Welcome to Rhiwbina U12's (2009-10)

Manager
Alex Moore:

Head Coach
Terry Gooding: 029 20758343 or 07879 244158
RhiwbinaSquirrels@yahoo.co.uk

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We're the U12's!

 

St Josephs 5  Rhiwbina 39 (Sun 7th March 2010 - Away)

Tries: Richard Osmond (x2), Jasper Pinkard (x2), Sam Randall, Owen Lane and Harrison Trinder 
Con: Joshua Moore (x2)

Its been a while since we've played St Josephs so weren't exactly sure what to expect. A lot of the boys were looking forward to playing this game as they're school mates so on a very sunny (but absolutely freezing) Sunday morning at Heath Park St Joes got the morning's proceedings underway.

Straight from the kickoff the Joes took the game to Rhiwbina, making some good drives and came close to breaking the defence and scoring. Rhiwbina managed to hold it together and start to get into the game and it wasn't long before full-back Richard Osmond crossed for Rhiwbina's first points. 

That try sparked Rhiwbina into life and the tries came thick and fast from Jasper Pinkard, Sam Randall, Richard Osmond for his second and Owen Lane giving Rhiwbina a comfortable 27-0 lead at the break.

The second half was a much closer affair. Jasper claimed his second try of the morning but then a period of about 15 minutes elapsed as both teams cancelled each other out. Eventually the Joes got good field position and their endeavours paid off as they crossed for their first points. 

With the game coming to its conclusion Rhiwbina went straight back down into the St Joes 22 where Harrison Trinder went over to give Rhiwbina a very good 39-5 win.   

Coaches Comment
Another good performance by the U12's saw the boys beat a physical Joes side. In the forwards Sam Randall was excellent all morning and his try straight from a restart deep in our own half showed his running ability. Also in the forwards Mike Gooding put in some good tackles and Matthew Westerland made up for missing last week with some determined play.

It was in the backs where the differences between the teams was most evident with Rhiwbina constantly breaking the backline. Dan Pike was managing to get the Rhiwbina back line working and Owen Lane was having a great game before going off injured. Richard Osmond was once again outstanding at full-back and counterattacked at every opportunity. Scott Lawrence had another assured performance on the wing but special mention needs to go to Harrison Trinder who pulled off a superb try saving tackle then went on to get the final try.

Well done guys!

Many thanks to St Joes coach Stuart and his team for a good competitive match played in good spirits. 

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Pentyrch 12  Rhiwbina 40 (Sun 28th Feb 2010 - Away)

Tries: Matthew Hopkins, Owen Lane (x2) and Jasper Pinkard (x3) 
Con: Richard Osmond (x2) Dan Pike plus 2

Having played Pentyrch only a month ago in a real tough encounter, Rhiwbina knew full well what to expect. It was touch and go whether this game was going to go ahead but conditions remained dry over night for us to get the green light on a very heavy pitch.

Rhiwbina got a great start and were quickly 12-0 up with tries from Matthew Hopkins and Owen Lane. Pentyrch started to up their game and with both teams not prepared to give an inch it took a split second for Jasper Pinkard to break the Pentyrch defence and give Rhiwbina a 19-0 lead at half-time.

 Jasper got his second try just after half time but Pentyrch were now starting to turn their possession and territory into points as they went over for their first try of the morning. Owen Lane immediately cancelled out this try with his second but Pentyrch stuck to the task to go over for their second to take the score to 33-12 to Rhiwbina.

With the game in the bag Jasper completed his hatrick of tries to give Rhiwbina a stunning 40-12 victory over the Tyrchs.

Coaches Comment
This was a great result for the Squirrels. To put 40 points against a side of the quality of Pentyrch and to limit them to just 2 tries showed real intent. With Rhiwbina turning up with 23 players, what was impressive was that with a raft of changes,  the skill levels and purpose of play never dropped. 

The backrow of Hugo Souto, Dan Mcelroy and Kristian Ions was outstanding. The tackling never allowed Pentyrch to build up a head of steam and their backs were having to deal with a lot of slow ball. The front row of Tom Russell, Rees Goggs and Seb Davies, plus Matthew Griffiths and Mike Bellew was solid all game. Tom Russell carried well when required and made good yardage all game.

In the backs Josh Moore was having a good game at scrum half until Owen Lane had to go off. Josh then carried on the good work as cover for Owen in the Centre. The centre partnership of Owen Lane and Jasper Pinkard reaped its reward as they terrorised the Pentyrch backline to go over for 5 tries between them.  

Probably the most impressive aspect of today's game was the tackling. Whether it was close quarter or out wide every player put their body on the line to keep Pentyrch to just the 2 scores. 

Well done guys!

Many thanks to the coaches and players of Pentyrch for an excellent game played in good spirits. 

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Rhiwbina 24  St Peters 17 (Sun 21st Feb 2010 - Home)

Tries: Owen Lane, Richard Osmond, Jasper Pinkard and Matthew Hopkins
Con: Dan Pike and Owen Lane

Today Rhiwbina were facing local rivals St Peters on a heavy going pitch at Caedelyn Park. With the Cardiff and District game cancelled the Rhiwbina squad was boosted with another 7 players available.

