Wrexham Rugby Football Club
Bryn Estyn Road, Wrexham, LL13 9TY (UK)
01978 261215

CLUB NEWS 01-02

by Chris Kilfoyle

01/06/02 Preview

Skipper Robbie James will take a competitive Wrexham squad to tomorrow's Llangoed Sevens in Anglesey, keen to round off this season in style by repeating the club's 1998 success at this prestigious tournament (k.o.1.00pm). 

Wrexham restored their old reputation as excellent seven-a-side performers by defeating Llangefni 26-12 in a hotly contested final four years ago, having disposed of favourites Pwllheli, Liverpool side Sefton, Porthmadog and Bethesda in the early rounds. 

Former skipper Llyr Williams and John Roberts are the only survivors of the successful squad to represent the club tomorrow. They will be joined by current First XV regulars Stuart Van Wyke , Gavin Brace and the very mobile flanker Ringo Wu, who may be ideally suited to the seven-a-side game. 

Surprise additions are former Youth Team outside-half Dave Anderson and his brother Axel, who has experience of playing rugby league at a competitive level and should know how to maintain a defensive line and then exploit a gap when it is fashioned. Possible late inclusions in the squad are forwards Gareth Sanger and Paul Campbell who have performed superbly for Chester and New Brighton this season. 

Coach Ross Roberts has never tasted success at this event but has competed well at similar tournaments during his long career. His side should be able to account for Congleton and Caernarfon in the early rounds, but they will have to be at their best to defeat Llangefni, whose skilled backs were largely responsible for winning the North Wales Championship this term.

Other competition at the group stage will come from Manhattan Select who are an unknown quantity and could include some higher division players from South Wales. Wrexham can probably afford to lose one of group games and still reach the later stages of the competition but, if they blend well from the beginning, they could race into the final and possibly win it again. 

In mini and junior rugby, applications have been invited from parents who wish to enrol their sons or daughters on a Rugby Summer School to be held at Wrexham Rugby Club during the weekend of 17th and 18th August. Those attending will be over 7 years of age but under 11 and will be helped to learn new skills and improve on others by a team led by Marc Roberts, the local WRU Development Officer. 

The fee for the weekend is £8 per person, although the 7 year olds will be admitted for half-price. A maximum of 100 course members will be able to participate in a mini rugby tournament on the final day and all will be presented with certificates. Those interested in applying should contact Marc Roberts on 01978 317689 or Neil Sissons on 01978 357990. 

It has been announced that the Wrexham's Hooker Blues Club will stage the National Blues Festival at Bryn Estyn Road from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th June. The club has become one of the premier venues for both new and established blues and R'n'B bands and is organising this popular event for the fifth time in succession. 

Performers will include the famed Slack Alice band, the Florida based guitarist Tommy McCoy on his first UK tour, Rick Payne and Nashville's Fred James. Over 12 bands will entertain thousands of blues followers over a three day period and more information can be obtained by accessing the club's website on www.hookerblues.co.uk.

Although the rugby will finish at tomorrow's Llangoed Sevens Tournament, coach Ross Roberts will continue to organise training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Bryn Estyn Road. Roberts has switched the emphasis from serious power building work to light sessions where having fun without pressure to perform well is of utmost importance. Training starts at 7.00pm and new players of all abilities are very welcome to attend. 

This Season's Old News

24/05/02 

Danny Munro fulfilled a long standing ambition when he deservedly collected the prestigious Adrian Hill Players' Player of the Year Trophy at Wrexham Rugby Club's Annual Dinner and Awards Presentation Evening at Bryn Estyn Road on Friday. 

The gifted all-rounder, who played most of the season in the key hooker position in the front row, added this season's top award to his share of the Bernard Malley Award for making the most senior appearances in a season. With prop Rob Pierce, he missed only four games and gave his side some much needed stability during a difficult season in Division Five North. 

The Harry Hollywell Award, presented by the Club Coach Ross Roberts to his choice of top player, went to lock Ian Sanger who moved up from the Third XV to claim a regular place in the senior side. He became one of the strongest players in the pack and played his part in Wrexham's revival by claiming five important tries.

Mike Ward, the former Youth Team flanker, was voted the Most Improved Player after making the transition from the Second Team to become established in the First XV back-row. His ability to secure possession in the line-out was crucial to the side and he missed only five games, earning a coveted 'colours' tie which is awarded to players appearing in 75% of games played.

Other recipients of colours ties were Simon Williams, James Plant, Ian Sanger and John Darlington. Williams also represented North Wales and the Wrexham and Powys 'Rhinos' provincial side during the season, while Darlington proved to be a great success in the centre after joining Wrexham from the now defunct Castell Alun club last September. 

Skipper Robbie James presented the players with their awards and thanked them for their contributions during a difficult season. He also expressed his pleasure at the prospect of a number of players from the Youth Team Squad becoming eligible to join the senior side next season when the club has a real chance of challenging for the Division Five North title.

The Delwyn Griffiths Award for outstanding service to the club, off the field of play, was presented to George Showell, the club physiotherapist who retired last November after a distinguished soccer career with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Wrexham, followed by his ten year spell at Bryn Estyn Road looking after the town's leading rugby players. 

The Frank Chapman Award for hard work and personality was placed in the hands of Fixture Secretary and First XV Manager Paul Roberts who was an ever-present at all games and training sessions during the season and also had to play the role of diplomat with referees whose performances were not always appreciated by players and supporters.

Second XV skipper Kevin Davies presented the magnificent Pat's Coaches Second Team Player of the Year Trophy to winger James Wrathall who claimed 7 tries and was hugely influential in his team's success in retaining the North East Wales Division One Championship this season. A special mention was made of the contribution made by full-back Ian Connell who was the Division's top points scorer with 121 to his credit.

The magnificent John Bowen Memorial Trophy, introduced last season by the family of the popular club supporter, was presented by Robbie James to Kerry Powell who was chosen as the most promising Under 19 player with 9 First XV appearances to his credit already.

Coach Kevin Powell, presenting new club ties to all of his young players, made a widely appreciated speech on behalf of the Youth Team, emphasising the need for greater support for the side which represents the future of the club. 

Team Awards were then presented to the club sides with Geoff Lang picking up the Second XV Players' Player of the Year Award and Darrell Hughes collecting the Personality Award. In the Youth Team, Ben Cheesbrough was voted Coach's Player of the Year and Tom Stevens scooped the Players' Award.

Andy Lee walked away with the Third XV Captain's Player Award, Gerry Darbyshire won the Players' Player Award following an outstanding season, while Ian Bostock matched his brother Malcolm's feat of last season by picking up the Personality Award. 

Presentations of rugby balls, signed by all members of the First team squad, were made by Club Chairman Peter Evans to mini and junior section players Shaun Strudwick, Daniel Sissons,  David Blackwell and Jamie Morris in recognition of their keen role as ball-boys during the season.

Three awards have been presented recently to each mini and junior rugby side, Players' Player, Captain's Player and Team Personality, with Richard Jarvis, Simon Jones and Gareth Owen scooping the prizes in the Under 16 age group. They will move up to the Youth Team next season and will strengthen them for what promises to be a challenging season. 

The club was unable to field an Under 15 side but all other levels were well represented with Glen Bellamy and Dafydd Rowlands picking up the main awards at Under 14 level and the whole team scooping the Personality Award. Huw Evans, Richard Baker and Gareth Davies took the honours in the Under 13's and Jack Evans, Jamie Morris and Kenny Simms secured the Under 12 trophies.

The Under 11's were represented by Philip Davies, Edward Lewis and David Platt while Dwayne Jones and Jack Griffiths took the first two awards in the Under 10 group with Christian Chalk and Ben Harrison sharing the Personality Award. 

Jonathon Davies, Ryan Weeks and Ryan Jones were the pick of the bunch in the Under 9's and, for the first time, a young lady, Charlotte Williams, claimed the Captain's Player Award in the Under 8's. Ashley Salisbury and Ben Hewitt were popular winners of the other awards.

The Wrexham Mini and Junior Section has announced that it will hold its' annual general meeting at the Bryn Estyn Road clubhouse on Tuesday 11th June. Officers will be elected for the new season and plans are already advanced to build on the successes of last season. A club handbook will be published for circulation to local schools as well as members and a weekend summer school has been organised at Bryn Estyn Road on the 17th and 18th August. 

The senior Wrexham players will bring the season to a close at the Llangoed Sevens Competition in Anglesey on Saturday 1st June where they hope to win their group and progress to the finals. However, they face stiff competition from local side Llangefni as well as Caernarfon, Congleton and the unknown Manhattan Select and will have to make a good start in their first game which 
begins at 1.00pm.

The line-up of teams in next season's Division Five North has been decided following Bethesda's 31-6 victory over Bala in last Saturday's play-off game. Bethesda retain their place in the top flight, Nant Conwy are new entrants after their promotion as champions of Division Six while Bangor and Welshpool have been relegated. Llangefni are this season's Champions after Ruthin fell 
at the final hurdle and finished as runners up. 17/05/02 Rugby

Wrexham Rugby Club players and supporters will gather at their Bryn Estyn Road clubhouse this evening to celebrate the end of a season which was characterised by the First Team's long and arduous but eventually successful struggle to avoid relegation from Division Five North (7.30pm). 

Local businessman and popular local after dinner speaker Alan Tudor has been invited as the Guest of Honour at the club's Annual Dinner which will also feature the presentation of awards and trophies to the top performers in the senior Wrexham teams and the Under 19 Youth Squad.

Tudor, a former First XV player, will no doubt enthral members this evening with his witty anecdotes before he helps Club Coach Ross Roberts and Chairman Peter Evans to present trophies to the award winners.

With the exception of prop Rob Pierce and Danny Munro, who have already been named as the joint winners of the Bernard Malley Award for making the most First XV appearances this season, the names of those award winners will be kept secret until the prizegiving ceremony takes place.

The most prestigious award is the Harry Hollywell Award for the Player of the Year as judged by the Club Coach and Committee. Top try scorer Jason Munro must be a main contender after doing more than most to save the club from the disgrace of relegation by scoring 17 superb tries which changed the course of the season.

All of the players in the club will be invited to vote for their choice as the Players Player of the Year, the winner receiving the coveted Adrian Hill Award. This season it may go to Ian Sanger who moved up from the back-row to become as solid as a rock in Wrexham's powerful second-row and shook off injuries to appear in 22 games. Hooker Danny Munro is another strong contender along with centre Paul Mizzi and flanker Llyr Williams.

There should be no lack of candidates for the Most Improved Player award with lock Mike Ward appearing to be the outstanding prospect ahead of centre Simon Williams who also impressed for the Wrexham and Powys 'Rhinos' Provincial side in a new North Wales competition. 

Second XV skipper Kevin Davies will have a difficult task to choose his Player of the Year as full-back Ian Connell, lock Jason Griffiths, centre Geoff Lang, utility back Darrell Hughes and winger James Wrathall all played consistently well during a very successful season which culminated in the team retaining the North East Wales Division One Championship. 

Under skipper Sean Williams, Wrexham Thirds finished as runners up in Division Two and would probably have won the Championship if a couple of opposing sides had fielded their regulars instead stocking up with First Team players. Winger Andy Lee, full-back Mark Otter, lock Keith Roberts and centre Andy Godwin are strong candidates for Player of the Year.

There are a number of strong contenders in the Under 19 Youth Team for the John Bowen Memorial Trophy which will be awarded to their most promising player. Lock Alastair Pearce, full-back Tom Stevens, outside-half Kerry Powell and centre Mark Gasson have all demonstrated that they are capable of acquitting themselves well when they play at a higher level. 

