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FEATURE: JUNIOR RUGBY COACHING

Here are two scenarios that willlikely resonate with anyone whohas coached mini rugby.

First, the Under 8 who is bored oftag, who is bigger or quicker thanhis or her peers, and frustratedby not being able to move on tocontact. You sympathise, but whatcan you do? They’re an Under 8,therefore they play tag. You hopethey’ll stick at it and still be aroundthe following season, but youworry that they’ll drift away, lost tothe game before they’ve even hada chance to really get into it.

And second, the Under 9 who justisn’t ready for contact yet. There’sall sorts of reason why that mightbe the case – maybe they’re smallfor their age and worried aboutgetting hurt. Maybe they havedevelopmental or emotional issuesthat mean they just can’t handlecontact rugby yet. You sympathise,but what can you do? They’re anUnder 9, therefore they play con-tact rugby.

You hope they’ll persevere, youencourage them, pay special at-tention to them in training, anddon’t rush them into games. They

miss training one week, and thenanother, and you worry that thelack of suitable game time hasbegun to frustrate them, that youwon’t see them again, and theytoo will be lost to the game beforethey’ve had a chance to get into it.

It’s widely accepted that childrendevelop at different rates, yet rug-by insists on a ‘one size fits all’ ap-proach that costs the game partici-pants every season, and not justin the Under 8/9 transition. All theway through the Pathway, playersare lost through an approach thatfocuses on when someone is bornabove their level of development.

But perhaps there is a better way,one that can help ensure the de-velopment and enjoyment of everyyoung player at a level they arecomfortable with.

One often mentioned example isthe New Zealand model of group-ing players based upon weight,rather than age.

Whilst this is primarily used toensure that young Polynesianplayers, who are often much largerthan other children their age, are

not allowed to dominate games, itis not without its flaws.

There is plenty of anecdotalevidence of players starvingthemselves to drop weight to al-low them to play alongside theirfriends, and physical size is notnecessarily matched by emotionaldevelopment or skill levels - an11 year old who is taller than hispeers and may have weight is-sues could end up playing along-side players two or three yearsolder than himself, and would findhimself outmatched in terms ofskill, experience and speed, whichwould be hugely dispiriting.

Even within New Zealand, thissystem is not in force throughoutthe country, suggesting that whilstit may work for specific situations,it is not an ideal situation.

In my opinion, our current systemcould easily be modified to bettermeet the needs of young playersby giving coaches more say onwhat level their players are capa-ble, or not capable, of playing at.

Take the first of the two scenariosI outlined at the beginning of thisarticle. In this case, a coach wouldbe able to apply for that player tobe allowed to participate in Under9s fixtures. They would have tojustify the request, citing why theplayer’s needs would be bettermet by being allowed to play con-tact rugby, and the player wouldbe assessed by a WRU Develop-ment Officer, who would need to

Junior/Minicoach,BarryWilliams,highlightssomeoftheproblemsthatarefacedwhencoachingyoungsters

IfeellikeI’vefailedthischild,thattheremusthavebeensomethingelseIcouldhavedone,butwhatmorecouldIhavedone?

FEATURE: JUNIOR RUGBY COACHINGbe satisfied that the request wasin the best interests of the player,and not just a case of a club tryingto rush a player up to help get outa team at the older age group.

At every other age group, play-ers are allowed to play for the ageabove, and this shouldn’t change– one year up is quite enough forany player, regardless of their sizeor ability.

The same process would takeplace in regards to the secondscenario, and should the Develop-ment Officer be satisfied that therequest was justified, a licencewould be granted to allow thatplayer to continue playing tagrugby for an additional season,and this licence would need to beshown to the opposition beforeany fixture the player took part in.The player would still be permit-ted to play Under 9s rugby if theywanted, but would be able to makethat jump when they felt ready.

These licences would have tobe renewed each season, andany repeat requests would haveto show what steps the club hadtaken to try and bring the player up

to the ‘correct’ level, and what theywere planning to do in the future tocontinue this process.

Here are a few examples from myown coaching experience that Ifeel highlight why this more flex-ible approach would be beneficialacross the board.

