YSGOL Dyffryn Taf have won the WSRU U18 Plate final at the Principality Stadium, beating Merthyr College 15-14 thanks to a late penalty kick.
The game was shown live on the Welsh Rugby Union’s Facebook page on Thursday morning (Mar 2) with up to 150 people watching.
Dyffryn Taf took the lead in the first half and scored at the start of the second but had to withstand heavy pressure as Merthyr fought their way back to lead with four minutes to play.
However, a late penalty gave Dyffryn Taf victory from a thrilling final.
Dyfryn Taf attacked from the off and forced a couple of errors from Merthyr College. They earned a scrum 5 metres out and it was captain Iestyn Comey who took the ball out before powering over for the first score of the game. The conversion was successful for a 7-0 lead.
A good break from Lennon reynolds also put Dyffryn Taf in again but the College were ablew to win the ball back.
Midway through the half Merthyr looked to get themselves on the scoresheet but the final pass wasn’t taken.
Soon after Dyffryn Taf were reduced to 14-men following a tip-tackle and Merthyr looked to use their man advantage to good effect.
They were almost over with seven minutes of the half to go but an excellent tackle just before the line kept the score at 7-0.
Another break from Comey then set Dyffryn Taf up but a knock on ended their move. That brought an end to the first half with the Whitland school in the ascendency.
Whitland began the second half well, winning an early penalty before scoring their second try of the game. Jac Worthing powered his way over to make it 12-0. The conversion was missed.
Merthyr enjoyed a good spell of possession as they looked to get back into the game but Dyffryn Taf defended well. A yellow card though gave Merthyr the chance to get right back into the game.
They eventually got their first score of the game with Coby-Jay Harris touching down. The conversion was successful to make it 12-7.
A high tackle gave Dyffryn Taf the chance to kick upfield but the kick did not go out and Merthyr came back again.
Both sides traded possession with a number of errors beginning to creep in from both sides.
There was then another yellow card for Dyffryn Taf’s Trey James as Merthyr camped in the opposition half with five minutes to go.
From the restart Merthyr pushed forward and they finally got their second try and the conversion put them 12-14 ahead.
From the restart, a Merthyr penalty gave possession back to Dyffryn Taf. Lennon Reynolds took the kick to and sent it over to seal the win for the Carmarthenshire side.