Prepared by the new and completely untried coaching partnership of Club Coach Ross Roberts, local entrepreneur Matt Arnold and Ruthin stalwart Graham Williams, Wrexham started their season with a resounding 15-9 victory over Kidwelly from Division Four in the first round of the Welsh cup. They fought back to win by 17-16 at Old Penarthians before mighty Builth Wells put a stop to their cup ambitions with a 43-0 whitewash. 

Away from cup competition, however, Wrexham failed to make much of an impression after losing by 0-61 at Caernarfon with an under strength side. Confidence sagged, there was little direction in their play, fitness levels dropped and by the turn of the year they had beaten only fellow strugglers Welshpool and Bangor in league competition. 

Then the London bobby Paul Mizzi arrived on the scene with his infectious desire to win matches, and lock Mike McLeod came out of temporary retirement to bring his vast experience to bear in the pack. Prop Richard Williams, another crucial player, returned from a working holiday in Canada, Iwan Roberts completed a lengthy suspension and the team suddenly started to improve.

The turning point probably came when they pulled off a shock 24-19 victory over Llangefni, the newly crowned Champions of Division Five North. With outside-half Richard Lloyd and scrum-half John Roberts back in the side after returning from Chester, Wrexham went from strength to strength, winning 8 out of their last 10 matches including their 46-14 demolition of Mold, their 
biggest victory of the season.

A record number of 61 players represented the First XV during the season and success in 14 of their 30 games resulted in the team recording a slight improvement over their results last term. A haul of 79 tries and a conversion rate of 58% was commendable, but the penalty count of only 12 successful pots was far below the target of 48 per season and indicated that, for one reason or another, points were being squandered. 

Although no one managed to take part in every match, Rob Pierce and Danny Munro overcame injuries to appear in 26 games apiece. They were closely followed by Jason Munro (25), Mike Ward (25), John Darlington (23), Simon Williams (23), James Plant (23), Ian Sanger (22), skipper Robbie James (21) and Llyr Williams (20). Assistant coach Matt Arnold was pressed into service 
on 17 occasions and played a full part in the team's successful struggle to avoid relegation. 

The 22-10 home defeat of Llandudno ended any lingering fears of relegation and heralded the coming of age of the new coaching partnership led by Ross Roberts. Next season they will have to go one stage further and find a way of introducing a cutting edge to the threequarters to supplement the excellent work carried out by the most feared pack in North Wales. 

Wrexham Seconds retained the North East Wales Division One Championship with an unbeaten record that was broken only in their last game at Ruthin against a strengthened side. Full-back Ian Connell was the Division's top points scorer with 121 to his credit, including 6 tries, and winger James Wrathall emerged as the joint third top try scorer, having claimed 7 touchdowns.

Kevin Davies's side enjoyed league doubles over Flint, Denbigh, Mold, Afon Dee and Abergele, their 114-0 home victory over Mold establishing an new club record. They didn't fare so well in friendly games against strong opponents, losing heavily to Manchester Wanderers on two occasions and Denbigh Firsts. Their 26-14 away victory against Whitchurch Seconds, however, was one to be 
savoured.

Wrexham Thirds failed to perform as strongly as last season but still managed to finish as runners up in Division Two. They completed doubles over Mold, Llangollen and Corwen but had their busy schedule upset by match postponements and, like the Seconds, ended up playing five games less than last season. 

Led by skipper Sean Williams, their biggest victory was their 56-0 demolition of Whitchurch Fourths in a friendly. Outside-half Neil Route emerged as one of the Second Division's top points scorers with 56 to his credit including 5 tries.

Wrexham's Youth Team continued their progress in Division Two of the Dragons Rugby Trust North Wales League, finishing in second place behind unbeaten Nant Conwy to provisionally qualify for a place in Division One where they may play Mold, Ruthin and Caernarfon. 

Coached by Kevin Powell, they achieved notable doubles over Bala, Harlech and Rhyl, their 78-0 early season conquest of Rhyl being their biggest victory. They will lose a few key players to the senior sides next season but will be strengthened for their new challenge by some exciting new players from this year's Under 16 junior rugby team.

In the last rugby game of the season to be played at Bryn Estyn Road, the Wrexham and Powys 'Rhinos' narrowly failed in their bid to register their first success in the new North Wales Provincial Championship by defeating the Gwynedd 'Eagles' on Monday evening. Coached by Dave Cheesbrough, the Rhinos came from behind to score tries by Wrexham players Iwan Roberts and Paul 
Mizzi with another touchdown by Welshpool's Steve Beard, but lost by 15-24. 

13/05/02 Preview

The Wrexham and Powys 'Rhinos' side are hoping that their first game at Bryn Estyn Road will draw enough support to help them to defeat the Gwynedd 'Eagles' in a closing round of the new North Wales Provincial Championship on 
Monday evening 13th May (kick-off at 7.00pm).

The Rhinos, coached by former Wrexham rugby star Dave Cheesbrough and managed by Glyn Eames-Jones from Llanidloes, haven't won a game yet but have come close in several well contested encounters. Their players are drawn mainly from Wrexham and Rhos rugby clubs with the addition of a sprinkling of campaigners from Welshpool and Newtown.

Injuries and the demands of the North Wales League programme have so far hampered attempts to field a full strength Rhinos side, but Cheesbrough is reasonably confident that Monday's selection is a strong one and should pose a real threat to the visiting Eagles.

Wrexham outside-half Richard Lloyd has been recalled to the Rhinos squad along with fellow threequarters James Plant, Paul Mizzi, Stuart Van Wyke, John Roberts and Simon Williams. Iwan Roberts, Richard Williams, Rob Pierce, 
Mike McLeod, Mike Ward, Danny Munro and Ringo Wu will be reinforced in the pack by the inclusion of Rhos forwards Carl Zolman and Mike Hamer. 

The Denbigh and Flint 'Bulls' look set to win this season's extended Provincial Championship but a good win at Wrexham on Monday evening could provide the boost that the Rhinos need to make a big impression in next 
season's competition. 

With the rugby season almost complete, attention is now focused on the Annual Dinner and Presentation of Awards at Wrexham Rugby Club on Friday 17th May. A packed house of 200 players and supporters in the club's main function room is expected with popular local after dinner speaker Alan Tudor being the guest of honour. 

Most of the prizes and awards will not be announced until the evening of the dinner, but the recipient of the Bernard Malley Award for the player making the most senior appearances in the season has already been decided. The trophy will in fact be shared between last year's winner Rob Pierce and his front row team mate Danny Munro who both managed to make 26 appearances out of 30 despite missing games through injury.

Simon Williams, James Plant, Ian Sanger and John Darlington will also be presented with prestigious 'colours' ties for appearing in over 75% of First Team games in a season. They all played a significant part in improving Wrexham's fortunes and securing the club's position in Division Five North for another season following a difficult start. A full round up of results for all teams will be published next week .

04/05/02 Report

BANGOR 23 WREXHAM 22

Wrexham lost their last game of the season at Bangor when they were cruelly penalised in the last minute at Bangor, but the match will be remembered mainly for the performance of North Wales referee Bob Bishop who appeared to 
lose control after being barracked by the supporters of both sides for poor and inconsistent decisions.

While Bangor enjoyed a brief celebration of their good fortune immediately after winger Iestyn Hampson-Jones had kicked the match winning penalty, Bishop issued red cards to Wrexham wingers Simon Williams and John Roberts as 
they exchanged post-match comments.

Upset Wrexham officials, supporters and players met after the game and agreed to lodge a protest, in conjunction with representatives of the Bangor club, against Bishop's handling of what was always going to be a tight end of season relegation battle.

Wrexham saved themselves from relegation or the threat of a play-off by defeating Llandudno on the previous Saturday, but Bangor were still deeply embroiled near the foot of the table. Hopes were raised when they scraped 
past Wrexham, but there was soon massive disappointment in the Bangor camp when news of Bethesda's shock defeat of Championship leaders Ruthin condemned them to automatic relegation. 

Bethesda secured the lifeline of a play-off game against Bala who finished second behind already promoted Nant Conwy in Division Six North. Bangor and Welshpool are the sides which have been relegated from Division Five North 
and will play clubs like Blaenau Ffestiniog, Rhos and Denbigh next season.

In a game that was cleanly contested throughout at Bangor, Wrexham let themselves down in the first quarter when full-back Gavin Brace made a hash of a clearance kick and the home backs quickly collected the loose ball to 
send winger Meurig Jones scampering over in the corner. 

Moments later, their North Wales centre Will Cobley broke swiftly from his own half and brushed aside several half-hearted tackles to score a neat try under the posts which Hampson-Jones easily converted to give his side a 12-0 
lead. 

Mike McLeod, Wrexham's skipper in the absence of the unavailable Carl Turner, read the riot act to his players and they responded with some excellent line-out play by Llyr Williams, powerful breaks by John Roberts and surges by 
Jason Munro. Simon Williams charged down an attempted clearance by Bangor and appeared to score in the 23rd minute, but referee Bishop disallowed it.

Despite the attentions of Bangor's former Wrexham flanker Dylan Dobson-Jones, the visitors kept plugging away and broke their duck in the 36th minute when Jason Munro powered over following some good interplay with his number eight Dean Griffiths.

More heavy pressure from the Wrexham forwards produced a welcome try just before the break, John Roberts spotting a gap in the mainly reliable home defensive line and diving over for a score wide-out. Centre Paul Mizzi's conversion attempt was close but not close enough to tie the scores, leaving Bangor in charge with a 12-10 lead at half-time. 

The visitors made a determined start to the second-half but were soon pegged back as they conceded a stream of penalties. Bangor gladly accepted the invitation and increased their advantage in the 51st minute when Brace 
surrendered possession on his 22 and Hampson-Jones scored under the posts. Surprisingly, he failed with a simple conversion attempt. 

Mizzi replied by missing a penalty in front of the posts but replacement prop Iwan Roberts made no mistake at the start of the final quarter when he collected the ball from a free kick and ploughed through for a deserved try near the corner. Mizzi landed an excellent conversion into the breeze and Wrexham were level at last. 

Once again, however, Bangor were soon awarded a penalty and Hampson-Jones succeeded with a kick that put his side in front again. The Wrexham backs lacked pace and could make no headway against a well organised defence but the forwards gained the upper hand in the closing stages and produced the score that appeared to have won the match for them in the 78th minute. 

Replacement flanker Mike Ward claimed the ball from a line-out just inside the Bangor 22 and delivered it to his big forwards who drove hard for the home line. Just when it seemed that the attack would fail, hooker Danny Munro wriggled through a wall of defenders and suddenly found open space to score wide-out. Mizzi's conversion attempt looked on target but just shaved the left post to leave Wrexham with a very slender two points advantage. 

Bangor threw everything into an all-out final assault but were repulsed by counter attacks including an excellent break by Simon Williams. When Wrexham were awarded a scrum near the halfway line deep into injury time, referee 
Bishop suddenly changed his mind and penalised them instead, giving the home forwards a chance to attack in the left corner.

Fierce resistance by the home defenders appeared to have paid off when referee Bishop suddenly signaled a penalty award and raced to a point immediately in front of the posts although all of the Wrexham backs were in an onside position. All that Hampson-Jones had to do was to concentrate on his task and he made no mistake to claim the match as a storm of protest duly erupted. 

04/05/02 Preview

Wrexham, now safe from any threat of relegation, can still influence the final placing's at the bottom of the table when they take on Bangor at Cae Milltir in the last league game of the season tomorrow afternoon (kick-off at 2.30pm). 

Another victory for the East Walians will condemn their hosts to automatic relegation from Division Five North while defeat will probably hand Bangor the lifeline of a play-off game against Bala, the club which has finished in second place in Division Six and has been trying for many years to break into the top league in North Wales. 