I’ll start with an Under 10s player.He doesn’t lack for skill or cour-age, but is very small for his age,and often finds himself beingphysically outmatched even at hisown age group. He’s always keento play for the Under 11s too, butboth his coach and his parentsworry that he’ll get hurt. For him,being able to play for the Under 9sinstead would be far more benefi-cial, as he would be able to de-velop his skills in a more suitablephysical environment.

Next, an Under 11s player wholacks the confidence to play athis own age group. He trainsevery week, but always gravitatestowards the Under 10s when it’stime to work on contact skills. Hegets invited to every Under 11sfixture, but the response frommum is always the same – he

enjoys the training, but doesn’tfeel confident playing in matches.If he could play for the Under 10s,he’d be much happier, and surelyenjoyment is what it’s all about?

And finally, the player who inspiredme to write this article. He was anUnder 8 last season, and lovedplaying tag rugby. In the back ofmy mind, I felt that he would strug-gle in the early part of the seasonwith the step up to contact rugby,and was worried that he wouldn’tcome back at all this seasonknowing that he would have toplay contact.

He did come back, but it wasobvious from the off that he felt illat ease – he would avoid makingtackles, or being in a position to betackled, whenever possible. Likeany coach would do, I factoredthis into my sessions, hoping togradually build his confidence withactivities that would allow him todevelop at his own pace. Then,one week, he wasn’t at training.One week became two, which be-came three, then came a text fromhis parents – he’s not enjoying itany more, thanks for all you’vedone, bye.

I feel like I’ve failed this child, thatthere must have been somethingelse I could have done, but whatmore could I have done?

So, how can I make sure that Idon’t have to fail another childsomewhere along the line?

If you have a view please emailgwcymru1@aol.com - manythanks

Barry Williams is Junior AcademyDirector at Welshpool RFC and aguest writer for The Oval Zone

Following report kindly supplied byRob Griffiths, Daily Post

Potential was a key word for Phil Daviesas he spoke about his new role as RGCinterim head coach, while he also heapedpraise on a ‘committed’ group of players .

Davies will be in charge of his first RGCmatch this Saturday after taking over fromChris Horsman, who has left for a new roleas one of three international skills coacheswith the WRU.

With a long and impressive CV as a playerand coach, Davies will bring a vast arrayof skills and experience to the role in NorthWales as he looks to help out at the regionuntil the end of the season.

Davies insists he is not here to rip up thecoaching manual with RGC but insteadsimply tweek a number of areas which hefeels can help the players to continue intheir development.

Having played a role in helping to estab-lish the blueprint for rugby in the region,Davies has an affinity with North Wales,and is relishing the chance to play even asmall role in their history.

“They have progressed exceptionally well,I remember coming up at the end of lastseason and speaking to Chris and Josh(Leach – assistant coach) on what hadgone on and doing a bit of a review withthem,” said Davies yesterday on his firstofficial day in the role.

“In 2008 I came here, and I have alwaysspoken to Peredur Jenkins (former DistrictJ chairman) about North Wales rugbyand always believed there was a hugepotential.

“To see what has happened since then isfantastic. Obviously Rupert (Moon – RGCgeneral manager) and I go back a longway, we have played most of our rugbytogether, and it was an opportunity to helphim and help the players and supportthem until the end of the season.

“There are some times I can make gamesand other games I can’t and there aretimes I will be here in the week coachingand supporting Josh and the players, Ithink we have got all bases covered.

“It is a great opportunity, I love coachingand I love being involved with teams andhopefully I can make a positive impact andhelp them develop on what has been herewith Clive Griffiths and Damian McGrathand the great work that Chris has done. It

is about carrying on that philosophy andtrying to develop bits and pieces which willhelp the team move forward while main-taining the RGC philosophy.”

Davies’ first game in the hot seat will comeon Saturday as RGC travel to take on bot-tom of the Championship Newbridge.

The former Leeds boss was mindful notto set any targets for his side, but simplyfor them to live up to the huge potential hesees.

He added: “I came up here earlier in theseason and I watched them in training onthe Tuesday and Wednesday and did asession with them on the Thursday whenChris was away on game management.