The Squirrels also welcomed new recruit Jasper Pinkard to his first competitive game after joining last week, and also Kristian Ions who has been out of action for a few months due to breaking his collar bone. 

The first half saw St Peters use their bigger pack to good effect and dominate territory and possession. Rhiwbina had no answer as St Peters bulldozed their way to 2 tries and then score another just before half-time to take a deserved 0-17 lead.

The second half saw Rhiwbina use the bench to shore up various positions and the proverbial 'game of 2 half's' was played out as Rhiwbina scored 2 converted tries within 10 minutes to take the score to 14-17. The game was now being played exclusively in the St Peters half as Jasper Pinkard made a good run to put Rhiwbina into the lead for the first time. 

With the final play of the game Matthew Hopkins went over in the left corner to secure a 24-17 win.

Coaches Comment
The first half saw Rhiwbina under the cosh as the bigger St Peters pack took control but to keep them to only 0-17 at half-time took a huge effort by the less experienced boys who started.

The second half saw more of the district players enter the fray which gave us the impetus to turn things around and go on and win the match quite comfortably.

It was good to see Kristian Ions back after a long lay off as he totally dominated the battle on the floor, snaffling up any loose ball to give us plenty of possession. Kristian's hassling of the Rocks back line put them under considerable pressure and allowed us to turn ball over on a regular basis.  

Today was Jasper Pinkard's first game for us. He was outstanding in training last week and the Rhiwbina coaching team were wondering how this would translate to a real game. Jasper didn't disappoint as he made some very powerful runs, usually taking 2 or more players to take him down. To cap a great debut he went on to score a superb individual try which gave us the lead.

Many thanks to the St Peters team, coaches and supporters for a good morning's rugby played in good spirits. Also to Steve Norman for officiating.

Well done guys!

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Brecon 5  Rhiwbina 44 - Blues Cup R2 (Sun 7th Feb 2010 - Away)

Tries: Dan Pike, Owen Lane (x2), Thomas Mably (x3), Richard Osmond and Matthew Hopkins.
Cons: Richard Osmond and Owen Lane

The U12's made the trip up to Powys to play old foes Brecon in Round 2 of the Blues Cup. Over the years we have played each other many times and had some great tussles at the Luctonians Tournament in the short game format but this time represented our first match over a full period.

On the morning Brecon were in the unfortunate position of having 3 players pull out so the game was played as 14 aside. 

Rhiwbina couldn't have had a better start to the game as the first 10 minutes was played exclusively in the Brecon half resulting in 2 tries and a 10-0 lead. Brecon then upped their game and started to make inroads into our 22 but couldn't get the ball over the line. Rhiwbina cleared the line and further punished Brecon with another 3 tries to take a 0-29 lead at half-time.

If Brecon were going to get back into the game they were going to have to score first in the second half and this they duly did as they swept left, putting ball thru numerous hands to score their first points of the morning.

Rhiwbina quickly realised they couldn't allow Brecon any leeway and turned up the pressure to add another 3 tries to seal an impressive win against tough opponents. 

Coaches Comment
This match saw the boys raise their game a few notches as they ran out convincing winners against a tough Brecon side who are one of the best teams in the Blues region. Straight from the kickoff Rhiwbina signalled their intentions, scoring some outstanding tries in the process.

At scrum-half Joshua Moore distributed the ball skilfully and into the right areas, giving the backs good attaching ball. Later on Joe Macpherson took over the scrum-half duties and fitted in seamlessly.

On the wings Matthew Hopkins tormented his opposite number every time he  had the ball and  Dan Melhuish had one of his best games for Rhiwbina as he put in some good runs and made his tackles. Fullback Richard Osmond linked up well with the wings and went on to score a superb try from his own half. 

In the forwards Sam Randall won good lineout ball, Seb Davies and Matthew Westerland both carried well and Tom Russell was his rampaging self, with and without the ball.

Though they didn't play today, many thanks to Kristian Ions and Cai Ham for making the long trip to support the boys. Also to Michael Gooding who would have played today but for a nasty injury he picked up in school on Friday.

Though missing a couple of key players, credit must go to the Brecon team who at times put huge pressure on Rhiwbina and deserved to get more out the game than they did. Also thanks to Simon and his coaching team who made us feel welcome and we're already looking forward to further battles in the future.

Well done guys! 

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Pentyrch 19  Rhiwbina 41  (Sun 24th Jan 2010 - Away)

With both teams not having a game for nearly a month and a half, the morning's rugby was arranged over 3 periods of  20 minutes to give both sets of players a good run out.

Period 1: Pentyrch 0  Rhiwbina 12 
Tries: Scott Lawrence and Thomas Mably
Con: Joshua Moore

An early try by Scott Lawrence gave Rhiwbina an excellent start but Pentyrch didn't reach the semi-finals of last year's Blues Cup for nothing and started to come back into the game with some good pressure. Pentyrch couldn't get into the positions to create try scoring opportunities and Thomas Mably added further to his season's try tally  to give Rhiwbina a 12-0 lead. 

Period 2: Pentyrch 5  Rhiwbina 24 
Tries: Thomas Mably (x2), Richard Osmond and Mike Gooding 
Con: Owen Lane (x2)

This period turned out to be Rhiwbina's most productive, crossing the try line on 4 occasions. Pentyrch managed to cross for their first try of the morning on the last play of the period. 