Carl Turner, the experienced flanker who has guided Wrexham to three successive victories during the absence of injured skipper Robbie James, is unavailable for tomorrow's contest and so is centre John Darlington who was set to make a return to the side after playing a couple of games for the Seconds.

However, prop Richard Williams returns from injury and suspension to bolster the front row and utility forward Iwan Roberts is back from a short holiday, ready to make an impact in the pack. Hooker Danny Munro, who has played an important role in most of the games this season but missed last week's match due to a nose injury, will have to undergo a late fitness test. 

Wrexham's 36-17 victory over Bangor at Bryn Estyn Road last December heralded the beginning of their recovery from a disastrous start to the season. Bangor have also improved since then, thanks to the form of their Natal Sharks winger Siya Sibiya, their North Wales centre Will Cobley and their former Wrexham Northern Counties flanker Dylan Dobson-Jones.

The Gwynedd side have more to play for tomorrow as their continued existence in the top flight of North Wales Rugby is at stake, but Wrexham will want to complete their season on a high note ready to make a serious challenge for the Championship with strengthened resources next year. Another tight game is in prospect and the result could go either way. 

All of the other Wrexham teams have completed their rugby programmes for the season but the Seconds are travelling with the First XV to Bangor in the hope that their hosts will be able to provide a side to play one more game before they store their boots for the summer. There will be some seats for supporters on the team coach which will leave Bryn Estyn Road at 11.00am. 

Local rugby followers will have a chance to watch the Wrexham and Powys 'Rhinos' side playing the Gwynedd 'Eagles' in a round of the new North Wales Provincial Championship at Bryn Estyn Road on Monday evening 13th May at 7.00pm. There will be a strong representation of local players in the Rhinos side including Chris Brooks and Mark Davies from Rhos and Rob Pierce, Mike Ward and James Plant from Wrexham. 

Club Coach Ross Roberts has entered Wrexham in the prestigious Llangoed Sevens Competition which takes place in Anglesey at the end of May. Wrexham won the tournament the several years ago, a great feat because the event is always enhanced by the presence of a number of top players from the leading clubs in South Wales. 

27/04/02 Report

WREXHAM 22 LLANDUDNO 10

A late try by top points scorer Jason Munro settled what turned out to be a difficult contest in Wrexham's favour and made sure that the season-long threat of relegation from Division Five North was finally lifted. 

It was Wrexham's 10th league victory of the season and it lifted them up two places to 7th in the table. Munro's try, his 16th of the season, took his side's total score for the season past the 500 landmark, an improvement on last year's performance.

Luck seemed to have deserted the home side in the opening minutes, outside-half Richard Lloyd miscuing two easy penalty shots and Munro having a 3rd minute try disallowed for putting a foot in touch. Perseverance paid off, however, and a break by scrum-half John Roberts, followed by a run by winger Stuart Van Wyke, finished with an unconverted try for lock Jason Griffiths. 


Lloyd redeemed himself by adding the conversion and then slotting a 22nd minute penalty. Wrexham dominated proceedings, particularly in the forward exchanges, but gained little reward because they persisted in choosing wrong options when they attacked. 

Llandudno soaked up a lot of pressure with some keen tackling and then started to win a stream of possession in the line-out through their former Wrexham lock Jim Coy, despite Mike Ward's excellent performance for the home side in that area.

A five minute spell of pressure by the visitors led to several tap penalty moves near the home line and lock Richard Pike used his physical presence to force his way over the Wrexham line for a deserved try. Paul Algieri, Llandudno's dangerous goal kicker, failed with his conversion attempt and was then sent off for 10 minutes for blocking the release of the ball on his 22. 

Leading by 10-5 at the break with Algieri still in the sin-bin, Wrexham took full advantage by drawing in the Llandudno forwards on the resumption of the game and driving lock Ian Sanger over for a superb try in the corner. The contest was thrown open again, however, when Coy capitalised on pressure near the home line to blast over from a scrum, the fourth second-row player to score in this match. 

Wrexham returned to the other end but squandered more chances to tie up the game. Another failed penalty attempt by Lloyd looked as though it might prove to be crucial when Llandudno returned to the attack and pummelled Wrexham near their line, but the home defence held firm this time.

Llyr Williams replaced the injured Jason Griffiths deep in the final quarter and helped his threequarters to escape from a Llandudno stranglehold. When Algieri had a clearance kick charged down, centre Jamie Brown reacted the quickest and fed the ball to Munro who proved unstoppable under the posts. Centre Paul Mizzi took over the kicking duties and added the final points.

Wrexham Seconds suffered a 10-22 defeat at Ruthin and lost their unbeaten record in North East Wales Division One, although they will still be crowned as Champions for the second year in succession. Ruthin Seconds fielded the ineligible New Brighton lock Paul Campbell who made a big difference to their effort alongside another former Wrexham player Rhodri Jones. Nick Stott grabbed both of Wrexham's tries from rolling mauls. 

Wrexham Thirds finished in second place in Division Two, denied the Championship after only managing a 10-10 draw at home to Ruthin Thirds. Wrexham led by 10-3 at half-time with a try by Rhodri Davies and a conversion and penalty by Neil Route, but former Wrexham Northern Counties star Steve Morgan powered over for a Ruthin try in the second-half. 

Wrexham Youth were a little rusty after a six week layoff and went down at Bethesda by 7-20. The loss of skipper Kerry Powell with a rib injury reduced them to 14 men, but they still managed a try by Alastair Pearce and a conversion by John Gormley. 

The Anglo Welsh Festival, organised by Wrexham's Junior and Mini Rugby Section, was a great success last Sunday with teams from Chester, Flint, Denbigh, Crewe and Nantwich and Wrexham taking part. Sunday the 28th of April saw this season's Mini & Junior fixtures culminate in the 1st ever Mini's " Anglo-Welsh" rugby festival. North Western clubs in all mini ages battles through the day to be first in their group.  Over 500 players and approx. 300 spectators enjoyed a fine day. The weather was kind to us, at times threatening to put an early end to the day, holding back and allowing us to play rugby for 6^1/2 uninterrupted hours!

The standard of play was, as expected, high, spirited & fair. Wrexham performed well, winning the u10's & u11's. Local rivals Chester won the three other age groups, u8's, u9's & u12's. Our u12's were suffering from having 5 players on North Wales representative duty in the south and 5 other players unavailable.

Wrexham festival medals were awarded to all the winning squads. It is always sad on these occasions to send youngsters home without medals or trophies. If any business would like to help us by sponsoring medals or trophies for next year's festival we would be extremely pleased to hear from them.

The teams on the day were; Chester, Crewe & Nantwich, West Park St Helens, Birkenhead, Flint, Denbigh, LLandudno & of course Wrexham.

A special thanks should go to the "back-room boys & girls" who worked behind the scenes to make the day a success. 

27/04/02 Preview

Having eased their season long relegation worries with victories over Newtown and Bethesda in recent weeks, Wrexham need to defeat Llandudno at Bryn Estyn Road tomorrow afternoon in their last home game of the season to make sure that their future in Division Five North is assured (kick-off at 2.30pm). 

Coach Ross Roberts has chosen a side which is near to full strength and is raring to complete the remarkable recovery which started with a victory over Championship leaders Llangefni at the end of January and has continued with six more victories in seven games since then. 

Lock Ian Sanger, a regular in the side this season who needs to make only one more appearance to claim his prestigious 'colours' tie, suffered an ankle injury at Bethesda last week and must undergo a late fitness test before he can be given the green light to take his place in the second-row. Jason Griffiths, who scored his first senior try in a great performance last week, is expected to partner Sanger. 

Iwan Roberts, sent off at Bethesda, is included in the Wrexham side until his case is heard by a WRU disciplinary committee, and the backs are likely to remain unchanged with Jamie Brown retaining his place in the centre and James Plant patrolling on the left wing. 

Llandudno, the current North Wales Cup holders, have suffered several reverses in recent weeks including last Saturday's 34-31 home defeat by relegation threatened Bangor. Superior fitness helped them to defeat Wrexham by 45-24 last December and the man who made a big difference for them was former Wrexham winger Paul Algieri who contributed 15 points with his boot. 

Wrexham cannot be overtaken by bottom clubs Bangor or Welshpool in this season's league contest but an unexpected win for Bethesda at Caernarfon tomorrow afternoon could prolong Wrexham's relegation worries if they fail to last the pace against Llandudno this time. Provided that they don't make the mistakes that would supply ammunition to Algieri, Wrexham have the confidence and power in the pack to complete this last home fixture on a high note.

Wrexham Seconds, who have already retained the North East Wales Division One Championship, visit Ruthin Seconds to play an outstanding game that was postponed during a soggy January. The Thirds have a Division Two home game against Ruthin Thirds and must win if they are to have any chance of catching Abergele Seconds, the current leaders (k.o.3.00pm). 

The Wrexham Youth Team will visit Bethesda for a Dragons Trust North Wales Youth League game that will bring an end to a season which has seen them mature into a strong young side. Skipper Kerry Powell, lock Alastair Pearce and wing Tom Stevens head a long list of players who will make an impact in senior rugby over the next few seasons. 

The Mini and Junior Rugby Section will bring another successful season to a close with an Anglo Welsh Tournament for the Under 8's to 12's at Bryn Estyn Road on Sunday morning. The visiting teams include West Park St.Helens, Denbigh, Chester, Flint, Llandudno, and Crewe and Nantwich, and competition should be intense in each group with medals at stake (k.o 10.20am). 


20/04/02 Report 

BETHESDA 19 WREXHAM 24

Seemingly in control of their big game at Bethesda with an eight point cushion over the home side, the wind at their backs and only 15 minutes of normal time remaining, Wrexham had to defend frantically for the rest of the game when the wind died completely and they lost three players in quick succession as the referee punished indiscretions with two yellow cards and one red card. 

Luckily, Bethesda's star Western Australia centre Matt Harrington couldn't add a match levelling score to his earlier try and a home forward held on to the ball for too long in the 8th minute of injury time and conceded the penalty that Wrexham gleefully used to escape from a desperate stranglehold. The final whistle blew and Bethesda found themselves in the relegation zone, not depleted Wrexham. 

The first-half saw the visitors at their best as they chose to play against a strong gusting wind and not only contained the home side but also managed to dominate play for most of the half. Lock Mike Ward ruled the line-out, scrum-half John Roberts probed incessantly from the base of the scrum, lock Jason Griffiths punched holes in the Bethesda defence and skipper Carl Turner 
was an inspiration as he ripped the ball out of Bethesda hands time after time. 

When Bethesda managed to win some possession, they used it well. Errors cost Wrexham dear on three occasions as outside-half Gareth Wyn Roberts used the wind to land penalties which gave his side a 9-0 lead. On the stroke of half-time, however, outside-half Richard Lloyd scooped up a poor ball from a line-out under severe pressure and fed Jason Griffiths who powered over for a great try. 

With confidence high and powerful replacements ready to boost them for the second-half, Wrexham unaccountably lost their shape, failed to collect the ball from Bethesda's kick-off and then lost a stream of line-outs as the home forwards dominated for 10 minutes.

Gradually, however, the big Wrexham forwards started to regain the initiative with number eight Jason Munro leading by example. A pushover move nearly paid off in the 50th minute before Munro decided to go it alone and crashed over for an unconverted try wide-out. 

Bethesda's response was immediate and their forwards won a crucial turnover before they released Harrington on a 30 metre run past flailing defenders to regain the lead with a sparkling try under the posts. Wyn Roberts added the extra points with a simple conversion. 