“But there are some good players here,some good young players and also somegood experienced players as well, but alsosome players who have been importedlike Tallis (Karaitiana). So there is a goodbalance to the team. It is a case of keepdeveloping and keep supporting the teamand trying to develop the balance and get-ting the best of them.

“It will be interesting, it is a good op-portunity for everybody, there is a bit offreshness there as well for the last partof the season, the last 16 games of theseason and we want to do as best as wecan to create momentum to have a strongsecond half of the season and build intonext season.

“I know RGC are looking to get as high as

they can as a side, whether that is as aregional side or in the Premiership, theyare looking to climb the ladder, but that ispipedreams for the longer term. What wewant to do at the moment is be the bestwe can be week in week out.

“At the moment our task is to climb aboveCardiff Met who are above us by a point,to try and get above them and then who-ever is above us after that and get abovethem and trying to keep building anddeveloping, not putting pressure on theplayers, we just want to get them to be thebest they can be.

“They are a very skillful team and wewant to keep working on those skills andmanage the game effectively, and also tryto get them as fit as we can, along withgetting them to enjoy it, because at theend of the day they are semi-professionalor amateur and they work and they wantto come here and enjoy themselves, andthat is the important thing.

“I have worked at this level with Leedsmany moons ago and more recently withCardiff RFC, and it is about the boyshaving a bit of fun, but there is a seriouselement to it as well.

“I don’t think there is a more committedteam in the Championship than theseplayers, because some of them travelmore than two hours to training and thenthey travel four to five hours every otherweek down to South Wales to play match-es so this is the most committed bunch ofplayers in the league.”

Saturday,18thOctoberCardiffMet28vRGC27

Following report kindly supplied by ScottLawson, RGC News

Tough One To Take

The only word to describe the 1 pointdefeat to Cardiff Met would be “Gutted”as RGC outscored the students on the trycount 4 to 2.

Head Coach Chris Horsman was onceagain left feeling disappointed in the closeloss “It was pleasing to outscore CardiffMet 4 tries to 2, and also to pick up 2bonus points. The game was played underdifficult conditions with the officiating andthe interpretation of the offside line on thebreakdown”

As expected the game was played at afrantic pace with the home side startingmore brightly and went 5 nil up with a tryfrom full-back Chris Leversley. The trycame from a turnover in the breakdownand RGC looked slow on occasions in thebreakdown area. The students were looking pretty danger-ous with the ball in hand and the pace ofLeversley and centre Emerson Besselwere causing the Gogs defence problems.

RGC were not really in the game, but theywere brought to life with a great try fromAlex Schwarz. The scrum half exchangedpasses with Carwyn Ap Myrddin andsprinted over the line for the score. From the kick off the Gogs put them-selves under pressure again when a way-ward pass from Tom Blackwell ended upbehind the in-goal area. From the resultingscrum Cardiff Met were awarded a penaltywhich was hit by Owen Thomas. The bootof Thomas nailed another penalty.

Kelvin Davies was making some bigtackles, as the Cardiff Met side pushed onfor a second try, but the RGC captain wasdoing everything to stop them.

The Gogs answered back with a penaltyfrom the boot of Rhodri Carlton Jones tokeep the board ticking over.

RGC were struggling to gain any momen-tum as time and time again they werefinding the referees whistle going againstthem. It was difficult to see why they werebeing punished from the touchline and thefrustration was building both on and off thepitch. Fly-half Thomas kicked his 3rd penalty asonce again the referees whistle went withthe homeside during the breakdown area.

Matters were made worse when CaptainKelvin Davies was sin-binned for persist-ent infringements, which looked prettyunlucky considering the homeside weregoing unpunished for being offside on anumber of occasions.

RGC dug deep with the 14 men andJames Lang made great run to chase

down his own kick, and the Gogs tooksome inspiration from that play. HookerAndy Baston made a big break throughthe Met defence and after the ball was re-cycled it fell to Harri Evans to run in at thecorner. Carlton-Jones hit the conversationfor a 15-14 half time lead.

