CLWB RYGBI WRECSAM WREXHAM RUGBY CLUB

Bryn Estyn Road, Wrexham, North Wales. LL13 9TY

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REPORT

Wrexham were knocked out of the North Wales Youth Cup 10-3 by former holders Nant Conwy in a gripping semi-final at Bryn Estyn Road last night.

The home side had the edge in the first-half with hooker Danny Sissons winning plenty of possession and half-backs Jamie and Kieran Morris dictating play with incisive breaks and smart positional kicking. Pressure on the Nant defence eventually earned a penalty, which Jamie Morris converted to put his side in front.

Holding on to that 3-0 lead at the break, Wrexham were suddenly rocked at the start of the second-half by a sweeping move from the Llanrwst side that produced a converted try. Nant broke away again minutes later and only a sure tackle by number eight Jake Edwards prevented them from adding to their score.

Wrexham countered with some good work by their pack and stretched Nant in their 22 several times, but they couldn’t make any impression against a rock solid defence and failed to deliver the ball quickly enough to their backs. The result was that the visitors were able to reclaim possession and clear their lines.

In the last quarter, Nant attacked time and time again through their nippy threequarters and stretched Wrexham’s determined defence until they conceded penalties. They missed three pots at goal before they changed their kicker and finally claimed the three points that put them into the final. Nant Conwy will meet the winners of the Mold versus Rhyl semi-final, which is expected to be played on 10^th May.  

Wrexham Under 19’s, rapidly approaching the end of their first ever season in Division One of the North Wales Youth League, moved up to third place in the table with a hard earned 8-5 victory at Llandudno.

In atrocious wet and windy conditions, Wrexham pressed hard in the first half and were rewarded just before the break with a fine try by number eight Jake Edwards who charged through the home defence from 35 metres out.

Llandudno levelled the scores with a try at the start of the second-half and must have thought that luck was on their side when Wrexham winger Morgan Jones was red carded for dissent. However, with flanker Troy Roberts and prop Danny Woolfenden leading by example, the visitors powered back and won the game with a difficult penalty kick into the wind by outside-half Jamie Morris.

Mold strengthened their place at the top of North Wales Youth Division One with a comprehensive victory over their local rivals at Bryn Estyn Road, thus avenging last year’s cup defeat at the same venue.

Dan Bowdon opened Mold’s account with a smart try in the 9^th minute, the centre touching down in the right corner. More pressure from the well drilled visiting side produced another unconverted try only four minutes later, this time right wing Alan Byrne scorching in at the same corner.

Wrexham had their moments, including a 30 metre forward drive that had the visitors back pedalling and defending furiously, but mistakes and dropped passes prevented the home side from creating a score. Lock Rob Skeath was held on the line twice and the industrious prop Joss Stott was outstanding in trying to put Wrexham on the scoresheet.

Mold managed to weather the storm and countered in the 22^nd minute with a second try for Alan Byrne who slipped a tackle and ran on to score by the posts. Centre Owen Youd kicked the simple conversion to give the visitors a deserved 17-0 lead at half-time.

Wrexham made a couple of changes at the start of the second-half but were then rocked by a hat-trick try for Alan Byrne who made the home side pay for losing possession at a line-out. In the 50^th minute Mold broke through again to grab a try by Owen Youd who duly added the conversion.

The rest of the half mainly belonged to Wrexham who were inspired by the excellent play of full-back Ashley Dawson and the determination of their pack. Once again they camped on the Mold line for lengthy periods, but the poor execution of their try scoring efforts let them down and the visitors were able to finish with a clean sheet.           

Having restricted Nant Conwy to a 7-0 half-time lead at Llanrwst, Wrexham’s hopes of using their wind advantage in the second-half were crushed when they lost cohesion through injury and mistakes and eventually slumped to a 7-28 defeat.

The visitors played a tight game in the opening half with forwards Troy Roberts, Kenny Simms and Richard Platt excelling in the stormy conditions. But the loss of centre Geraint Lewis with a shoulder injury unsettled Wrexham’s already re-arranged threequarter line and they were struggling to maintain their momentum by half-time.   

Having already cracked the visitors defence once in the first-half, Nant turned the game early in the second-half when they capitalised on Wrexham defensive errors to grab two quick tries. Although centre Adam Pierpoint broke superbly to send winger Ashley Dawson dashing in for a try, converted by outside-half Jamie Morris, Nant pressed again and made the game secure with a final converted try. 