Undeterred, the visitors stormed back to win a scrum 5 metres out from the home line and replacement prop Iwan Roberts forced his way over for an excellent try. Lloyd added the conversion which put Wrexham in front again and repeated his feat in the 65th minute after referee Mr.John Griffith had sin-binned a home prop for persistent indiscretions and had then awarded Wrexham a penalty try when the home scrum collapsed. 

As sometimes happens when a team loses a player, Bethesda raised their game at the same time that Wrexham's wind advantage finally ceased. Determined play by Harrington and his forwards earned a penalty which Wyn Roberts kicked to reduce the visitors' advantage to only five points and then Jason Munro was yellow carded for lying over the ball. 

4 minutes of injury time turned into 8 minutes as Bethesda camped in the Wrexham 22 and sent wave after wave of attackers in pursuit of a match winning score. Iwan Roberts was shown a red card in the 82nd minute for allegedly throwing a retaliatory punch and Turner was ordered to the sin-bin in the 84th minute for preventing release of the ball. Somehow, despite all these setbacks, the line held and Wrexham emerged triumphant to ease their relegation worries.

Wrexham Seconds suffered a 59-18 defeat at Denbigh Firsts after leading the Division Six North side by 13-10 at half-time. Tries came from James Wrathall and Darrell Hughes who also dropped a goal, while Ian Connell kicked a conversion and a penalty. In another friendly, Wrexham Thirds were beaten by 38-8 at Oswestry Seconds who were strengthened by First XV players. Neil 
Route scored all of Wrexham's points with a try and a penalty. 

In mini and junior rugby, Wrexham Under 14's defeated the Doncaster based Thesonians touring side by 24-17 on Friday evening thanks to 4 tries from Glen Bellamy and a brace of conversions from Enion Edwards. On Sunday they hammered visitors Leigh by 57-7, their tries coming from Ceri Dawson (2), Mike Platt, Nathan Weeks, Dewi Richards, Dafydd Rowlands, James Gibney, 
Martin Jones, Eiron Edwards and Enion Edwards who also kicked two conversions and a penalty.

The Under 13's rounded off their season with a 39-5 home success against Afon Dee, thanks to tries by Huw Edwards (3), Danny Lee (2), Stephen Roberts and Daniel Lloyd with 2 conversions from Lee. 

The mini rugby sides took on Northwich at Bryn Estyn Road, the Under 12's running out of time to lose by 24-29 after trailing by 12-24. Gawain Rogers and Gwyn Edwards grabbed a brace of tries apiece and Kieron Morris added 2 conversions. Wrexham Under 11's won their game by 14-5, thanks to tries by Ashley Dawson and Dafydd Burrell with 2 conversions from Phil Davies.

The Under 10's lost 1-3 and 0-1 to well drilled Northwich sides with Dwayne Jones notching the home score. Wrexham Under 9's fielded an 'A' side against Northwich and drew by 4-4 with tries by Ieuan Keenan and Tyler Edwards before they sent out a 'B' side and managed a 1-1 draw, Ross Lloyd scoring the match levelling touchdown. 

20/04/02 Preview

Wrexham, having risen to fifth from bottom of Division Five North after some stirring victories in recent weeks, face a tough battle tomorrow at fellow strugglers Bethesda where the losers could be cast into the relegation pot once again (kick-off at 2.30pm). 

If they can repeat what they achieved against Newtown last week, however, a victory would put Wrexham in a relatively safe position in the mid table, ready to take on Llandudno and Bangor with plenty of confidence in the two remaining games of this season's league programme. 

Prop Rob Pierce makes his 60th senior appearance and flanker Dean Griffiths, newly returned from injury, is set to complete his half century of outings. Top try scorer Jason Munro, the principal ball carrier in the Wrexham pack, retains his place at number eight, ready to take on the Bethesda defence. 

Bethesda won the previous encounter at Bryn Estyn Road in December by a generous score of 35-14 after Wrexham led on two occasions but then threw the game away by defending poorly. The Gwynedd side changed tactics in the second-half and employed their Western Australia centre Matt Harrington to move the ball away from the big Wrexham forwards.

The introduction of centres Paul Mizzi and Jamie Brown, outside-half Richard Lloyd, full-back Gavin Brace and scrum-half John Roberts has brought about a marked improvement in the Wrexham back line since then and the confidence of the team has soared, despite a recent reversal at Dolgellau.

The East Walians will give a much better account of themselves tomorrow but will have to cope with a vociferous local crowd and a team which will exploit every opportunity to avoid a defeat which could condemn them to a difficult play-off against Bala to survive in Division Five North. Wrexham have the confidence and resources to win, but it could be a very close game indeed.

A supporters coach has been hired and will leave Bryn Estyn Road at 11.30am, travelling along the picturesque A5 route to avoid extensive roadworks on the A55. Wrexham Seconds have filled a blank date by arranging a game from the local fixture pool at Denbigh Firsts while the Thirds will visit Oswestry Seconds for another friendly (k.o.3.00pm). 

The Hooker Blues Club, based at Wrexham's Bryn Estyn Road clubhouse, will feature the Smokehouse Blues Band from Runcorn at this evening's (Friday) performance. Tickets are available at the door which opens at 8.00pm. 

The Annual Rugby Dinner, which includes the presentation of trophies and awards to top players and workers at the rugby club, will be held on Friday 17th May in the main function room at the clubhouse. Whilst several guests and sponsors have been invited, Chairman Peter Evans has confirmed that only paid-up members will be admitted to the celebration of the season end. 

15/04/02 Report

WREXHAM 36 NEWTOWN 5

It was a day of reflection followed by celebration at Bryn Estyn Road where Wrexham observed a one minute silence in memory of the popular former player and coach Gwyn Harries and then produced a top class performance under stand-in skipper Carl Turner to demolish a hard working Newtown side and ease their relegation worries.

Number eight Jason Munro, already the team's top try scorer with 10 touchdowns to his credit, returned from a skiing holiday to add 4 more to his tally as the visitors came under intense pressure in the first-half of the game.

Skipper Robbie James was unable to take part due to a niggling back injury, but John Roberts took over the scrum-half berth for the third time this season and unsettled Newtown with a couple of probing runs before Munro took over and scored near the corner in the 5th minute.

The visitors soon found their rhythm and levelled the scores with a try by number eight Eddie McGuire who forced his way over from a 5 metre line-out. Undeterred, Turner led his side by example and applied more and more pressure until Newtown cracked and conceded 4 tries in only 13 minutes before the break. 

Munro broke from a line-out and handed off several attempted tackles as he ran 40 metres from a line-out to claim his second touchdown, and then lock Mike Ward provided the ammunition from the line-out to help his number eight to add two more tries in quick succession. 

Outside-half Richard Lloyd converted one of Munro's tries and then added the extra points after centre Paul Mizzi crossed for a sparkling try when Newtown failed to win their own line-out. 

With a breeze at their backs in the second-half, Newtown were able to exert more pressure of their own and slowed the Wrexham advance. The stalemate continued until the 60th minute when full-back Gavin Brace profited from a neat turn by lock Jason Griffiths and jinked through a gap to score a superb try which Lloyd made no mistake in converting. 

Wrexham continued to press with some good combined work by the forwards and backs but the scores dried up, leaving Wrexham convincing winners. Turner received a special round of applause when he left the field to be replaced by Llyr Williams with the job almost completed. 

This impressive victory enabled Wrexham to overtake Bethesda who were beaten 39-29 at Bangor in another relegation battle. Caernarfon, the other side forced into the relegation zone by Wrexham's success in recent weeks, managed a 19-10 home victory over Dolgellau but face tough games over the next few weeks against the main contenders for the Championship. 

Wrexham Seconds were due to play Chester Veterans in a friendly fixture at Bryn Estyn Road but were left bitterly disappointed when their opponents failed to arrive and offered no explanation for their non appearance. The Youth Team suffered similar disappointment when Llangefni forgot about their rearranged league fixture against Wrexham and organised a Second XV fixture 
instead against local opposition. 

Wrexham Thirds travelled to Shotton to play Afon Dee Seconds in a crucial North East Wales Division Two Championship game but were very unhappy when their hosts fielded most of their First XV regulars and won by 36-3. The visitors' score came from a penalty by Youth Team outside-half Kerry Powell and Wrexham remain in third place in the table subject to a protest.

13/04/02 Preview

Wrexham have prepared well for tomorrow's Division Five North encounter against Newtown at Bryn Estyn Road, knowing that they need to produce a victory to keep ahead of their rivals in the current relegation battle (kick-off at 2.30pm). 

Most of their players who were unavailable for their somewhat unlucky Easter defeat at Dolgellau are now available for selection, including top try scorer Jason Munro, centre Paul Mizzi and outside-half Richard Lloyd. In fact, coach Ross Roberts is in the enviable position of having too many players available for selection and will have to disappoint one or two of them. 

One player who is doubtful for tomorrow's game is prop Richard Williams who aggravated a back injury at Dolgellau and lasted only four minutes of that game. If Williams fails a late fitness test, he will be replaced by either Matt Arnold or Iwan Roberts with Mike Ward taking over as the main jumper in the line-out. 

The line-out is a very important area for securing possession and this was amply demonstrated in last week's international games between Wales and Scotland and Italy versus England. Lock Scott Murray broke Welsh hearts by stealing their line-out possession at will and the Italian Bortolami had England in a spin for a while when he robbed them of possession in a spirited second-half revival. 

Deprived of the dominance of lock Mike McLeod, who suffered a cruel ligament injury when back to his best in last month's game against Mold, Wrexham will need to give every assistance to the lightweight Ward as their main jumper with other support coming from Iwan Roberts who is no slacker in this department.

Prior to their Dolgellau reverse, Wrexham had won five games in quick succession as their heavy forwards relished the soft grounds prevailing during February and March. All that has changed in recent weeks and Robbie James and his side will have to bring their backs into the action more often if they are to succeed on the hardening playing surfaces.

Mizzi and John Roberts are certainly up to the task in the centre and James Plant appears to have recaptured his early season form with tries in his last two league games. New full-back Gavin Brace has had little to do in recent matches but is a skilled player and would have scored against Dolgellau on a rare attack if a pass directed at him had not been adjudged a shade forward. 

Newtown won their home game against Wrexham by the slender margin of 13-12 last December after the visitors had led by 12-3 at the break. Jason Munro and winger Stuart Van Wyke grabbed a try apiece in a good first-half, but former Wrexham Northern Counties scrum-half Tim Jones snatched a dubious try for the home side after the break and inspired their revival. 

Tomorrow's visitors have three games in hand on Wrexham but, despite some good results since Christmas, are not safe yet from relegation. They will try hard to stop Wrexham's resurgence, but the new spirit in a home camp which is at near full strength should be enough to inspire Robbie James and his Merry Men to secure another important victory.

Wrexham Seconds take on Chester Veterans at Bryn Estyn Road, hoping to make up for the two losses which they have suffered against the same opponents this season. Their goal kicking full-back Ian O' Connell requires ten points to reach the landmark of 600 points scored by the team this season and may reach that if players like winger Kevin O'Toole and centre Geoff Lang can perform at their best (k.o.3.00pm). 

Fixture Secretary Paul Roberts is trying to fill a vacant date with an outstanding league fixture at Afon Dee Seconds for the Third XV, who can still win the North East Wales Division Two Championship if results go in their favour. The Wrexham Youth Team was due to visit Llangefni to play a North Wales Youth League Division Two fixture which was postponed by the host club during the soggy days of January, but the game has been postponed again as Llangefni forgot all about it!

The rugby season is drawing to a close but the mini and junior rugby teams still have games to play. The minis are in action on Sunday morning against Northwich at Bryn Estyn Road and the junior sides will visit Shrewsbury for games at all levels (k.0.2.30pm).