As the second half went on RGC werefeeling more aggrieved in the breakdownarea when they were being punished yetthe home side were looking offside on anumber of occasions. It wasn’t a surprisewhen the students took the lead from an-other penalty. It was clear that Cardiff Metwere using the pick and go as a tactic, andhoping the referees whistle would then goin their favour.

RGC on the other hand were still lookingfor the try and it came after some patientphase play before Carlton-Jones spotted agap to zip through for the touchdown.

Even after 60 minutes the game was be-ing played at a high tempo and Cardiff Metgot their 2nd try in the corner to retake thelead. That lead was extended by another 2penalties from Thomas as the referees de-cisions at the breakdown area continuedto go against the Gogs. To make mattersworse Kelvin Davies was given his secondyellow after he was adjudged to put in ahigh tackle, and RGC faced being 28-20down, with 14 men, and 10 mins to go.

As in the 1st half they didn’t let the mandisadvantage hamper them, and replace-ment scrum-half Cam Davies workedthe ball to Carwyn Ap Myrddin who ranin behind the posts for a bonus point try.Carlton-Jones converted to make it 28-27to the homeside. The momentum was withRGC and from the restart when it lookedas though Cardiff Met knocked on but itwasn’t given, and with that the game waslost.

Saturday,25thOctoberRGC17vSwansea39

Following report kindly supplied by RobGriffiths, Daily Post

Chris Horsman: RGC weren’t goodenough in first half against Swansea

RGC chief bemoans first half and claimshis side weren’t clinical enough as RGCcrash to 39-17 defeat at the weekend

‘We weren’t at the races in the opening40 minutes’ was the honest answer fromRGC head coach Chris Horsman whenasked to sum up his side’s disappoint-ing defeat at the hands of Swansea onSaturday.

RGC went down to a 39-17 loss at ParcEirias as Swansea claimed a bonus pointvictory to stay in second place in thestandings, while the home side – whofailed to claim a solitary point from a gamefor the first time this term – dropped to fifthplace.

Swansea ran in first half tries from NickyThomas, Scott Maynard, Mike Sully andMarc Bennett-Jones to lead 26-10 at theinterval, a try from Kelvin Davies, con-verted by Rhodri Carlton-Jones, who alsoslotted a penalty RGC’s only reward for adifficult half.

Carlton-Jones converted Afon Bagshaw’stry after the interval but a Jedd Evans tryand two penalties from Thomas, who alsokicked four conversions settled the win.

RGC v Swansea, Swalec ChampionshipRugby, Eirias Park, Colwyn Bay: RGCcentre Danny Cross is tackled short ofthe Swansea try line. RGC v Swansea,Swalec Championship Rugby, Eirias Park,Colwyn Bay: RGC centre Danny Cross istackled short of the Swansea try line.

And while RGC put in a vastly improvedperformance after the break, it was theiropening contribution that put paid to anyhopes of claiming victory over a side whocame down from the Premiership lastseason.

“It was a difficult one to take,” said Hors-man. “I think they deserved the win, it wasdisappointing, particularly the first halfperformance.

“We stood off them a little bit which is thedisappointing thing, I think the second halfperformance was a lot better. We spokeabout a couple of areas we needed toaddress at half time and I think the boysplayed well, but I think the first half we justweren’t at the races.

“Sometimes I think it is difficult to putyour finger on why, but to be fair to them(Swansea), they were clinical and theytook their tries well. They got their oppor-tunities and they did well, we did create afew in the first half but we weren’t clini-

cal enough to take those opportunities,second half was better but realistically withthat wind it was always going to be a dif-ficult to get the result.”

Horsman has been a difficult coach toplease during his tenure, constantlysetting high standards for the players tofollow.

Win or lose Horsman has always focusedon the performance of his charges andwhether they can improve their gameby even the smallest of margins as hecontinues to help develop the game withinthe region.

And that is why he was especially deflatedby the manner of the loss, adding it wastough to find too many positives from theloss.

RGC v Swansea, Swalec ChampionshipRugby, Eirias Park, Colwyn Bay: RGC’sforward James Jones in action againstSwansea. RGC v Swansea, SwalecChampionship Rugby, Eirias Park, ColwynBay: RGC’s forward James Jones in ac-tion against Swansea.

