NARBERTH won the Griffiths Cup on Good Friday (Apr 15) as they beat Crymych in the final, played at Neyland.
The clouds cleared on Friday afternoon for the final of the under 18s competition which is sponsored by the Griffiths family of Neyland.
This year’s finalists were old rivals Narberth and Crymych who over the years at Junior level have had many thrilling encounters.
This was no exception and a large crowd were entertained by running rugby and ferocious forward exchanges.
There was no quarter given with the game in the balance to the last minute.Narberth played down the hill in the first half with the wind in their favour. They had the bulk of the early possession and had several good passages of play but superb Crymych defence held out.
The pressure had to tell and Narberth scored from a smart blindside move from a scrum involving Cian Rogers and Elliot Evans releasing Owen Llewellyn in the corner.
They scored again following a sweeping move that went touchline to touchline with Owen Llewellyn again scoring. Crymych responded well and had several attacks with their forwards generating excellent fast ball but strong defence held on. The half time score was 10 nil to Narberth.
The young otters scored first in the second half with great work from Kyle Day and Yori Evans resulting in James Price scoring in the corner.
As expected Crymych came roaring back with an excellent try through 16 year old Jake Noot converted by Owain Davies.
They added a further try from impressive winger Hedd George with Davies again converting.
It was now a one point game with the momentum and the elements with Crymych. Narberth nerves were settled with a well struck penalty from Fraser Jones.
The action continued with several breakouts from Narberth and sustained pressure from their opponents. There was one last attack from Crymych which fell agonising short in the corner as the final whistle went. This had been a game of fine running skills and exchanges “red in tooth and claw”.
Outstanding for Crymych were Macs Page, Cai Evans, and Iestyn Wood and for Narberth, the back row of Yori Evans, Cian Rogers and skipper Ioan Phillips had tremendous games alongside wingers James Price and Owen Llewellyn.
However Man of the match went to Narberth’s Kyle day who showed amazing athleticism and pace from his second row berth.This was a credit to Pembrokeshire rugby with two well coached sides. It was officiated by Ceri Harries with assistants Martyn Rudd and Dave Byrne.
Crymych: Tomos Davies: Hedd George; Deian Davies; Macs Page; Dylan Bowen: Owain Davies; Gruffydd Edwards: Ben Mansfield; Rhys Jones; Gad Bowen: Iestyn Wood; Steffan Morris: Cai Ifans; Aneurin Vaughan: Ptolemy Alleyne. Replacements: Lloyd Hughes; Jake Noott; Iwan Laugharne; Huw Reed; Dyfrig Deller; Charlie Fenn; Iolo Phillips; Ellis James.
Coaches: Aled Harries; Barry Davies. Team Manager: Ann-Marie Wood.
Narberth: Fraser Jones: James Price; Bradley Cramb; Shayne Norcross; Owen Llewellyn: Charlie Phillips; Elliott Evans: Jack Davies; Harley Young; Owain Jones: Kyle Day; Aaron Thompson: Ioan Phillips; Cean Rogers; Iori Morgan. Replacements: James Morgan; Jamie Goldsworthy; Jayden Scourfield; Hugo Kessels; Harri Harries; Tom Monk; George Jones; Will Nicholas.
Coaches: Randal Evans; Shane Higgon; Rob Nicholas. Team Manager:Simon Phillips.