06/04/02 Report

Wales 'A' came out on top by 30-23 in their Six Nations Championship game against Scotland 'A' at the Racecourse Ground on Friday night. A good crowd witnessed an exciting game with Wales establishing a 19-3 advantage before Scotland got into gear and turned things around to lead by 23-19 at the break.

Unbeaten at Wrexham since rugby union fixtures were introduced in 1997, Wales kept a clean sheet in the second-half and delighted the throng of North Wales supporters with a try by top international threequarter Gareth Thomas and a penalty and a superb drop goal by outside-half Craig Warlow. 

The senior Wales side came unstuck against Scotland in Cardiff on Saturday after the Wrexham and Wales lock Andy Moore was prevented from scoring a near certain try and was then forced to leave the field in the 13th minute with a leg injury. The Scotland lock Scott Murray had a field day in the line-out afterwards and the Scots eventually powered to a 27-22 victory. 

Chester Seconds called off their scheduled visit to Bryn Estyn Road for a pre-international friendly but the senior players who had not travelled to Cardiff took part in a practice game with members of the Second and Third Teams. 

Back-row player Dean Griffiths confirmed his return to fitness with a powerful performance in the pack and skipper Robbie James shook off a niggling arm injury to demonstrate that he is back to his best. Number eight Jason Munro worked off the effects of his recent skiing holiday and winger Simon Williams showed the sort of pace that may be needed against Newtown tomorrow. 

There was a massive attendance at the Pentre Bychan Crematorium on Friday morning for the funeral of the popular policeman, rugby player and coach Gwyn Harries who died last week at the age of 51. People from all walks of life attended the service and Harries and his achievements will be remembered and treasured for many years to come. 

In mini and junior rugby, the Under 14's proved to be too strong for Northwich at Bryn Estyn Road on Sunday. They won by 29-10 with tries from Martin Jones (2), Dafydd Rowlands (2) and Glen Bellamy, improved by 2 conversions from Eiron Edwards.

The mini rugby sides visited Crewe where the Wrexham Under 12's whitewashed their hosts by 42-0. Jack Evans (3), Gwyn Edwards (2) and Jake Edwards claimed tries and Kieran Morris converted all six tries. The Under 11's succumbed to Crewe by 14-38, Ashley Dawson and Phil Davies notching a try apiece and Davies adding both conversions.

The Under 10's played two games against their hosts, winning the first by 7-2 before they wrapped up the second game by 6-1. Jack Griffiths was the pick of the bunch with 4 tries to his credit but Joshua Roberts wasn't far behind with a hat-trick of scores. Ashton Williams (2), Dwayne Jones, Mathew Gale, Declan Simms and Andy Hughes completed the scoring. Rugby News - MONDAY 1st April 2002

It came as a great shock to many when it was announced that Gwyn Harries, the popular 51 year old policeman who devoted nearly thirty years of his life to Wrexham Rugby Club and North Wales Rugby in general, passed away at Wrexham Maelor Hospital after a lengthy illness on Saturday afternoon. 

Gwyn moved to North Wales from his home in Cardigan and started playing for Wrexham as a prop forward in 1974. He was the cornerstone of the pack in a side which got better and better each year until it peaked in 1987 with their usual North Wales League and Cup double and record breaking victories over leading English clubs like Manchester, New Brighton, Stourbridge and Otley. 

During this time he captained his club as well as North Wales and North Wales Police, played for the British Police XV and appeared alongside legendary figures like Phil Bennett, J.J.Williams and Ray Gravell for the invitation Crawshays XV. The touring Fiji Barbarians were so impressed with him that they invited him to tour Belgium and France with them and presented him with 
their ceremonial dress which included a grass skirt.

Hanging up his boots in 1988, Harries concentrated on developing his coaching skills and became one of the leading coaches in North Wales and a great ambassador for the game North and South. He went on to coach the Wrexham based Northern Counties side which represented North Wales in Division Two of the Welsh National League between 1998 and 2000. 

Gwyn leaves a wife Pat and son David and will be greatly missed by them and the many people who knew him. His funeral will take place at Pentre Bychan Crematorium on Friday 5th April at 10.30am.

Austin Thomas, the North Wales Director of Rugby, has confirmed that tickets for this evening's (5th April) 'A' game between Wales and Scotland at The Racecourse in Wrexham are still available at the ground with the official kick-off scheduled for 7.05pm. This venue has proved to be a very popular one with Northern fans since the WRU first used it in 1997 and another big attendance tonight should ensure its continuity. 

30/03/02 Report

DOLGELLAU 21 WREXHAM 17

Wrexham outscored the home side by three tries to two but failed to take advantage of a number of good chances to improve that score and slipped to a narrow defeat. 

Hampered by an early injury to prop Richard Williams and trying to cope with six enforced changes to the side, Wrexham still managed to open the scoring with a fine try by lock Ian Sanger who ran 20 metres from a line-out to touch down. Skipper Robbie James, returning from injury, missed the conversion as well as a first minute penalty.

Against the run of play, former Wrexham Northern Counties prop Dai Arthur Owen used his 18 stone frame to break through attempted tackles and scored an easy try to tie the scores. Wrexham soon countered with some excellent work by the forwards including number eight Carl Turner and flanker Mike Ward, but many scoring chances were missed and penalty kicks spurned before half-time arrived with the scores still level. 

It took two minutes of the second-half before Dolgellau captured the lead with a try awarded to centre Ron Alexandra after centre John Roberts had a clearance kick charged down on the line. Alexandra was actually prevented from grounding the ball by winger Stuart Van Wyke but the referee was standing behind the 'scorer' and awarded the try which outside-half Alan Williams converted. 

Five minutes later, Wrexham reduced the arrears with a superb try by winger James Plant who profited from a penetrating attack by John Roberts and suddenly found space down the right wing to stretch away and score in the corner. James discovered his kicking form at last and landed the conversion to level the scores again. 

Then Dolgellau regained the initiative and used the wind to pin Wrexham in their 22. Two penalties by the former Wrexham favourite Alan Williams followed as the visitors used illegal tactics to try to win possession. 

As the game entered the final quarter, Wrexham made another comeback with John Roberts featuring once again. The forwards carried on the assault on the home line and lock Iwan Roberts squeezed through to claim a deserved try, but James' conversion kick flew wide and the visitors still trailed by one point. 

More pressure by Dolgellau resulted in a neatly dropped goal by Williams but Wrexham still refused to concede. They had forced a position only 15 metres out from the home line in the 4th minute of injury time when the referee awarded a penalty to them. Unaccountably, however, the match official blew for full time before Robbie James could instigate a tap penalty move and the 
game was lost.

Caernarfon lost to Mold on the same afternoon and Wrexham's defeat therefore didn't change their league position just above the relegation zone. With Wales playing Scotland in the Six Nations Championship this Saturday, Wrexham don't have a rugby fixture this weekend but will be fully primed for the visit of Newtown to Bryn Estyn Lane on Saturday 13th April.30/03/02 Preview

Only five league games remain to be played before the end of the season and Wrexham face perhaps their most difficult task when they take on Division Five North Championship contenders Dolgellau at their Gwynedd stronghold tomorrow afternoon (kick-off at 2.30pm). 

Following an amazing string of five successive victories, the team spirit in the Wrexham squad is second to none and Dolgellau's recent defeat by fellow relegation strugglers Bangor will no doubt enable Robbie James and his determined squad to approach tomorrow's game with extra confidence.

That confidence will be tempered by loss of Wrexham's big lock Mike McLeod who had made a major difference to the pack since returning to the side in late December. McLeod suffered serious knee ligament damage in the recent game against Mold and will be out for the rest of the season, his place going to either Iwan Roberts or Mike Ward. 

Top try scorer Jason Munro is on holiday and will be missed in a back-row which has made a big impact in recent games. It is encouraging, however, that there is strength in depth in the squad at present and the experienced Carl Turner looks set to return to plug the gap at number eight.

Skipper Robbie James returns from injury to reclaim his old place at scrum-half, allowing John Roberts to move to the centre where Paul Mizzi is unavailable. Roberts has been a revelation at half-back since returning from Chester and he managed to give Mold a thorough roasting in the recent derby game. 

Winger Simon Williams has work commitments and will miss the Dolgellau trip but Stuart Van Wyke returns after being unavailable for the last league game and should find a place on the wing. Newcomer Gavin Brace looks to be an excellent prospect and is set to retain his place at full-back. 

Dolgellau trounced Wrexham by 42-10 at Bryn Estyn Road last November after the Wrexham forwards gave a dismal performance and the visitors capitalised on their mistakes. Former Wrexham prop Dai Arthur Owen and outside-half Alan Williams notched scores to assist Wrexham's heavy defeat and are expected to be on duty again tomorrow.

The form of the Gwynedd side has not been impressive in recent weeks, however, and their hopes of claiming the Championship appear to be receding as fast as leaders Ruthin claim new scalps. They sustained a shock 17-24 defeat at Bangor a fortnight ago after losing their experienced North Wales centre Ian Palterman with a serious leg injury.

Dolgellau also struggled at home to defeat a poor Llandudno side by 22-20 in their previous league game and may be slowing up after a bright start to the season. Their open-side flanker Aled Evans is still a handful in the line-out and the loose, however, and has a habit of scoring against sides who fail to contain his powerful thrusts. 

The key to winning this important game rests with the forwards and Wrexham will have to make up for the loss of Munro and McLeod and put in a big effort to subdue Dolgellau's well drilled pack. Flanker Llyr Williams is in tremendous form and his presence in the back-row should act as an inspiration to his colleagues to repeat the top performance that they gave against Mold. 

When Wrexham last won five games in succession in 1989, they carried winning on and defeated Dolgellau by 60-9 at their riverside ground. Such a scoreline is extremely unlikely tomorrow afternoon, but the visitors would be very pleased with another win to keep them out of the relegation zone and increase the pressure on the threatened Caernarfon and Bethesda clubs. 

Wrexham Seconds visit Whitchurch Seconds for a cross-border friendly game while the Thirds face a crucial North East Wales Division Two encounter at Corwen. Abergele Seconds are top of the table at present but fourth placed Wrexham have two games in hand on the leaders and trail them by only four points (k.o.2.30pm).

Wrexham Youth Team are suffering from Easter Bank Holiday withdrawals but still hope to visit Llangefni for a Dragons Rugby Trust North Wales Youth League game (k.o.3.00pm). The Mini and Junior Rugby sides are taking a well earned Easter Break before embarking on their final weeks of the season. 


Hopes that Wales might pull off a victory at Twickenham for the first time since 1988 were dashed on Saturday when England recovered from their recent defeat in Paris to outpoint Scott Quinnell's improving side by a record margin of 50-10. 

Interest in the game was such that Wrexham Firsts elected not to play any league or friendly matches and organised a series of inter-club training sessions instead at Bryn Estyn Road. They were heartened by the return from injury of number eight Dean Griffiths and the continuing progress of skipper Robbie James who has just recovered from an arm injury. 

Wrexham Second and Third Team games against Rhyl were postponed until a future date, still to be decided. The Youth Team was set to travel to Pwllheli for a North Wales Youth League Division Two game that could have earned them promotion to the higher flight, but they were disappointed when the home side called off the game due to injuries.

In mini and junior rugby, Wrexham Under 14's travelled to Colwyn Bay and were rewarded with a magnificent 85-7 victory once they had quelled a strong opening by the Seasiders. Tries came from Glen Bellamy (4), Mike Platt (2), Martin Jones (2), James Gibney, Lee McBurney, Nathan Weeks, Eiron Edwards and Daniel Gibbons with conversions from Eiron Edwards (4), Jones (2), Einion 
Edwards (2), Gibbons and Jonathon Davies. 23/03/02 Preview 

Wrexham Firsts will enjoy a rest tomorrow as the Six Nations Championship reaches its climax for Wales with the visit of Scott Quinnell's improving side to Twickenham where they will take on an English side still smarting from a shock defeat in Paris (k.o.2.30pm).