The former Wales international added: “Itis difficult, because it is the first game youcan say we were beaten, we didn’t lose it,and that is credit to Swansea.

“The boys have got to learn the lessonsfrom it. You can see they (Swansea)have got some Premiership quality there,they are organised and street-wise andperhaps we lacked that bit of intensity andedge that we normally have especially inthe first half but I thought the second half,the response was good and even in thesecond half we blew a couple of opportu-

nities again, and just a very disappointingperformance.

“I don’t think they are that much betterthan us, I think we showed in patches weare as good as them and the second half itwas predominantly all us.

“I can put my finger on a few areas wherewe let ourselves down, the contact areawe weren’t quick enough, the first halfwe were breaking them getting down totheir 22 and they were turning us over.We highlighted it in the week, we said itwas an area where we needed to be onthe top of our game, but instead of beingpro-active in that area we had to wait untilhalf time and be reactive, but that wasdisappointing.

“But I can’t fault these guys for effort,and how they came back for commitmentand came back in the second half, butultimately the game of rugby is 80 minutesit’s not 40 minutes and the quality sides ifwe give them a lead it is going to be dif-ficult to claw them back.”

RGC will look to hit back in next Satur-day’s game at Tata Steel.

Horsman added: “It is easy to pick themup, they are learning as a group, we areall learning as a group, so you don’t needto give them the hair dryer as such, thisgroup of players you have to direct themand show them the mistakes or the areaswe weren’t efficient in and we have toimprove on them and learn from them andthat is what we will do in the week.

“We go down to Tata Steel and we areconfident we will go down there and put inthe performance and get the result.”

Saturday,1stNovemberTataSteel20vRGC13

Following report kindly supplied by WillMorecombe, RGC Team Mabager

Tata Too Much

RGC suffered yet another narrow loss,their 4th by 7 points or less this season,and again as in the previous losses it wasa case of what might have been.

Tata started the brighter and were re-warded with the first points of the after-noon from a penalty kick. However it wasRGC who looked to have crossed thewhitewash first when following a breakfrom scrum-half Cameron Davies, swiftrecycling of the ball gave Richard Hopkinsthe chance to dive over in the corner.Unfortunately the referee ruled the scoreout. adjudging Hopkins to have droppedthe ball as he crossed the line and theopening try when it did come, came fromthe home side.

A scrum 40 metres out wheeled slightlyto the left and allowing the Tata NO 8 tobreak to the right and he put into space hisright wing who sprinted in from 30 metres.With the extras being added the hostslead was extended to 10 points to nil and

although shortly before half-time RhodriCarlton-Jones put RGC on the score-board with a well-taken penalty, a half-timedeficit of 10 points to 3 meant that therewas plenty for the players and coaches todiscuss during the break.

Early in the second half a 7 point deficitturned into a 14 point one when droppedball in midfield fell into the arms of thefastest player on the pitch, the Tata right-wing and he gobbled up the opportunityto score his second try of the game. Totheir credit rather than drop their headsthis spurred on the RGC side to up theirgame and a second Rhodri Carlton-Jonespenalty made the score 17-6 in the homesides favour.

With the RGC pack beginning to get ontop, further scoring opportunities began tobe created but dogged defence from thehome side meant that it was not until

5 minutes from the end that this pres-sure was turned into points. A break fromthe ever dangerous Andy Baston gaveRichard Hopkins the try scoring opportu-nity and he beat the last defender to scoreto the right of the posts. Rhodri Carlton-Jones adding the extras.

Almost straight from the restart as RGCsought to run the ball from deep they werepenalised slightly controversially and fromthe resulting penalty Tata extended theirlead to 7 points. With 2 minutes left RGCknew they had to gain the ball from therestart and although they were successfulin so doing they again lost possession inthe home sides half allowing the ball to becleared from the Dangerzone. The gameended in frustration for the visitors as theywere penalised at a lineout on the finalplay of the day.

Still beaming with pride, Bryn Williams does not believe hewill be able to top running out in Barbarians colours as thepinnacle of his rugby career.

At 32 Williams is one of the elder statesmen in the RGCranks, the big second-row along with winger Richard Hop-kins the only members of the squad over 30.