Period 3: Pentyrch 14  Rhiwbina 5 
Tries: Thomas Mably

The final period belonged to Pentyrch as they went into a 14-0 lead. Thomas Mably scored right on the final whistle to give Rhiwbina a final score of 41-19 across the 3 periods.

Coaches Comment
An excellent game to blow away the cobwebs of the past 6 weeks as both teams put on an entertaining encounter in perfect conditions. 

Rhiwbina were well aware of the threat posed by Pentyrch and managed to contain their danger men with some excellent defence, with them taking 40 mins to cross the Rhiwbina whitewash for their first try of the morning.

Thomas Mably, Sam Randell and Rees Goggs were the pick of the forwards and were constantly making good yardage to put Rhiwbina on the front foot. In the backs Joe Macpherson showed up well at scrum half, Owen Lane put in his customary big performance with and without the ball and Dan Macelroy had some powerful runs when switched to the center.

Well done guys!

Many thanks to Pentyrch coaches Phil Angel and Kelvyn Jones for arranging the fixture to be played at Pentyrch after the game was called off in Cardiff due to the weather.   

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U12's go Paintballing  (Tues 29th Dec 2009)

Led by "General Franco" (aka Joe Souto) with assistance by Tank Commander Trinder, Captain Steve Norman and Sergeant Major 'Max' Maxwell the boys and dads had a great time down in Cowbridge at the Task Force Paintballing Centre shooting the living daylights out of each other.

Rhiwbina U12's "Dogs of War"

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Llandaff North 7  Rhiwbina 59  (Sun 13th Dec 2009 - Away)

On a glorious morning for rugby (and we haven't had many of them recently) Rhiwbina made the short trip to Hailey Park to play neighbours Llandaff North. A lot of the boys from both sides are school mates and the word coming out the Llandaff North camp was that they were well up for putting the record straight after we recently knocked them out the Blues Cup.

Rhiwbina received a welcome boost on the morning as Thomas Mably was passed fit to play having been out for the past 3 weeks and it didn't take him long to get on the score sheet with the game's first try. Unfortunately for Thomas he was charging down the left wing looking to score his second when a tackle from behind left him with a  bad eye injury and he had to leave the field and not take part in any further action.

With just about perfect conditions Rhiwbina went on to completely dominate the game in all facets and the game was brought to an early finish at 59-7 as the 50 point difference rule was brought into effect.

Tries: Tom Mably, Richard Osmond (x3), Owen Lane (x3), Matthew Hopkins (x2)
Con: Josh Moore (x5), Richard Osmond and Dan Pike

Extra period: Llandaff North 5  Rhiwbina 20
Tries: Thomas Norman, Dan Pike, Matthew Hopkins and Richard Osmond

To their credit Llandaff North were happy to play an extra 15 min period to give all the players good game time. Rhiwbina carried on the good work from the first game to run out convincing winners.

Coaches Comments
Another outstanding performance by the Squirrels similar to the one earlier in the season against Llandaff. Straight from the kick-off Rhiwbina signalled their intent with the forwards winning a good supply of ball and the backs using it intelligently. 

In the forwards Matthew Westerland had an outstanding game and was everywhere - he was always at the forefront of everything good whether it was rucking, mauling, turning over the ball or carrying. Rees Goggs, Thomas Norman and Dan Mcelroy had typically combative games with plenty of channelled aggression and Mike Bellew, who normally plays in the backs, had an assured game playing flanker.

Not to be outdone some of the back play on offer was top drawer as the Rhiwbina backs exposed the North defence time and again. Dan Pike distributed well at Outside Half to put centre Owen Lane into space. Owen's aggressive running always got Rhiwbina going forward and with Matthew Hopkins in blistering form on the wing Llandaff North continually ran out of defenders as Hoppo helped himself to 3 tries.

Richard Osmond also had a great game running in 3 tries but the unluckiest player of the morning was Cai Ham. Within our own half Cai made a skilful break to breach the first up defence and was speeding down the pitch but was unlucky to be caught when it looked like he was going to run in a 60 yard try.

Many thanks to Llandaff North for a great game played in good spirits.

Well done guys! 

Our best wishes go to Kristian Ions who recently broke his collarbone whilst training with the Cardiff and Vale U12's squad - get well soon Kris!

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Blues Cup Parade (Sun 6th Dec 2009)

As U11's Blues Cup Winners (2009) the boys were invited to walk around the pitch at half-time at the Cardiff Blues -v- Connacht game.

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Cheltenham Tournament  (Sun 29th Nov 2009)

After a pensive early morning wait to hear if the tournament was going to go ahead, the news eventually came thru that the tournament was on and so Rhiwbina U12's made the trip up to Cheltenham.

On setting off from Cardiff the weather was pretty poor, but on arrival at Cheltenham the pitch was quite firm and the weather a bit on the cold side but the sun was sort of shining. This unfortunately didn't last  long as the rain came in and most of the tournament was spent playing in freezing, driving rain. 

The Squirrels would have to play under U12's English rules playing 13 aside on a half pitch, pushing in the scrums and kicking anywhere on the pitch. 