With the threat of a player strike over the dispute between the Welsh Rugby Union and its leading clubs - Cardiff, Swansea, Llanelli, Pontypridd, Bridgend and Newport - now averted, Wales will take a full strength squad to London, including Wrexham and Swansea lock Andy Moore and Mold and Llanelli hooker Robin McBryde. 

It will be rugby as usual for Wrexham Seconds who take on Rhyl Seconds in a North East Wales Division One Championship game at Bryn Estyn Road, looking for their 16th win of the season and hoping to complete a double over their old adversaries. They will kick off at 12.00pm so that they can complete their game and then watch the Twickenham international on the big television screen in the Wrexham clubhouse.

Wrexham Thirds visit The Waen for a Division Two game against Rhyl Seconds. Still catching up on weather postponed games before their North Wales Youth Division Two Championship season finishes on Saturday 30th March, Wrexham Youth visit Pwllheli for a rare Sunday game which kicks off at 2.30pm. 

The mini rugby sides will be in action against Winnington Park at Bryn Estyn Road on Sunday morning with all age groups expected to take part. Wrexham Under 16's will take on Denbigh at the same venue and are expected to give a good account of themselves. 

Although Wrexham Firsts have performed wonders to rescue themselves from the relegation zone in Division Five North, their success has been tempered by the disappointment of having had a player sent off in each of the last three league games. Appeals have been lodged against two dismissals but, if all cases are upheld by the North Wales disciplinary committee, league points could be forfeited as a result and the club could be plunged into the relegation zone again. 

Five more league games remain to be played before the end of the season and Robbie James and his buoyant squad will have to address the discipline problem, plug any gaps and win at least three more matches to ensure that they do not become embroiled in a play-off contest against Rhos or Bala to preserve their current status. 

16/03/02 Report

WREXHAM 46 MOLD 14

Outside-half Richard Lloyd completed a grand slam of points with a try, 5 conversions, a penalty and a dropped goal to help Wrexham claim an impressive victory that hauled them out of the relegation zone for the first time this season and ended Mold's slender Championship hopes.

On the same afternoon, Caernarfon lost their home league game against Rhyl after conceding a last minute try and replaced Wrexham in the relegation zone. It was Wrexham's fifth league win in succession, a feat last achieved in 1989 when they won the North Wales League and Cup double prior to their entry into the Heineken National League.

Wrexham started confidently with a breeze at their backs and Richard Lloyd dropped a goal in the 3rd minute to open their account. Astute kicking by the outside-half and some superb rampaging play by his half-back partner John Roberts gave the forwards plenty of ammunition and they repaid the favour by creating a 19th try for number eight Jason Munro after an excellent line-out catch by lock Mike McLeod. 

Lloyd added the conversion from the touchline and then kicked a long distance penalty to give his side a useful 13-0 lead. Although the home forwards were in irresistible form, they didn't have it all their own way, Mold lock Phil Cottle stealing the line-out ball a couple of times and the rest of his pack scrapping hard for possession during some heated passages of play.

Wrexham needed another score before half-time and it arrived without warning when winger Simon Williams set off on a sparkling run to the mid-field and the Munro brothers Jason and Danny carried on the attack before releasing Mike Ward for his first ever senior try. He made sure that he touched down under the posts and Lloyd made no mistake with the conversion kick.

Mold went into a huddle at the break and swept back into the game with a superb back move that created an overlap for winger Mark Ewing to score between the uprights. Centre Richard Cochrane added the conversion but the home forwards countered by giving the visiting pack a solid pounding at the other end and scored when flanker Llyr Williams crashed over a for a deserved try, converted by Lloyd. 

With prop Robbie Pierce showing up well on his return from injury and Iwan Roberts driving solidly after replacing leg injury victim McLeod, Wrexham maintained their stranglehold in the Mold half and appeared to put the issue beyond any doubt when winger James Plant was quick to follow up a charged down clearance kick and grabbed a try converted again by Lloyd.

Then controversy surrounded events when the Cardiff referee Steve Smith decided not to send off a visiting threequarter for a dangerous head tackle that laid out Wrexham's Simon Williams for several minutes, but then red carded home prop Richard Williams for what appeared to be a repeated technical offence.

Mold took immediate advantage by creating a smart back movement which led to a try and a quick conversion under the posts by scrum-half Mike Rodgers. Their hopes soared but were soon dashed again when Llyr Williams charged down a clearance kick and Lloyd kicked ahead and scored.

Deep into injury time, centre Paul Mizzi caught the ball on the Mold 22, feigned to pass and then embarked on a dazzling run past flailing defenders to score a long awaited first senior try under the posts. Lloyd's simple conversion increased his match tally to a majestic 21 points.

Having retained their North East Wales Division One Championship with a hard fought victory at Abergele on the previous Saturday, Wrexham Seconds elected to take a much needed rest and supported the Firsts instead. The Thirds visited Whitchurch Fourths and managed to come away with a 3-0 victory, thanks to a penalty by Jamie Jennings. 

Wrexham Youth Team played well but lost their 'double-header' North Wales Youth Cup and League game at Bryn Estyn Road to league leaders Nant Conwy by 12-22. John Ireland and Tom Stevens claimed a try apiece and Kerry Powell landed a conversion but they were always struggling to gain the upper hand after conceding a 2nd minute try to the visitors. 

In Junior Rugby, Wrexham Under 14's narrowly failed to defeat visitors Mold by 12-19. Dafydd Rowlands and Glen Bellamy grabbed a try apiece and outside-half Eiron Edwards slotted a conversion in a pulsating game during which the lead changed hands several times before Mold drew clear with only 3 minutes remaining. 

A minute's silence was observed prior to the senior match at Bryn Estyn Road as a mark of respect over the recent loss of long time club member Ray Lea after a long illness. Ray was an ardent supporter and won the Frank Chapman Award in 1978 for outstanding services to the club.

He also advised on the purchase, and assisted with the maintenance, of a 53 seater coach which carried Wrexham teams far and wide in the early Eighties, broadening their horizon and advertising the success of the club. His funeral will take place at the Pentre Bychan Crematorium at 2.00pm this afternoon. 16/03/02 Preview

Prop Iwan Roberts returns to strengthen the Wrexham front row for tomorrow's visit of Mold to Bryn Estyn Road for a local derby battle which has Division Five North championship and relegation issues at stake (kick-off at 2.30pm). 

Mold trail league leaders Ruthin by five points but can still win the  Championship if they can defeat Wrexham for the second time this season and other results go in their favour. Wrexham, on the other hand, are still embedded in the relegation zone, but can climb out tomorrow afternoon if they win and Caernarfon fail. 

The Wrexham side looks to be near full strength and will include lock Mike McLeod who was sent off at Rhyl last week and will begin a suspension once his case has been heard by a disciplinary committee. McLeod has been in terrific form of late and it is a great disappointment for the player and the club that his season is nearly over.

Mold defeated Wrexham by 23-10 last November with a fine performance by their pack but the under strength visitors battled hard and scored the best try of the game when centre John Darlington danced his way through a solid wall of defenders. 

Robbie James is expected to pass a late fitness test on a damaged hand to lead his vastly improved side against his old club tomorrow. With Paul Mizzi providing a cutting edge in the, scrum-half John Roberts back to his best and prop Richard Williams and lock Ian Sanger providing extra momentum in the home pack, Wrexham are looking forward to this return encounter and will be going all out to secure a record fifth consecutive victory.

Wrexham Seconds travel to Whitchurch to take on their second string in a cross border friendly and will be accompanied by Wrexham Thirds who have a game against Whitchurch Fourths. 

Wrexham Youth Team enter a hectic period of North Wales Youth league games with a league and cup game against Division Two leaders Nant Conwy at Bryn Estyn Road tomorrow afternoon and will then play Pwllheli under floodlights at the Queensway Sports Centre on Monday evening (k.o.7.30pm). 

In Mini and Junior Rugby, the mini rugby sides visit Denbigh, the Under 14's travel to Ellesmere Port and the Under 13's and 16's will train on Sunday morning at their Wrexham headquarters. 

Llanelli rugby stars Stephen Jones, Wayne Proctor and Salesi Finau visited Wrexham Rugby Club last week and answered questions from an enthusiastic audience. Next day, they returned to Bryn Estyn Road to meet Under 11 players from schools in the Wrexham area and watch the Fourth Round of the Touch Rugby Commonwealth Games Competition, sponsored by Manweb.

This new competition has been set up to encourage rugby in schools in the Wrexham area and the 12 teams emerging from the early rounds will compete in two pools of six at Wrexham Rugby Club next Wednesday 20th March for the right to play in the final of the competition. This will be played at The Racecourse on Friday 5th April in front of a packed house prior to the kick-off of the Wales v. Scotland Six Nations Championship 'A' game. 

North Wales Director of Rugby Austin Thomas wishes to remind rugby followers in the area that tickets for this prestigious game, which always attracts full support from the Region, are on sale at the ticket office at The Racecourse during normal office hours.

09/03/02 Report 
RHYL 15 WREXHAM 22 

Wrexham's amazing recovery from the depths of the Division Five North Championship continued at Rhyl where they produced their fourth successive league victory to edge further towards the safety zone, avenging an early season defeat by the current title holders. 

To achieve this important victory, they had to overcome a 0-15 half-time deficit without the services of their big North Wales lock Mike McLeod who was sent off in the 20th minute for throwing a punch when attempting to protect Man of the Match Llyr Williams from a flurry of blows at a line-out. 

The loss of McLeod appeared to make the Wrexham side more determined than before to maintain their winning streak and they took the game by the scruff of the neck to overtake the Seasiders and claim the vital 3 points on offer. 

Rhyl had dominated the early proceedings with a strong wind at their backs and snatched the opening score when scrum-half Steve Hargreaves dummied his way over in the 6th minute. Ace kicker Erik Lloyd supplied a neat conversion and soon increased Rhyl's advantage with a simple penalty. 

Wrexham competed well against the elements and tried to retain possession as much as possible but the home forwards increased the pressure at the end of the first quarter and created the opening for full-back Llion Edwards to score an unconverted try. McLeod was shown the red card soon afterwards but his departure heralded a Wrexham resurgence and they reached the break in fairly confident mood, ready to take advantage of the strong wind. 

John Roberts, replacing injured skipper Robbie James at scrum-half, became an inspiration to his hard working forwards in the second-half and outside-half Richard Lloyd dictated much of the play with his tactical kicking. 

As the forwards pressed in the 45th minute, Roberts took a quick tap penalty and darted over the line for his side's first try of the game. The second score didn't take long to come, prop Richard Williams powering over from a tap penalty move with Lloyd adding a conversion.

More pressure on the home line stretched Champions' defence and lock Ian Sanger took advantage by rumbling over for a 60th minute try which gave Wrexham the lead. They never looked like losing after that score but, with only two points difference between the sides, there was always the possibility of Rhyl spoiling the party with a long distance penalty or a breakaway. 

It was left to the irrepressible Llyr Williams to make the game safe for the visitors, crashing through 3 tackles in the 75th minute to crown his recall to the First XV with his first senior try of the season. Coach Ross Roberts was pleased with the performance of his players and added, "We are on a high right now and can't wait for the next game." 

Wrexham Seconds retained their North East Wales Division One Championship with a hard earned 6-3 victory at Abergele. The wind and the boggy pitch resulted in a midfield slog, but the Division's top points scorer Ian Connell managed to put the visitors in front with a first-half penalty.

