreed that it was one of the best finals seen for many a year, with fortunes ebbing and flowing before The Young Seagulls powered home in the final stages - and one of the key players was their outside half Dewi George, who was calmness personified and grabbed a quality try as part of his personal haul of 21 points.

 
Dewi has also played for the Pembrokeshire Schools under 16s team that reached the last eight of the Dewar Shield Bowl under the guidance of Aled Waters and Tom Meredith - and in his other main sport of football he captained the Goodwick United team that won the Pembrokeshire League and cup double at under 15 level, where he played in the centre of defence or at the heart of midfield.

 

Athletics and Golf are other sports

 

He also takes part in athletics for his school, Dewi is competing in the 100 metres in the county sports, this year held in Carmarthen, having previously participated in 400metres, high jump and hurdles, and having come third in the main sprint event at a previous attempt.

 
Dewi also plays the odd round of golf at Priskilly Golf Club on some weekends, when he has time, alongside his pals Harri Howells, Olly Sinnott, Iestyn Wilmott and Johnny Wyatt who are boys involved at Phoenix Park. Dewi doesn’t play regularly enough to have a handicap but reckons it would probably be around 32.







 

Family Matters . . .

 
His father Matthew also plays occasionally as a bit of a ‘hacker’ but Dewi says they don’t play together because Dad would be too easy to beat - and dad doesn’t disagree!
 
Matthew was a key player in the Fishguard & Goodwick team of yesteryear, along with his twin brother Mark, whilst Dewi’s brother Harri (12) also plays rugby and football, and sister Efa is a very talented gymnast!  Then there’s mum Sarah, who is charged with the responsibility of keeping them organised with their sport - and does a great job!
 
Dewi learned his rugby skills in the family garden as he and Matthew passed the ball around - and he was turning out for The Seagulls under 7s team when he was six, coached by Rhys Williams and hid dad, who were still there when they won at Crickmarren recently, along with a ‘new recruit’ in Sion Colella, who has added a new dimension to coaching sessions!





 

Winning well throughout junior days

 
The team has done well by winning the county finals at under 7s, 8s, 13s, 14s and now 15s, where he not only showed his ability to pouch points but do his job in defence, work well with new scrum half Charlie Miles in controlling tactics, and his attacking skills through his ability to beat opposing defenders and create space for others.
 
Fishguard & Goodwick have also travelled to Parc y Scarlets for the previous  two campaigns for the Scarlets’ West Wales Cup, but just missed out against strong teams from Carmarthen Quins and Llanelli Wanderers - and when we chatted to Dewi he and his team mates were off again to play Brynamman, who beat Llanelli in their competition, at the world-famous ground.






 

County representation in Dewar Shield

 
Dewi has also been a regular in the Pembrokeshire Schools’ team, playing at full back in the National Dewar Shield Bowl Competition, and they did really well to make the top 8, after qualifying from their group matches, where they played well against Neath, RGC (North Wales), Swansea Valley, and Merthyr.
 
They then took on Islwyn, from the Blackwood, Risca and Newbridge areas of Gwent, and were disappointed to lose, but at least had the small consolation of knowing they had missed out to the eventual winners.
 
Dewi scored two tries and during the season amassed 53 points from his place kicking out of a possible 60 to continue his good work with the boot, including one important penalty from the half-way line!





 

More success – in football at Phoenix Park

 
Going back to his football at Phoenix Park, where he is coached by Sion O’Sullivan, he led the tame from his central roles and readily admits that he is better at leading by example on the field than talking pre-match. His team-mates include other good all-round young sportsmen like Owain Williams, Olly Sinnott, Mikey Bolger (boxer), Harrison Battey, plus Kai Carr and Ethan Blockwell (both Neyland RFC).
 
They beat Monkton Swifts to the league title by five points, after beating them 3-2 and then drawing 2-2, and fended off a strong challenge by Tenby in a cracking cup final.





 

And finally . . .

 
So, what of the future for Dewi? At the moment he is a student at Ysgol Bro Gwaun but will eventually consider moving to somewhere like Llandovery or Hartpury Colleges so that he can continue his studies in sport - and would ultimately like to have a career in rugby, preferably as a player or also in other roles centred on the oval-ball game.
 
And there’s one thing for sure. Dewi George is a very talented young sportsman but with an old head on young shoulders, on and off the pitch - and PembrokeshireSport.co.uk is sure that we are going to hear a lot more about him in the future if he can maintain his current rate of progress!
 
Stop Press:
Fishguard & Goodwick took on Brynamman in the Scarlets Cup Final and after a terrific clash came away with a hard-fought 20-20 draw, which means that they share the West Wales Championship. It was typical of their commitment that they were a little disappointed not to come away as outright winners but certainly enjoyed the experience of playing at Parc y Scarlets – and Dewi landed two conversions and a penalty from near half-way to keep them in the hunt!