So Tuesday night’s run out in the Baa-baas’ 31-15 winover the Combined Services at Bath’s Memorial Groundis rightly his proudest moment on a rugby field so far. Andat his age Williams admits it might be difficult to top theexperience of such a privilege.

“Absolutely, I don’t think I will top that,” said the formerColwyn Bay lock. “It was a massive honour and I amimmensely proud to be asked or invited to play for theBarbarians because some of the best players in worldrugby have worn that shirt in the past and it is a massiveprivilege.”

One of a few who bought into RGC as a concept from itsinception many years ago, Williams is being rewardedfor his efforts and enjoying the fruits of his labour with theNorth Wales outfit.

Williams, along with hooker Andy Baston and centre HarriEvans, were all invited to play in the Remembrance Matchat the home of Premiership outfit Bath. He added: “I thinkit (RGC) has put us in the shop window a bit more, espe-cially North Wales players.

“You only have to look at Harri (Evans) playing for theWales under-20s and he’s about to go off with Wales Sev-ens and it just massively has put us on the map in NorthWales.

“Something like this is just huge for us in North Wales.

“I never imagined I’d get to play for the Barbarians. WhenI came home last week and told my family and my partnerit was amazing. I was absolutely gob smacked, just soshocked when I found out, and it took a while to sink in. Itwas just a brilliant few days and something I will alwayscherish.”

Report and picture by North Wales Daily Post

Saturday,6thDecemberRGC38vBridgendAth18

Following report kindly supplied by ScottLawson, RGC News

Back To Winning Ways

RGC gave departing Head Coach ChrisHorsman a performance to be proud ofwith a 38 – 8 victory against BridgendAthletic.

The homeside started brightly as theylooked for that early score at Eirias. AfonBagshaw burst through the defence to goover. The visitors hit back with a penaltysoon after to get them back in the game.

It was James Lang who next got the crowdon their feet with a barnstorming runcrashing through some Bridgend tacklesto get the score with a Carlton-Jones con-version adding the extras.

RGC were playing some good rugbyspreading the ball around with Grundy andLoots looking to run with the ball.

It was the Bridgend winger Rhys WardJones who looked dangerous with a kickand chase that tested the RGC backline.

When it comes to wingers scoring tries,it was no surprise to the Eirias crowdwhen Carwyn Ap Myrddin ran over in thecorner with some quick feet outrunning thedefence.

As the half-time whistle approached theaway side got a vital score with Dan How-ells claiming the try and the score at 17-8.

The momentum was with Bridgend for bigspells of the 2nd half as they pressed onthe RGC line. The Gogs defence workedhard time and time again as Bridgendcame up short. It was a breakaway try by

Tom Seddon that claimed the bonus pointas the centre ran through. Carlton-Jonesconverted.

More pressure was piled on RGC but onceagain the defence had all the answers,with RGC putting bodies on the line. Aftersoaking up the attacks RGC hit Bridgendwith 2 late tries from Afon Bagshaw whopicked up a hatrick today.

To run in 6 tries and put in a strong defen-sive effort for the 80 minutes sets RGC upfor the next stage of the season

Pictures byAlan Skeates

Saturday,20thDecemberRGC25vMerthyr18

Following report kindly supplied by ScottLawson, RGC News

RGC gave the Eirias crowd an earlyChristmas present with a 25-18 victoryagainst Merthyr in a tough encounter.

Big Win at Ho Ho Home for RGC

The Gogs started brightly with Tian Lootsand Andy Baston both making some goodbreaks to the delight of the home crowd.Cameron Davies was next to make a dartthrough some tackles before the back gotinvolved with a driving maul.

The first score went on the board after18 minutes when Rhodri Carlton-Joneskicked a penalty. The visitors went downto 14 men when Matthew Rhys was yellowcarded but they managed to get somepoints on the board with a penalty fromSteve Lang.

RGC then capitalised on a mistake on theMerthyr lineout when Mei Parry picked upthe ball and charged from the half-wayline breaking through the tackles beforeoffloading to Andy Baston for the try. Parrywas soon to leave the field injured, but hemade the difference for the first try.