Abergele replied with a penalty to level the scores after the break but Wrexham had the last word when Kevin O'Toole was late tackled and Darrell Hughes slotted the winning conversion. Wrexham Thirds came unstuck by 6-10 in their Division Two home game against Abergele Seconds, despite two penalties by Jamie Jennings.

Wrexham Youth produced a stunning 62-7 victory over Bala in a North Wales Youth League Division Two game and now have a chance of promotion if they can win their remaining matches. Skipper Kerry Powell led the way with 17 points from a try and 6 conversions, Tom Stevens claimed a smart brace of tries and other scores came from John Ireland, James Jess, Danny Seabrook, Alastair Pearce, Luke Watts, John Gill and Adam Jones. 

The mini rugby teams enjoyed training sessions on Sunday morning but the juniors were in action against Mold opposition at Bryn Estyn Road. Although the Under 16's lost their game by 0-15 in a hard physical game, they showed a marked improvement on recent performances. 

The Under 13's were defeated by 10-22 after injuries disrupted their early progress. Leon Tarborelli and Huw Evans grabbed a try apiece and Dan Lloyd gave an excellent performance at full-back in only his second game for the side. 

09/03/02 Preview 

Having won their last three games, two of them against top of the table clubs, Wrexham travel to Rhyl tomorrow with fresh confidence and every intention of defeating the current Division Five North title holders (kick-off at 2.30pm). 

Mike McLeod, whose fine form helped North Wales to defeat Carmarthenshire in a Welsh Counties Cup game on Monday, will resume in the second-row alongside Ian Sanger who has also helped Wrexham to recover from a dismal first half of the season and edge towards safely from relegation.

Paul Mizzi, the threequarter who had never been sent off or yellow-carded in his 20 year career but was dismissed for an adjudged foul tackle against Pwllheli a fortnight ago, continues in the centre until his appeal against dismissal, supported by his club, has been heard by a disciplinary committee. 

Along with the return to form of McLeod, Mizzi's introduction to the senior side has helped to inspire the revival which is currently taking place at the club. His strong running in the centre nearly cracked the Pwllheli defence in the last league game and he could give Rhyl an uncomfortable afternoon at The Waen.

Skipper Robbie James faces a late fitness test to check whether or not a hand injury has mended sufficiently to allow him to take over from John Roberts at scrum-half. Winger Matthew Cox, a hamstring injury victim, will also be tested but number eight Dean Griffiths looks set to be out for several weeks after tearing his hamstring on a heavy ground. Flanker Mike Ward is a likely replacement with Jason Munro moving back to his old number eight position. 

Match statistics show that Rhyl have beaten Wrexham at home and away by 33-12 and 33-24 in recent league games and the Seasiders must start as favourites to win on their home ground tomorrow. Weighed against their successes, however, is that fact that they have slipped down the table to 7th place and were hammered 51-19 by automatic relegation candidates Bangor a fortnight 
ago. 

The playing surface at The Waen is expected to be heavy and that could play into the hands of Wrexham's big pack. They need to play a tight controlled game and use their powerful forwards to open up the Rhyl defence in pursuit of their 10th victory of the season.

That would put Wrexham on level terms with Bethesda and Caernarfon, ready to strike the next blow that could take them out of the relegation zone for the first time this season. Recent victories against Championship leaders Llangefni and Pwllheli have helped Ruthin to move into second place in the table after their 17-11 victory over Newtown last Sunday. 

Ruthin are second only on points difference to leaders Llangefni and, having played Wrexham twice already, may eventually return the favour by denting the ambitions of some of seven the clubs which are still due to play the Bryn Estyn Road based outfit
Wrexham Seconds, riding high as Champions and current leaders of North East Division One, visit fourth placed Abergele for what promises to be severe test of their credentials. Centre James Wrathall has scored 7 league tries this season and is the Division's third top scorer while hooker Mark Jones is one of their top performers and should give the Abergele pack a torrid time.

Wrexham Thirds, second in Division Two, have a home game against Abergele Seconds and can't afford to slip up as the Seasiders share the same number of points with them in the table. Lock Keith Roberts has rediscovered his scoring touch of late and full-back Mark Otter can be counted on to exploit any openings created in the Abergele defence (k.o.2.30pm). 

Waterlogged pitches have prevented Wrexham Youth Team from playing for several weeks but there should be problems at Bryn Estyn Road tomorrow afternoon when they line up against Bala in a North Wales Youth League Division Two match. Lock Alastair Pearce and utility threequarter Tom Stevens are expected to perform well in a fine young side.

The Wrexham mini rugby teams have training sessions on Sunday morning while the junior sides will face the tough assignment of taking on Mold in a series of games (k.o.10.30am). 

02/03/02 Report

With Wales playing Italy in the Six Nations Championship at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the Wrexham senior rugby teams enjoyed a rest from competitive rugby. Coach Ross Roberts organised an internal game prior to the start of the televised international game and over 40 players took part in what proved to be a very useful workout.

Wales claimed their first points in this season's championship and moved off the bottom of the table after defeating the Italians by 44-20 in an exciting game. Wrexham and Swansea lock Andy Moore gave solid performance in the pack and was effective in the line-out. Mold and Llanelli hooker Robin McBryde improved on his nightmare display against France, but his first throw into 
the line-out was stolen by the Italians and his place in the side remains under threat. 

In Sunday's mini and junior rugby games, Wrexham Under 13's travelled to Stockport and nearly defeated their hosts after trailing badly at half-time. Gareth Davies, Richard Spencer and Joseph Tilley grabbed a try apiece while Danny Lee added 2 conversions but Stockport held on to win by 24-19. 

The mini rugby teams visited Ruthin and enjoyed a successful day overall, Wrexham Under 12's leading the way with a 26-5 victory over a strong home side. Tries came from Jack Evans (2), Kenny Simms and Owen Willington while Kieron Morris landed 3 conversions. 

The Under 11's were in unstoppable form, winning by 11-1 on try count thanks to touchdowns from Ethan Bishop (3), Ashley Dawson (2), Shaun Strudwick (2), Philip Davies (2), Brian Davies and James Williams. The Ruthin try was scored by Wrexham player Dafydd Burrell who was loaned to the host side. 

Wrexham Under 10's played two games, winning the first one by 3-2 and tightening their defence o win the second game by 2-0. Try scorers were Dwayne Jones, Andy Hughes, Ashton Williams, Matthew Thomas and Jack Brawse. 

The Under 9's fielded two sides and won the 'A' game by 7-1, thanks to a hat-trick of tries from Jack Challenor and single scores from Brython Edwards, Ieuan Keenan, Ryan Weeks and Jonathon Davies. The 'B' side competed well but were well beaten by 0-6. Wrexham Under 8's played well in their two games against older opponents but were defeated by 0-1 and 1-3. Ben Roberts 
notched a deserved try for the visitors. 

In Monday's opening game of the Welsh Counties Cup Competition, Wrexham First XV lock Mike McLeod claimed the first try of the game to set North Wales on their way to a tremendous 27-13 victory over Carmarthenshire at Llandovery. Following a prolonged lay-off from rugby, McLeod has regained much of his fitness in recent games and made a big difference to the North Wales pack. 02/03/02 Preview

Wales play Italy in the third game of their Six Nations Championship campaign at the Millennium Stadium tomorrow afternoon and the local rugby programme will be greatly reduced as players and supporters flock to Cardiff to see how much Wales can improve on their recent good performance against the French  (kick-off at 2.00pm).

Wrexham and Swansea's Andy Moore, who played well against France when returning to the National side a fortnight ago, has another chance to perform at the highest level while Mold and Llanelli's Robin McBryde, criticised for his performance as hooker, has managed to keep his place.

Chester have decided to withdraw from tomorrow's scheduled games against a Wrexham Senior XV and Wrexham Thirds and coach Ross Roberts has therefore asked his players to take part in an internal game kicking off at Bryn Estyn Road at 12.00pm. When they have concluded their session, they will take their places in front of the big television screen in the clubhouse for a live 
showing of the big game from Cardiff.

The senior Wrexham players will have next week's league game at Rhyl on their minds and will be keen to maintain their fitness levels for what could prove to be their fourth successive victory if their rich vein of form continues. The last time that a Wrexham side produced 3 consecutive league wins was in 1996 against St. Joseph's, Mold and Croesyceiliog, and they went on to defeat 
Abercarn in their fourth game before losing at Brynmawr. 

Mike McLeod, the big second-row forward whose return to form after a spell away from the game has helped to inspire Wrexham's recent recovery from the depths of Division Five North, has been included in the North Wales squad which will play Carmarthenshire in the Welsh Counties Cup Competition at Llandovery on Monday evening (7.30pm). 

Manager Kevin Whitehead and coach Mark Ferguson said that they were particularly impressed with McLeod's form in last week's game against Pwllheli and feel that he will strengthen the side for Monday's important task. "We have used the Provincial Championships to identify players with talent for the North Wales representative side and Mike has come through with flying colours while playing for the Rhinos squad," added Whitehead. 

The mini and junior rugby team players and organisers will try to come down from last week's 'high' of the North Wales Under 10's and 11's Rugby Festival by resuming their normal fixture programme with games on Sunday morning for the minis at Ruthin and fixtures at Stockport and Leigh for the Under 13's to 16's. 

23/02/02 Report

WREXHAM 20 PWLLHELI 0

Wrexham Rugby Club enjoyed an amazing day of rugby despite poor weather last weekend, all of their teams winning their league games without conceding a single point. The Firsts worked very hard for their shock win over Division Five North Championship favourites Pwllheli, the Seconds simply blew away Mold Seconds in their record breaking 114-0 romp at Bryn Estyn Road and the 
Thirds came home from Chester Road with a well worked 26-0 victory over Mold Thirds. 

Wrexham Firsts continued their recent impressive run of form as they claimed their third league win in succession to haul themselves closer to the safety zone in their league table. Although Caernarfon, the side above them, whitewashed bottom club Welshpool, faltering Bethesda lost at home to Dolgellau and will soon be overtaken if Wrexham's good form continues to prosper. 

Their victory was made more remarkable by the fact that they were forced to play for 50 minutes with only 14 of their players on the field, centre Paul Mizzi having been dismissed in the 30th minute by Cardiff referee Matthew Jones after a tackle on a Pwllheli threequarter. Mizzi's departure, his first sending off in a 20 year rugby career, seemed to galvanise the Wrexham forwards and they produced their best performance of the year to see off the visitors.

Skipper Robbie James was a surprise non-starter because of a damaged hand and John Roberts filled the breach to play superbly well in an unaccustomed scrum-half position. Elsewhere, lock Mike McLeod was in tremendous form, ripping the ball from the Pwllheli forwards and charging through their defence time after time.

The opening quarter was evenly contested with Mizzi making two penetrating runs and Pwllheli skipper Richard Hughes and full-back Ben Cowper returning the compliment. Then Mizzi was ordered off and number eight Dean Griffiths was forced to leave the field with a torn hamstring. 

Instead of fading, the Wrexham forwards worked their way to the Pwllheli line, stole a scrum against the head in the 37th minute and created the chance for number eight Jason Munro to wriggle over for a superb try near the posts. Outside-half Richard Lloyd, back in the side following a brief period with Chester, slotted the conversion to give his side a 7-0 half-time lead. 

McLeod livened up matters with a great drive through the Pwllheli ranks at the start of the second-half but referee Mr.Jones was in whistle happy mood and spotted mistakes which allowed Pwllheli to gain an attacking position at the other end. Good work by the home forwards denied the visitors again, however, and Lloyd turned the tables with excellent kicks upfield.