The tournament had 16 teams taking part split into 4 groups of 4 playing 7 mins each way. Only the top team would progress to the semi's. Rhiwbina's 3 pool games went as follows:- 

Pool stages:

Game 1: Rhiwbina 5  Old Pats 0
Try: Owen Lane

Game 2: Rhiwbina 10  Marlborough 0
Tries: Josh Moore, Kristian Ions

Game 3: Rhiwbina 15  Hucclecote 0
Tries: Owen Lane (x2) and Kristian Ions

Rhiwbina had done well to top the group as both Old Pats and Marlborough offered stern opposition. With these results Rhiwbina would meet Midlands team Droitwich in the semi-final.

Semi Final: Rhiwbina 10  Droitwich 5
Tries: Josh Moore and Owen Lane
Droitwich came out with a massive pack and the small pitch suited their forward orientated game. Rhiwbina were under pressure in the scrums but took the lead when Josh Moore intercepted a pass to run in unopposed. 

In the second half Droitwich made it 5-5 but it looked like their try was scored from a series of knock-ons by both sides. With minutes to go Rhiwbina got good field position and Richard Osmond made a break close to the Droitwich try line. Though half tackled the inside pass was made for Owen Lane to go over to make it 10-5.

From the restart Droitwich got good field position near our line. With seconds on the clock a Droitwich scrum 5m out was won by Rhiwbina with a great collective effort as they pushed the opposition off the ball for Josh Moore to end the game. 

Rhiwbina would now meet Ledbury in the final.

Final: Rhiwbina 0  Ledbury 10
Once again Rhiwbina would face a team with a very big pack and straight from the kickoff we had a disastrous start as one of their players picked up the ball, ran across and down the right flank to score a try with barely 20 seconds on the clock. 

With that initial try scored Rhiwbina settled down to play and there wasn't a great deal between the teams. Rhiwbina managed to create try scoring opportunities but a very good defence kept us out. The second half saw us playing  with the wind but Ledbury managed to make a mess of one of our scrums to score their second try and seal a deserved win. 

Coaches Comments
In atrocious conditions the standard of rugby on offer by all teams was exceptional and coming runners-up in this tournament was no mean feat.

The weather and small pitch format put paid to our ability to put width on the game and the more attritional style of play didn't help our cause. Ledbury are regulars at the Luctonians Tournament so hopefully we'll get a chance to play again in more favourable conditions! 

Many thanks to Cheltenham RFC for putting on a great tournament .

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Rhiwbina 67 Ravens Wood School 22  (Sun 22nd Nov 2009 - Home)

Tries: Owen Lane (x2), Joshua Moore, Richard Osmond (x2), Thomas Mably (x2), Dan Pike, Kristian Ions, Matthew Hopkins, Daniel Melhuish,
Con: Joshua Moore (x4), Owen Lane and Richard Osmond.

Rhiwbina stepped in at the last moment to host touring side Ravens Wood School from Bromley in Kent. It was agreed to play the game over three 20 minute periods to give both large squads good game time.

Unbeknown to us Ravens Wood had only been together as a team for the past 3 months and this became evident as Rhiwbina were soon 21-0 up with barely 5 minutes on the clock. Further tries led to Rhiwbina leading 48-0 after the first period.

To even things up  6 players were swopped between the teams and the next 2 periods were much closer affairs. Rhiwbina took the 2nd period 12-10 and Ravens Wood the 3rd period 7-12.

Coaches Comments
Though given a baptism of fire in the first period, Ravens Wood competed well once they had a few experienced players to help them out and will develop into a competitive team once they've got a few more games under their belt. (Their School Master Rees is already booking the reverse fixture for a couple of years time when they're more experienced! )

From a Rhiwbina point of view it was a much improved game than 2 weeks ago. Back then  we could barely put a few passes together without dropping or throwing forward. Today the handling was superb considering the conditions and the forwards generated quick ball to attack with.

Many thanks to Ravens Wood School for an enjoyable mornings rugby played in excellent spirit, whose boys were a credit to their school both on and off the field.

Well done guys!

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Rhiwbina 38  Llandaff North 0 (Sun 18th Nov - Home - Blues Cup R1)

Tries: Thomas Mably (x2), Owen Lane, Scott Lawrence, Kristian Ions and Richard Osmond.
Con: Joshua Moore (x3) and Dan Pike.

Today saw Rhiwbina and Llandaff North play in the first round of the U12's Blues Cup competition. On a typical Autumn day  Llandaff North turned up at Caedelyn Park with a large squad looking to progress at our expense.

If last Sunday was Champagne rugby, today was a cheap £1.99 bottle of plonk from the local 24hour garage (no offence to 24 hour garages or cheap plonk!) In a game strewn with knock ons, forward passes, technical infringements and a variety of other offences this game never got going for either side. 

Though there weren't many highlights in this game Scott Lawrence was on the end of some outstanding passing thru the backs to score a fine try in the corner.

From a Rhiwbina point of view it was good to get the win and progress to the next round. 

3rd Period: Rhiwbina 14  Llandaff North 0
Tries: Michael Bellew and Hugo Souto
Con: Dan Pike (x2)

With both sides having large squads, a 3rd period was played to give all the boys a good run out.
With the Blues Cup game out the way both teams relaxed (as much as you can relax in a game of rugby!)  and played a well contested period.

