Colwyn Bay U18 Mermaids’ first game of the season didn’t get off to the best of starts when the bus had difficulty in leaving the club’s driveway; all passengers had to exit the vehicle to watch the careful manoeuvring of the driver to stop the steps from scraping the floor. Once that was sorted, the team travelled to Sandbach with some mixed emotions – with a number of new players in tow there were plenty of nerves coupled with the usual excitement of a match against one of the teams from over the border.
Once at the club the first XV was decided for the first quarter of 15 minutes. Scrum-half-cum-flanker Abi Beards was the first captain of the day. Amelia Stubbs led the team in the customary war cry of ‘oggy oggy oggy!’ to put the fear into Sandbach. To begin with, the referee decided to play uncontested scrums to ease the new players into the game, however this didn’t stop Beards from leading from the front and applying unrelenting pressure on the opposing scrum-half Jordan Morris.
The first ten minutes saw a lot of dropped balls, and a few scrappy mistakes before the game got into full flow. One of the first Bay players to get into the swing of things was undoubtedly Iona Evans, whose inspirational slamming tackles and clearing kicks paved the way for the Mermaids’ impressive display.
Despite sustained pressure and good attacking rugby from the away side, Sandbach managed to kick through to Colwyn Bay’s 22, where only body-on-the-line defensive work from the defending team saved a try. Nevertheless, Bay fought back determinedly and through some strong rucking from the likes of Cara Hope, Chloe Dymond and Hayley Ellis, the ball soon found its way to winger Elin Royle’s hands, who sprinted clear past the Sandbach players to cross the try-line, even going so far as to continue to run under the posts with a would-be defender hanging onto her leg.
After the opening try, Colwyn Bay began to play more expansive, attractive rugby, helped hugely by the performance of the forwards at the set-pieces – Emma Beaumont consistently stealing opposition line-out was complemented by Ellis’ hooking of the ball at scrums and Rozena Edwards’ ever-improving throwing in.
The second quarter began with Charlotte Pirie captaining from full-back. With newfound confidence, Bay began to play the way they do best; aggressive defence and solid, quick attacking ball. Flanker Dymond put in some thunderous tackles to halt many Sandbach moves, while the introduction of contested scrums only helped the Bay’s cause, with the entire pack putting in an impressive effort.
Many more attacking opportunities were launched from this platform – Ellie Jones was unlucky not to score after crashing through two defenders in the opposition 22. This attack did, however lead to a strong drive in the corner, with Royle piling over for her second try of the half. Hope was handed another difficult conversion from the touchline which just drifted right of the uprights. Pirie led by example, instigating many potent attacking moves, and sustaining the solid defence line that effectively won Colwyn Bay the game, despite occasional indiscipline which cost too many penalties.
The majority of play saw Sandbach pinned back in their own half, but when they did manage to break through Bay fly-half Alaw Hughes was a revelation in defence, making last-ditch cover tackles to regain territory for the Welsh side.
The forwards continued the hard-work at the breakdown, winning quick ball from the rucks, which gave the backs a great advantage – fantastic communication between the backs saw a loop between Ellie Rawicki and Evans almost result in more points. Despite this, the lack of support from some Bay breaks saw chances go begging.
No 8 Kumari Tilakawardane captained the third quarter, which began with Pirie sustaining a head injury and leaving the field. The competitive scrummaging allowed the Bay to gain momentum and territorial advantage, and with Jones taking over at 9, Beards linked up with the captain for back-row moves edging the Mermaids closer to the try-line. However no advantage could be gained and some scrappy play resulted in Sandbach working their way down the field, where they were camped out on the Bay 5m line, held back by heroic defence, especially from Hope and Royle. However, a penalty was awarded to the home side on the 5m line, and a quick tap could not be stopped, resulting in Sandbach’s first try from Amy Johnson. This only made Colwyn Bay more determined, and after the kick-off was chased down a strong maul led by Hughes and Tilakawardane drove ten metres, before the referee called the play back and awarded a scrum to the Bay, which halted the momentum of this move.
The next few phases saw Sandbach edge forwards, but a spilled ball was pounced upon for the lightning-quick Royle to score an opportunistic try. After this the advantage was firmly with the away team, Hope impressively stealing the ball from Sandbach players and launching another attack.
The final quarter saw Pirie return to the field and Hughes captain, and soon after become the beneficiary of Loz McGee’s offload to score in the corner. Sandbach had one more charge for the Colwyn Bay line, with the away team being saved by a strong clearance kick from Pirie.
No sooner had Pirie returned to the field than Bay were forced to play with only 14 players on the field after McGee retired from the pitch injured. However sharp reflex tackles from Beaumont and quick attacking play from the likes of Jones and Royle saw no overlaps being exploited.
As the game entered the final stages, Sandbach scored an impressive try, which started from their 22 and was finished off with brilliant support play by Hannah Johnson.
Determined not to let the English team have the final say, the Bay launched one last spirited charge on the try-line from the final restart. Continued surges forwards from all the Bay players in turn resulted in a penalty for Sandbach’s hands in a ruck. Stubbs made a powerful charge for the line, which soon resulted in a heated confrontation, as a Sandbach player was sent off for eye-gouging. Sandbach stole the ball illegally from the resulting ruck and threw it out, after which the referee decided to end the game.
Although this was not an ending either side enjoyed, the game was hard-fought and a highly entertaining one for spectators. It was also an ideal opportunity for Colwyn Bay players to warm up for the upcoming Gogledd Cymru matches against the four other regions. Sandbach chose Hope as the player-of-the-match, while the Colwyn Bay coaches Anna Parkin, Tom Rogers and Louis Tilakawardane thought the efforts of Dymond and Evans deserved special mention.