It was third time lucky for Wrexham Youth as, following two narrow league reverses this season, they finally overcame Ruthin Youth by 14 - 6 in a friendly at Cae Ddol. After a scoreless first-half, number eight Jake Edwards drove over for Wrexham’s first try and outside-half Jamie Morris converted before the home side replied with two penalties. The issue was decided in the final quarter when Morris executed a fine scissors move with centre Adam Pierpoint who scored near the corner, Morris adding the difficult conversion. Centre Sam Wright also impressed throughout the game.

The main match at Bryn Estyn Road last week was a close North Wales Youth Division One game between Wrexham and Ruthin which the visitors won by 15-12 with a last minute penalty. Wrexham were set to claim two vital points for a draw but gave the game away when winger  Morgan Jones petulantly threw the ball at the face of an opponent and was promptly penalised.   Wrexham looked the likelier side in the first-half and took the lead in the 9^th minute when outside-half Jamie Morris wrong footed the Ruthin defence and scored under the posts. This sparkling try was followed by a conversion from scrum-half Kieran Morris, but play soon deteriorated when the home backs kicked away their possession and Ruthin made too many mistakes when trying to run it back.   In the second-half Ruthin raised their game and scored an unconverted try in the 11^th minute when their backs again collected the ball from a misdirected kick and set up a score for lock Mark Lloyd. That shook Wrexham out of their lethargy and they countered 8 minutes later with a try by lock Rob Moore from a smart attacking move by centre Gwyn Edwards.Straight from the restart, however, the Wrexham forwards got into a tangle and failed to collect the high ball from Ruthin. Scrum-half Clwyd Williams quickly seized the opportunity, collected the loose ball and scored under the posts for outside-half Deian Williams to add the conversion which levelled the scores.   In the closing minutes, Wrexham were unlucky not to score a try at the other end of the pitch, the ball disappearing under a pile of bodies over the Ruthin line. Then, just when the referee was set to blow his whistle for the end of the match, Morgan Jones had his moment of madness and Ruthin celebrated wildly as Deian Williams’ penalty flew through the posts to win the game.   

Wrexham Youth Team defeated Nant Conwy Youth for the first time in over a decade when they outpointed the former North Wales champions by 27-18 in a Youth Division One game at Wrexham. The visitors took an early lead with an unconverted try but Wrexham recovered to lead by 14-5 at the break with honours fairly even in a hotly contested second-half. There was a welcome return to the side by centre Gwyn Edwards who notched two tries. Lock Rob Skeath crashed over for his first ever Youth Team try and number eight Troy Roberts weighed in with Wrexham’s final touchdown. Scrum-half Kieran Morris was in excellent form and landed two conversions and a penalty while flanker Jake Edwards made his presence felt in the back-row.

Mold Youth gained revenge for their shock North Wales Cup reverse at Wrexham last season by defeating their local rivals by 38-3 in North Wales Youth League One at Chester Road on Saturday. Wrexham tried hard to match Mold's fluent rugby and their pack did well against the home eight, but missed tackles cost them dear and they conceded three tries in each half. The only consolation for the visitors was a first-half penalty by outside-half Jamie Morris following a period of pressure.

   (L) 18 - 15

This was a tremendous evenly matched contest with the lead changing hands twice until Ruthin won the game with a last second penalty. A draw would have been a fairer reflection of the match but a late Wrexham error cost them dear. The visitors controlled the early stages with number eight Tom Crawford and prop Jake Edwards catching the eye with their powerful attacking play. Ruthin were forced to defend for lengthy periods and came back late in the second quarter to take the lead with a penalty. Wrexham started well again in the second-half and had the chance to level when a home forward was sin binned for violent conduct. Unfortunately scrum-half Kieron Morris failed narrowly with his penalty kick and Ruthin then stormed back to score a fine try under the posts after a kick and chase move. The extra points from the simple conversion put the home side 10-0 ahead. That seemed to spur the visitors on to a higher level of effort and, with skipper Rob Moore and full-back Adam Pierpoint hitting top form, Wrexham countered with an excellent try in the left corner by winger Owen Willington. Then, as the game entered the final quarter, they levelled with a penalty try awarded when outside-half Jamie Morris was obstructed as he attempted to follow up his own kick to  score under the posts.Centre Danny Roth kicked the conversion that put Wrexham into the lead which they held until the 60^th minute when Ruthin bounced back with a well worked try wide-out. But once again the visitors rallied and levelled the scores with only two minutes remaining when Ruthin failed to release the ball and Kieron Morris slotted a penalty. However, a final surge upfield earned the home side a penalty and they made no mistake to claim a hard earned victory.