With Rhiwbina on the North 22m line the ball was spread left thru the backs where Michael Bellew glided thru the opposition backline to score a superb individual try, which he topped off with a spectacular dive to give Rhiwbina the start we needed.

During the game Hugo Souto had been making good yardage with his driving play and he didn't need a second opportunity when he took the ball 10m out from  the North line to barge his way thru numerous players to get the second try. Right on the final whistle Dan Mcelroy went close but couldn't get the ball down. 

Coaches Comments
The Blues Cup game was a very stop/start affair but the boys once again put on a rock solid defence where Llandaff North did not look like scoring. Thomas Norman and Rees Goggs fronted up well in the forwards and Matthew Hopkins was looking extremely sharp on the wing whenever the ball came his way.   
In the final period Dan Melhuish really upped his game with some direct running and looked dangerous every time he got the ball.

Well done guys!

Many thanks to Llandaff North for a competitive mornings rugby and to Marc Wakeham for officiating the Cup match. 

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Llandaff 5  Rhiwbina 51 (Sun 1st Nov - Away)

Tries: Tom Russell, Richard Osmond, Owen Lane, Thomas Mably (x2), Harrison Trinder, Dan Pike, Mike Gooding and Dan Melhuish.
Con: Joshua Moore (x2) and Richard Osmond.

Rhiwbina turned up at Llandaff Fields to play recent Cardiff and Vale Semi-Finalist Llandaff. With most people (the mothers really!)  thinking this fixture was never going to go ahead the pitch was in very good condition considering the recent downpour, though both teams would have to battle against gale force winds and the odd shower. 

With both teams having large squads the morning would be played over 3 x 20 minute periods to ensure no one was sitting around for too long.

Llandaff kicked off and Rhiwbina then served up a 10 minute period of absolutely faultless rugby and raced into 0-17 lead. We knew Llandaff weren't going to let us have it all our own way and began to exert a period of possession and territory, coming close on a couple of occasions. Rhiwbina managed to hold the line and score another try to give us a 0-22 lead after the first period. 

The try before halftime seemed to knock the wind out of Llandaff. They couldn't build on their earlier good work and fell further behind to give Rhiwbina a 0-41 lead after the second period.

Credit must go to Llandaff who were happy to play the third period even though the game was effectively over as a contest. Llandaff deservedly got their first try of the morning but once again Rhiwbina would have the final say as another 2 tries were added to take the score to an impressive 5-51 victory. 

Coaches Comments
A great game of rugby was served up by both sides even though conditions dictated this shouldn't have been the case.

In the first 10 minutes of the game Rhiwbina put on a superb display of rugby through both forwards and backs it was a joy to watch. Though they couldn't quite keep this level of intensity going it was still a fantastic all round performance by the whole squad.

As a squad all the boys performed admirably but in the forwards Tom Russell had an outstanding game, constantly carrying the ball over the gain line and putting in his fair share of big hits. Sam Randall was everywhere and came close to putting his name on the score sheet on more than one occasion. In the backs Scott Lawrence pulled off a brave try saving tackle to force the turnover. This came at a time when Llandaff were starting to exert good pressure. 

Well done guys!

Many thanks to Llandaff for a good game played in great spirits and to their coach Jeff for refereeing superbly and allowing the game to flow.   

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Norwich School (Sun 25th Oct - Home)

This Sunday saw Rhiwbina U12's take on touring side Norwich School at a wind swept Caedelyn Park. Originally Pentyrch were due to make it a round-robin but they pulled out early in the week. Llandaff North then stepped in only to pull out the day before leaving no time to organise a third side. 

With Norwich School having 22 players and Rhiwbina 21 it was organised to have  2 games of 20 mins each way.

Game 1: Rhiwbina 36  Norwich School 0
Tries: Thomas Mably (x2), Dan Macelroy, Richard Osmond, Owen Lane and Dan Melhuish.
Cons: Dan Pike, Richard Osmond and Joshua Moore

Game 2: Rhiwbina 36  Norwich School 0
Tries: Owen Lane (x4), Thomas Mably and Dan Melhuish.
Cons: Richard Osmond and Joshua Moore (x2)

Coaches Comments
Today saw 2 very good games take place and it was a classic encounter of Welsh flair against English power. Whilst the tourist gave a very good account of themselves upfront the battle was won thru the backs where the school side struggled to contain the pace that Rhiwbina could put on the game.

Both games started with Norwich having the advantage of the considerable wind blowing across Caedelyn and Rhiwbina had their work cut out, recording only a couple of tries at halftime. Once Rhiwbina had the elements the tries were ran in on a regular basis to secure 2 very good wins

Credit must go to Norwich School. After losing 36-0 in the first game they came out in the second all guns blazing and made Rhiwbina fight for every point. Though Rhiwbina always had that extra gear when things got tough Norwich played with great heart right up to the final whistle and never let their heads drop.

Many thanks to Norwich School Master Ed Hopkins and his staff, and especially to his squad who were a great credit to their school, both on the pitch and in the clubhouse after the game. All the best for your remaining games on your tour to Cardiff.

Well done guys! 