Many thanks to the Gogledd Cymru players from other clubs who strengthened the Colwyn Bay side to enable a competitive 15 a side game: Alaw Hughes (Caernarfon), Iona Evans (Nant Conwy), Ellie Jones (Oswestry).
By Kumari Tilakawardane
Once at the club the first XV was decided for the first quarter of 15 minutes. Scrum-half-cum-flanker Abi Beards was the first captain of the day. Amelia Stubbs led the team in the customary war cry of ‘oggy oggy oggy!’ to put the fear into Sandbach. To begin with, the referee decided to play uncontested scrums to ease the new players into the game, however this didn’t stop Beards from leading from the front and applying unrelenting pressure on the opposing scrum-half Jordan Morris.
The first ten minutes saw a lot of dropped balls, and a few scrappy mistakes before the game got into full flow. One of the first Bay players to get into the swing of things was undoubtedly Iona Evans, whose inspirational slamming tackles and clearing kicks paved the way for the Mermaids’ impressive display.
Despite sustained pressure and good attacking rugby from the away side, Sandbach managed to kick through to Colwyn Bay’s 22, where only body-on-the-line defensive work from the defending team saved a try. Nevertheless, Bay fought back determinedly and through some strong rucking from the likes of Cara Hope, Chloe Dymond and Hayley Ellis, the ball soon found its way to winger Elin Royle’s hands, who sprinted clear past the Sandbach players to cross the try-line, even going so far as to continue to run under the posts with a would-be defender hanging onto her leg.
After the opening try, Colwyn Bay began to play more expansive, attractive rugby, helped hugely by the performance of the forwards at the set-pieces – Emma Beaumont consistently stealing opposition line-out was complemented by Ellis’ hooking of the ball at scrums and Rozena Edwards’ ever-improving throwing in.The second quarter began with Charlotte Pirie captaining from full-back. With newfound confidence, Bay began to play the way they do best; aggressive defence and solid, quick attacking ball. Flanker Dymond put in some thunderous tackles to halt many Sandbach moves, while the introduction of contested scrums only helped the Bay’s cause, with the entire pack putting in an impressive effort.
Many more attacking opportunities were launched from this platform – Ellie Jones was unlucky not to score after crashing through two defenders in the opposition 22. This attack did, however lead to a strong drive in the corner, with Royle piling over for her second try of the half. Hope was handed another difficult conversion from the touchline which just drifted right of the uprights. Pirie led by example, instigating many potent attacking moves, and sustaining the solid defence line that effectively won Colwyn Bay the game, despite occasional indiscipline which cost too many penalties.
The majority of play saw Sandbach pinned back in their own half, but when they did manage to break through Bay fly-half Alaw Hughes was a revelation in defence, making last-ditch cover tackles to regain territory for the Welsh side.
The forwards continued the hard-work at the breakdown, winning quick ball from the rucks, which gave the backs a great advantage – fantastic communication between the backs saw a loop between Ellie Rawicki and Evans almost result in more points. Despite this, the lack of support from some Bay breaks saw chances go begging.
No 8 Kumari Tilakawardane captained the third quarter, which began with Pirie sustaining a head injury and leaving the field. The competitive scrummaging allowed the Bay to gain momentum and territorial advantage, and with Jones taking over at 9, Beards linked up with the captain for back-row moves edging the Mermaids closer to the try-line. However no advantage could be gained and some scrappy play resulted in Sandbach working their way down the field, where they were camped out on the Bay 5m line, held back by heroic defence, especially from Hope and Royle. However, a penalty was awarded to the home side on the 5m line, and a quick tap could not be stopped, resulting in Sandbach’s first try from Amy Johnson. This only made Colwyn Bay more determined, and after the kick-off was chased down a strong maul led by Hughes and Tilakawardane drove ten metres, before the referee called the play back and awarded a scrum to the Bay, which halted the momentum of this move.
The next few phases saw Sandbach edge forwards, but a spilled ball was pounced upon for the lightning-quick Royle to score an opportunistic try. After this the advantage was firmly with the away team, Hope impressively stealing the ball from Sandbach players and launching another attack.
The final quarter saw Pirie return to the field and Hughes captain, and soon after become the beneficiary of Loz McGee’s offload to score in the corner. Sandbach had one more charge for the Colwyn Bay line, with the away team being saved by a strong clearance kick from Pirie.
No sooner had Pirie returned to the field than Bay were forced to play with only 14 players on the field after McGee retired from the pitch injured. However sharp reflex tackles from Beaumont and quick attacking play from the likes of Jones and Royle saw no overlaps being exploited.
As the game entered the final stages, Sandbach scored an impressive try, which started from their 22 and was finished off with brilliant support play by Hannah Johnson.
Determined not to let the English team have the final say, the Bay launched one last spirited charge on the try-line from the final restart. Continued surges forwards from all the Bay players in turn resulted in a penalty for Sandbach’s hands in a ruck. Stubbs made a powerful charge for the line, which soon resulted in a heated confrontation, as a Sandbach player was sent off for eye-gouging. Sandbach stole the ball illegally from the resulting ruck and threw it out, after which the referee decided to end the game.
Although this was not an ending either side enjoyed, the game was hard-fought and a highly entertaining one for spectators. It was also an ideal opportunity for Colwyn Bay players to warm up for the upcoming Gogledd Cymru matches against the four other regions. Sandbach chose Hope as the player-of-the-match, while the Colwyn Bay coaches Anna Parkin, Tom Rogers and Louis Tilakawardane thought the efforts of Dymond and Evans deserved special mention.
Many thanks to the Gogledd Cymru players from other clubs who strengthened the Colwyn Bay side to enable a competitive 15 a side game: Alaw Hughes (Caernarfon), Iona Evans (Nant Conwy), Ellie Jones (Oswestry).
By Kumari Tilakawardane
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