The home side should have scored with a 3 man overlapping move in the 51st minute, but poor back play let them down. It was therefore down to the forwards, and a minute later McLeod rose to the challenge and brushed aside opponents to score an unconverted try in the left corner. 

The pressure on 14 man Wrexham eased in the 66th minute with a successful penalty by Lloyd but the Pwllheli backs still posed a significant threat and would probably have added a couple of scores if they hadn't dropped the ball in attacking situations. The final period belonged to Wrexham and they made sure of their excellent victory with a late try by prop Iwan Roberts who powered over from a maul. 

Match referee Matthew Jones, who was being assessed by North Wales official Steve McCabe, was tight-lipped when interviewed afterwards about the sending-off of Paul Mizzi. McCabe hinted that foul play was involved and refused to elaborate, and club officials will now have to wait until the referee's report is submitted before deciding what action to take over the matter. 

Wrexham Seconds were far too good for Mold Seconds in their North East Wales Division One clash at Bryn Estyn Road. Their 18 try haul in their 114-0 record victory included scores from Scott Davies (4), Ian Connell (2), Darrell Hughes (2), Mark Jones (2), James Wrathall (2), Nick Johnson, Jason Griffiths, Mark Lloyd, Alex Crewe, Geoff Lang and Gavin Brace. Connell, the Division's top points scorer, kicked 11 conversions and Hughes added one more.

Wrexham Thirds visited Mold's Chester Road ground and came away with a clear 26-0 victory to keep up the pressure on leaders Llangollen in Division Two. Keith Roberts maintained his recent good form by grabbing a brace of tries while Ian Morris and Paul Wilde crossed for single touchdowns with Kerry Powell slotting 3 conversions. 

Sunday's Under 10's and 11's North Wales Rugby Festival at Bryn Estyn Road proved to be triumph for Wrexham Mini and Junior Section Chairman Gareth Lewis and his band of organisers, despite poor weather in the afternoon. 300 players from most of the clubs in the Region battled for a place in the competition finals, both of which were won by Mold. 

Champions Mold and Llandudno, who were the losing finalists in the Under 10's, will go on to represent North Wales in the Mini Rugby National Finals to be played in South Wales later in the season. 

Wrexham Under 10's played exceptionally well to reach the semi-finals of their age group where they were beaten 0-1 by a last minute Mold try. In their pool games, they lost to Llandudno by 1-3, defeated Denbigh by 3-0 and then overcame Caernarfon by 1-0 with Dwayne Jones notching 4 tries and Ashley Williams crossing for another score.

Jones grabbed a further try in his side's 1-0 quarter-final victory over Bangor but he was a marked player in the semi-final which Mold won by 1-0 to contest the final with Llandudno.

The finalists of the Under 11's tournament do not have the chance to represent North Wales in further competition but that did not have any effect on the keenness of the players to compete for a place in the final. Wrexham's superb effort enabled them to reach the final where Mold proved too strong for them and won by 3-1, Ethan Bishop claiming Wrexham's try.

In the pool games, the Under 11's defeated Denbigh by 5-0 and Bangor by 4-1 before defeating Caernarfon by 1-0 in the quarter-finals and Pwllheli by the same score in the semi-finals. Ethan Bishop (6), Nick Davies (2), Ashley Dawson, James Williams and Phillip Davies were the try scorers. 

Wrexham Under 14's visited Ruthin and hit top form to whitewash their opponents by 39-0. Dafydd Rowlands notched a personal tally of 22 points with 3 tries, 2 conversions and a penalty while Mike Platt (2) and Glen Bellamy added further tries with Eirion Edwards slotting one more conversion. 

23-24/02/02 Previews 

Wrexham have a couple of injury worries but are still aiming to claim a rare third successive league win when they entertain Division Five North Championship contenders Pwllheli at Bryn Estyn Road tomorrow afternoon (kick-off at 2.30pm). 

Winger Matthew Cox has suffered a damaged hand which will sideline him for a couple of weeks and prop Rob Pierce, who missed his team's last game at Welshpool, has learnt that a knee injury which he picked up in training will take at least a month to heal. 

Luckily, John Roberts has returned from Chester and will claim Cox's place on the wing while assistant coach Matt Arnold is Pierce's likely replacement following a good performance at Welshpool. Iwan Roberts, preferred as a lock but also experienced in the front-row, has been named amongst the replacements and should feature in the proceedings in the second-half.

The selectors are faced with a difficult decision at outside-half, Carl Pugh having been an inspirational figure in Wrexham's recovery since a disastrous game against Caernarfon in January. However, former skipper Richard Lloyd has returned from Chester to continue his career at Wrexham and he was the outside-half who put Pwllheli to the sword a season ago when he notched a personal tally of 20 points as Wrexham chalked up a 25-23 home victory. 

Lloyd's record of success is likely to gain him the winning vote for tomorrow's game with Pugh probably returning to the Second XV where his presence has been missed. Centre Paul Mizzi had a quiet game against Welshpool but is likely to rise to the challenge when faced with centre Charlton Kennedy, Pwllheli's latest Kiwi import.

Full-back Ben Cowper is another bit threat in the visitor's arsenal as is their free scoring centre Gareth Hodgson and their goal kicking outside-half Dylan Llyr. Wrexham could have the edge in the forward battle, however, lock Mike McLeod improving with every game after a long lay-off and flanker Jason Munro back in the try scoring groove following a barren patch. 

Last October's league contest at Pwllheli resulted in a 39-0 whitewash victory for the former league champions but Wrexham squandered many chances early in the game and trailed by 0-5 at the break. Second-half injuries to back row men Llyr Williams and Dean Griffiths severely disrupted the visitors game plan and they faded badly at the end.

Much has changed since then and Dean Griffiths is now back in the side playing some of the best rugby of his career. Knowing that a win tomorrow will give them the springboard needed to fashion an escape from the relegation zone, Wrexham are expected to perform strongly and may cause a major upset if they can defeat the Championship favourites. 

Wrexham Seconds, unbeaten in North East Wales Division One so far but facing still competition from Ruthin Seconds in second place, take on bottom side Mold Seconds at Bryn Estyn Road. Carl Pugh is expected to return from First XV duty to strengthen the back-line while lock Jason Griffiths will provide much of the power in a strong home pack (k.o.2.30pm). 

Wrexham Thirds, currently holding on to second place in a hotly contested Division Two Championship, visit Mold Thirds for a game which is crucial to the ambitions of both sides. Wrexham won the previous encounter at Wrexham by 27-7 but, deprived of the services of their injured goal kicker Neil Route, will have to work very hard at Chester Road to complete a league double. 

Wrexham Youth Team hope to complete their third double of the season when they visit Bethesda for a Dragons Rugby Trust North Wales Division Two game. They won the previous encounter at home by 12-10 and, boosted by their 36-7 victory over Harlech a fortnight ago, can start to challenge the league leaders Nant Conwy if they can succeed tomorrow. 

The stage is set at Bryn Estyn Road on Sunday morning for the staging on the North Wales Under 10's and 11's Rugby Festival. Teams from most of the clubs in the Region have been entered for this prestigious competition and the winners of the Under 10 competition will represent North Wales in the National Finals to be held in South Wales later in the season. 

Chairman Gareth Lewis and his hard working team, who have attracted much needed sponsorship from many local companies, finalised arrangements during the week and have announced that the festival will start at 10.00am and finish by 6.00pm. It should be an action packed day of rugby and over 800 people are expected to attend. 

Fixture Secretary Paul Roberts represented Wrexham at a meeting in Abergele on Monday evening where Welsh Rugby Union representative and former top referee Clive Norling presented the Sir Tasker Watkins Report to North Wales District 'J' representatives on the proposed restructuring of rugby in Wales. 

The report proposes major changes in the way that rugby is run in Wales and its aim is to ensure that the success of the National side is paramount, even at the expense of the success of some top clubs which receive massive funding at the moment yet can field their international players in club games without due regard to the needs of the National squad. 

All 239 member clubs of the WRU will be asked to vote on the report which is the key to any changes in the national game. To give the Wales side a chance in international rugby, all clubs have to stop the club-versus-country rows and pull in the right direction with the national cause coming first. 

Three Wrexham teams were supposed to be in action last Saturday before Wales played France at the Millennium Stadium in the second game of their Six Nations Championship challenge. However, a change in the long standing kick-off time of the international game put paid to any local rugby and the squad members who had not travelled to Cardiff decided to have a practice match at Bryn Estyn Road instead. 

Those who did travel to Cardiff were treated to a spectacle of running rugby which Wales lost by 31-35, having been denied a match winning try by a fourth official in the last minute. Apart from conceding the first penalty to France for apparently arguing with the referee, Wrexham and Swansea's Andy Moore played a major part in a vastly improved Welsh performance but Mold and Llanelli hooker Robin McBryde was widely criticised for his poor throwing in at the line-out and may be dropped for the next game against Italy.

On Sunday, The Wrexham mini and junior sides played a series of games against Shrewsbury opposition with the Under 14's delivering a top performance at Bryn Estyn Road to win by 57-0. Tries came from Dafydd Rowlands (4), Einion Edwards (3), Glen Bellamy and Steven Edwards while Einion Edwards landed 5 conversions and Jonathan Davies added one more. 

The Under 13's suffered a 17-31 home defeat despite playing well and scoring tries through Huw Evans, Danny Lee and Andy O'Donald who also kicked a conversion. 

Wrexham Under 12's whitewashed Shrewsbury by 56-0 on their Shropshire ground, thanks to tries from Jack Evans (2), Gwyn Edwards (2), Kenny Simms, Kieron Morris, Daniel Sissons and Jed Denham with Morris converting all 8 touchdowns.

Wrexham Under 11's enjoyed a good 14-0 away win, James Williams and Philip Davies claiming a try apiece and Davies adding 2 conversions. 

The Under 10's also beat the home side by 10-0 on try count, thanks to scores from Dwayne Jones (4), Jordan Davies (2), Ashton Williams, Lewis Jones, Andy Hughes and Mathew Thomas.

The Under 9's sent two teams to Shrewsbury, the 'A' side losing by 1-3 before the 'B' side evened things up with a 4-3 victory. Jonathan Davies claimed a hat-trick of tries for the 'B' side and Ryan Jones added one more touchdown while Andrew Gales was the scorer for the 'A' side. 16/02/02 Preview

Wales play France under their new National Coach Steve Hansen in Cardiff tomorrow afternoon and will be hoping to make up for the terrible start which they made in the opening game of their 2002 Six Nations Championship campaign when they lost to Ireland by 54 -10 in Dublin a fortnight ago.

Wrexham and Swansea lock Andy Moore has been recalled to the full squad for this crucial encounter, and his experience should prove to be very useful to new look Welsh side as he was one of the heroes of Wales's titanic 43-35 victory over the Frenchmen in Paris last year. 

Many Wrexham players and supporters are visiting Cardiff to support their National team and enjoy a long weekend, leaving those players staying at home to slot into the three teams which are due to play early 2.00pm kick-off games against assorted opposition. The international match will then be shown live at 2.00pm on the big screen in the clubhouse at Bryn Estyn Road.

A Wrexham XV, made up of some First Team players and others from the lower sides will visit Oswestry and the Second XV will take on Llandudno Seconds in a friendly fixture at Bryn Estyn Road. Wrexham Thirds have a home game against Crewe and Nantwich Fourths and most of the Youth Team squad will enjoy a rest day. 

Training is expected to be very concentrated on Tuesday and Thursday evenings in preparation for the visit of Pwllheli for an important Division Five North league game on Saturday 23rd February. Having already caused a shock in local rugby circles by defeating league leaders Llangefni, Wrexham hope to maintain their recent improvement in form and put the team in second place to the sword. 

On Sunday, the mini and junior rugby teams will be in action with