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Cricc 0  Rhiwbina 53 (Sun 18th Oct - Away)

Tries: Richard Osmond, Thomas Mably (x3), Matthew Hopkins (x2), Matthew Westerland, Kristian Ions, and Owen Lane.
Cons: Joshua Moore (x4)

Rhiwbina U12's made the short trip across North Cardiff to play Cricc. Having played Cricc in last season's Blues Cup Rhiwbina were fully aware of the task in hand.

A pre-match training session on an absolutely glorious morning later paid dividends as Rhiwbina put their spirited hosts to the sword. Up to now Rhiwbina had had some bruising encounters but today Rhiwbina were in no charitable mood as 9 tries were run in.

Some early indiscretions by the boys led to  a disjointed start but once Richard Osmond went over there was no looking back as tries came with metronomic regularity leading to a half time score of 34-0

Changes made at halftime made no difference as the scoreboard kept ticking over. After 10minutes the 50 point difference was reached and the referee brought the mornings proceedings to an end. 

Coaches Comments
An absolutely brilliant performance by both forwards and backs ensured there was only one outcome. Though the final scoreline was impressive it was the defensive effort of the team that ensured Cricc never got near to troubling the scoreboard.

Richard Osmond has had to sit out the last few weeks with injury but soon made his presence felt by getting the morning's first try. Matthew Hopkins also returned after being ill last week to get his first ever try for Rhiwbina. He later added to his tally in the second half and its good to see him settle into the team so quickly.

Thomas Mably can't stop scoring and this morning was no exception as he ran in another 3 tries. 

All morning Joshua Moore and Kristian Ions gave the opposition halfbacks a torrid time as they hustled and bustled their way thru to exert pressure and turn over the ball. 

Over the last few weeks the forwards had had a tough time with some top drawer opposition but today they hit top form and provided a solid platform for the backs to work off. With the 50 point difference being reached the game was stopped early so I'd like to apologise to those boys who didn't get a lot of game time this morning. 

Well done guys!

Many thanks to Cricc for a good game played in excellent spirit.

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Rhiwbina 15  Penarth 5 (Sun 11th Oct - Home)

Penarth pitched up at Caedelyn Park on what has so far been the worst day of the season. The past 5 weeks have been played in glorious sunshine but that all changed as both teams had to slug it out in the driving rain.

Due to injuries and other commitments we were expecting 20 players to turn out but that was reduced to 16 on the day as another 4 players went down to various ailments.

Rhiwbina started proceedings playing into the driving rain and early on put winger Thomas Mably away into the left corner for a well taken try. With Penarth playing with the elements it was important for them to put points on the board in this half and they duly did with a forward drive and try in the left corner.

As the halftime whistle went the score remained at 5-5 as both conversions were missed.

The second half saw Penarth gain good territory as their forwards competed well at the breakdown turning over our ball on numerous occasions but they couldn't make it count. Once again Thomas Mably used his pace and power to score his second try in the right hand corner. The score was now 10-5 as the conversion was missed.

As the second half progressed the Rhiwbina forwards started to warm up nicely and secured a lot more ball resulting in Rhiwbina's third try for Matthew Griffiths. With the conversion missed the final whistle went - much to the relief of players and parents who by now were completely soaked thru!

Coaches Comments
Another good win for Rhiwbina who had to work hard for their victory. In appalling conditions both teams put on a good, skilful game of rugby and it was credit to the players that they managed to keep it going to the bitter end as the touchline support was completely drenched!

Early on the Rhiwbina forwards were allowing the opposition too much leeway and struggled to secure possession but a much better performance in the second half halted any chances of Penarth getting back in the game. 

In the backs Dan Pike put in a gutsy performance at Scrum-Half as the 2 regular No 9's were out and Harrison Trinder put in a big performance at Full Back in not allowing anyone past.

Many thanks to Penarth for a good game and also to referee Steve Norman for today's officiating.

Well done guys!

Cardiff and Vale U12's - On Friday 9th Oct 2009 Cardiff and Vale U12's took on Heart of Wales at Abercynon RFC. In the starting line up Rhiwbina had Thomas Mably, Hugo Souto, Tom Russell, Joshua Moore, Owen Lane and Dan Pike. During the game Kristian Ions and Rees Goggs came on to help give the Cardiff team a convincing win over the Heart of Wales team. 

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Cowbridge 15  Rhiwbina 32 (Sun 4th Oct - Away)

Having recently lost to Cowbridge in the District Tournament only 2 weeks prior, this was a game the boys (and parents) were well looking forward to as it represented an early opportunity to prove that Rhiwbina were capable of taking on the current best side in Cardiff and Vale.
 
Rhiwbina turned up at Cowbridge with 22 players and with both sides having large squads it was decided to play 3 periods of 20mins to ensure adequate game time for all. 

After 1st Period: Cowbridge 5  Rhiwbina 0
Rhiwbina started the game with a good kick by Josh Moore putting the ball deep. Cowbridge moved the ball up towards halfway and this is basically where the game was played for the whole period, with each team having the odd excursion into each others territory. With defences on top Cowbridge were first to break the deadlock when their winger ran in a long range effort which went unconverted.

After 2nd Period: Cowbridge 10  Rhiwbina 12
Tries: Owen Lane and Hugo Souto
Con: Joshua Moore
As the game went on it inevitably  began to break up and Rhiwbina  were best placed to take advantage. Josh Moore converted an Owen Lane try for Rhiwbina to take a 5-7 lead. Hugo Souto further extended the lead but the try went unconverted. As the game was reaching its conclusion Cowbridge had the last say as winger Tom Trotman ran in his second try. The try left a difficult conversion that Cowbridge needed to draw the game. A good charge by the whole Rhiwbina team saw Cowbridge miss and Rhiwbina ran out 10-12 winners after the first 2 periods

After 3rd Period: Cowbridge 15  Rhiwbina 32 
Tries: Kristian Ions, Tom Russell and Tom Mably (x2)
The 3rd period saw all the boys who hadn't yet play enter the fray and Rhiwbina totally dominated this third as they cut loose to score 4 unanswered tries. Cowbridge had to rely on their winger to score a consolation try right at the end of the game.

Coaches Comments
The boys needed little motivation from the coaches to prepare for this game and they delivered a great result. 
With 3 key backs out No 7 Kristian Ions played a great game in the centre and scrum half Josh Moore filled in well at No10. 

With the District Tournament 2 weeks ago and no game last week it had been a while since a few of the squad had had a run out but they made up for lost time as each and every one put in a superb performance. Matthew Griffiths had some good carries, Tomos Elis played well in the backrow and Cai Ham had an assured game in the Center.

Special mention needs to go to new player Matthew 'Hoppo' Hopkins who couldn't have had a harder fixture to start his time with Rhiwbina as he was asked to mark Cowbridge wing Tom Trotman.  With Tom being twice the size as Matthew he had his work cut out but he made a superb try saving tackle on Tom in the third period to deny him any further points.

Whilst on the subject of wingers Rhiwbina No 8 Tom Mably showed 2 great turns of speed as he rampaged down the right wing on 2 occasions to get  2 fantastic tries.

Many thanks to Cowbridge for a tough uncompromising fixture played in good spirits and in particular to Cowbridge player Tom Trotman who showed good sportsmanship to one of our injured players. Whilst the boys played against each other today a lot of them will be team mates this Friday as Cardiff and Vale take on Heart of Wales at Abercynon RFC. We wish them all good luck in that game and congratulations to Rhiwbina Center Owen Lane who has been asked to captain the side. 

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Cardiff and Vale U12's District Selection - 25th Sept 2009

Congratulations to the following players on being selected to represent the District.
Thomas Mably, Hugo Souto, Sam Randall, Rees Goggs, Tom Russell, Kristian Ions, Joshua Moore, Owen Lane, Dan Pike and Richard Osmond.
Well done guys we know you'll do us proud!

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Cardiff and Vale District Tournament (Sun 20th Sept - Barry RFC)

Pool Stages:
Game 1: Rhiwbina 0  Cowbridge 10
Game 2: Rhiwbina 20  Rumney 0
Tries: Owen Lane, Kristian Ions, Richard Osmond and Sam Randall

Game 3: Rhiwbina 35  Sully 0
Tries: Josh Moore (x2), Tom Russell, Seb Davies, Owen Lane, Kristian Ions and Rees Goggs

Quarter-Finals: Rhiwbina 5  Glamorgan Wanderers 10
Try: Kristian Ions

Rhiwbina U12's turned up at a sun soaked Barry RFC looking forward to this years District Tournament of 15aside on a full size pitch.

On the day 15 teams from around the Cardiff and Vale District turned up and we were drawn in a tough group
with Cowbridge, Rumney and Sully playing 10 minutes each way.

First up was Cowbridge. Rhiwbina kicked off and immediately handed possession to Cowbridge with a poor kick not going 10 metres. With Cowbridge playing down the slope they made the most it of by getting good field position. Rhiwbina managed a period of resolute defence but eventually Cowbridge crashed over for the game's first try. 

With the end of the first half approaching Rhiwbina managed to get good field position, spun the ball left and were looking to even up the score Rhiwbina were tackled 10 meters out but a Cowbridge player came in and killed the ball. The referee then blew for half time. 

On asking the referee to clarify why we weren't awarded a penalty he actually agreed that they had killed the ball and apologised for not awarding us the penalty in probably our best attacking position of the half  :-(

The second half was a lot more even but Cowbridge managed to go over on the left touchline to make it 0-10. Rhiwbina protested that the ball was held up but the try stood.

With minutes left Rhiwbina were playing for pride but Cowbridge run out deserved 0-10 winners.

With straightforward wins over Rumney and Sully, Rhiwbina came second in the group to book a quarter final spot against Glamorgan Wanderers.

Over the years Rhiwbina have had some real battles with the Wands and today was no exception.

Uncharacteristically we actual started this game very well and Kristian Ions quickly put us on the score sheet.
As the first half progressed the Wanderers could sense that they were getting on top and evened up the scores at 5-5 for halftime.

The second half continued pretty much the same as the first with the Wanderers in the ascendance. With a maul 15 metres out from our line a Wands forward emerged with the ball and ran down the blindside to go over and make it 5-10. The Wanderers held firm for the rest of the game to a deserved 5-10 win.

The final eventually saw Cowbridge beat Glamorgan Wanderers 25-0 in a one sided game but respect to the Wanderers for getting that far with only one substitute for the whole tournament - especially when a lot of the teams were losing players left, right and centre. 

From a Rhiwbina point of view we can take crumbs of comfort in that we were beaten by both finalist. (and Rumney also made it to the Plate final)

Many thanks to Barry RFC for putting on this years tournament with such great weather! 

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Rhiwbina 31 Pencoed 19 (Sun 13th Sept - Home)

Tries: Michael Gooding, Richard Osmond, Thomas Mably, Dan Pike and Dan Mcelroy 
Cons: Joshua Moore (x3) 

Rhiwbina U12's welcomed Pencoed to Caedelyn Park for the first time in a couple of seasons. Previous games have always been highly competitive affairs and today was no exception.

Pencoed turned up to play with a massive set of forwards and the early signs for Rhiwbina were ominous as Pencoed ran in two very good tries from their pacy centre. Rhiwbina were 0-12 down with barely 5 minutes on the clock and hardly seeing the ball.

If things couldn't get any worse hooker Rees Goggs then had to leave the field with a bang to the neck.

Rhiwbina restarted the game and managed to get good field position in the Pencoed half. A tackled Pencoed player held the ball up looking for his team mates but this was snapped up by Michael Gooding who sprinted 20 metres to claim the try. Josh Moore converted to make it 7-12 and Rhiwbina were up and running.

Once again the Squirrels started to pressurise Pencoed in their own half and forced Pencoed to kick the ball. This was duly accepted by Richard Osmond who went on a looping run to score in the corner. The try wasn't converted and half-time arrived with the scores tied at 12-12.

Rhiwbina started the second half as they finished the first with Thomas Mably once again showing his power and pace and out-sprinting the defenders to claim Rhiwbina's third try. Josh Moore added the extras to take Rhiwbina 19-12 in front and starting to take control of the game. 

Rhiwbina futher turned the screw with Dan Pike sprinting over from 20metres to put Rhiwbina 24-12 up and then Dan Mcelroy got in on the action using his power and pace to step inside the covering defence to go over under the post. Joshua Moore added the conversion and with only minutes left Rhiwbina were up to 31-12.

Injuries to the Pencoed forwards resulted in both teams having to go down to 14 men. With the game approaching the final whistle Pencoed had the last say as they swept right from a Rhiwbina kick. They moved the ball thru the hands to score a converted try. The final whistle  went with Rhiwbina taking the honours in this hard fought, entertaining encounter.  

Coaches Comments
Another fine result after a disastrous start showed the heart and desire of the boys. Two tries down after 5 minutes against a side of the quality of Pencoed showed real fighting spirit to come back.

Early in the game the huge Pencoed forwards were well on top but it was always a question whether they could last the distance in the sweltering heat. Just like last week the Rhiwbina forwards got better and better as the game went on and it would be difficult to single out any player as they all played magnificently.

In the backs Dan Pike played outside half and gave an assured performance but the 2 standout players were Dan Mcelroy and Joe Macpherson. Dan Mcelroy put in his customary bone crunching tackles along with strong running to cause problems for the opposition. Joe Macpherson made a number of telling tackles to prevent Pencoed attacking down the blindside.

Well done guys! 

Many thanks to Pencoed coach Simon and his players for a great game played in good spirit.

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Penallta 5 Rhiwbina 15 (Sun 6th Sept - Away)

Tries: Kristian Ions and Owen Lane (x2) 

Originally scheduled to be played at Penallta RFC, the U12's turned up to be told that the game was now at the Leisure Centre. On making our way to the Leisure Centre we then found that the ground had no pitch markings or posts! Rhiwbina had never played Penallta but knew they were a quality team and this certainly proved the case as both sides kicked off their first 15 aside game on a full size pitch.

The early exchanges showed the intent of both sides - neither was prepared to give an inch but midway through the first half Thomas Mably went off on one of his trademark runs only to be caught just short of the line. Kristian Ions was at hand to complete the move and score the games first try.

With the first half coming to an end, Penallta got good field position. They then moved the ball skilfully thru their backs to even up the score. HT 5-5

The second half kicked off and Rhiwbina started to gain the upper hand and further increased the lead with a try from Owen Lane to make it 5-10.

Penallta started to sense the game slipping away and upped their effort to put Rhiwbina on the defensive. Rhiwbina had to endure a period of stout tackling near the try line but once again the pressure was relieved for Owen Lane to go and score his second try to make the score 5-15.

As the game approached its conclusion, the full size pitch and 25mins each way was taking its toll on both sets of players. The final whistle was music to Rhiwbina's ears - not only for the win but the ending of a lung bursting morning!

Coaches Comments
With the District Tournament only 2 weeks away, the U12's were looking for a competitive game and that was certainly what they got.

We knew that Penallta are a quality outfit who don't lose many games so this was a superb result. The forwards always had their hands full but stood their ground and gave good ball for scrum-half Josh Moore to work with.

The backs had to contend with some big ball carrying players but Rhiwbina always looked dangerous to keep Penallta guessing.  

Today has shown us where we're at in the 15 aside game and given us plenty to work on in training. Well done guys - All the boys can give themselves a huge pat on the back!

Many thanks to Penallta for a competitive mornings rugby. Also to Matthew Westerland who couldn't play but still came along to support the boys.