The boot of Lang got the Merthyr back inthe game with a big penalty from distance,but they weren’t offering anything attackwise in the first half.

RGC were the team looking to run the balland after another break from Cameron

Davies they went close with MaredyddFrancis being held up on the line. It wasn’tlong before the line was broken whenHarri Evans ran in for the score just beforehalf time. The fact RGC went for the tappenalty showed the intent of the playersto go for the try and it was fully deservedbased on the pay in the first half.

The second half started with an im-pressive barnstorming run from ShaunO’Rourke who couldn’t be stopped as hewent over the line. O’Rourke was one ofmany players who carried the ball welltoday, and the gain-line break stats shouldmake good reading. The referee made it a 14 man game whenhe yellow carded Evan Yardley and MartinLuckwell.

It looked like RGC had scored the best tryof the game when Loots and Huw Grundycombined to blast through but to the sur-prise of the crowd the referee hauled themback for a penalty.

It was another try made out of nothingthat gave the Gogs the bonus point whenAfon Bagshaw kicked on a loose ball andchased it down to go over to the delight ofthe Eirias crowd. Carlton-Jones added theextra. The RGC fullback showed pace, re-

silience and good hands to get the score.

The referees whistle was playing a majorpart in the game for the last 60 minutesas the penalty count racked up. The homeside were being penalised at the break-down on a number of occasions whichhampered the flow of the side. AndrewWilliams was given a yellow and the visi-tors picked up some momentum with 2tries in the last 10 minutes of the game butRGC had done more than enough for thewin over the 80 minutes.

RGC News caught up with AssistantCoach Josh Leach

“We have worked on a couple of thingsover the past few week and we looked totidy up on a few areas. It was good to seethat preparation pay off on the field today.We were solid in defence for 60 minutesbut after being 25-6 up it was disappoint-ing not to close out the game. We have tobuild on this win and tidy up a few morethings for the Pontypool game includingwhat we do with the ball in attack. Thatsaid it was a big win for us today and evenmore pleasing to pick up 5 points.”

06/09/2014Cardiff Met v SwanseaBargoed v PontypoolGlynneath v Tata SteelLlanharan v MerthyrNarberth v Bridgend AthTondu v NewbridgeBlackwood v RGC 1404

13/09/2014RGC 1404 v BargoedTata Steel v Cardiff MetPontypool v LlanharanBridgend Ath v GlynneathMerthyr v TonduNewbridge v NarberthSwansea v Blackwood

20/09/2014Llanharan v RGC 1404Swansea v Tata SteelCardiff Met v Bridgend AthTondu v PontypoolGlynneath v NewbridgeNarberth v MerthyrBlackwood v Bargoed

27/09/2014RGC 1404 v TonduBridgend Ath v SwanseaBargoed v LlanharanNewbridge v Cardiff MetPontypool v NarberthMerthyr v GlynneathTata Steel v Blackwood

04/10/2014Narberth v RGC 1404Swansea v NewbridgeTondu v BargoedTata Steel v Bridgend AthCardiff Met v MerthyrGlynneath v PontypoolBlackwood v Llanharan

11/10/2014RGC 1404 v GlynneathMerthyr v SwanseaBargoed v NarberthNewbridge v Tata SteelLlanharan v TonduPontypool v Cardiff MetBridgend Ath v Blackwood

18/10/2014Cardiff Met v RGC 1404Swansea v PontypoolTata Steel v MerthyrNarberth v LlanharanBridgend Ath v NewbridgeGlynneath v BargoedBlackwood v Tondu

25/10/2014RGC 1404 v SwanseaBargoed v Cardiff MetPontypool v Tata SteelLlanharan v GlynneathMerthyr v Bridgend AthTondu v NarberthNewbridge v Blackwood

01/11/2014Tata Steel v RGC 1404Swansea v BargoedCardiff Met v LlanharanBridgend Ath v PontypoolNewbridge v MerthyrGlynneath v TonduBlackwood v Narberth

06/12/2014RGC 1404 v Bridgend AthLlanharan v SwanseaBargoed v Tata SteelTondu v Cardiff MetPontypool v NewbridgeNarberth v GlynneathMerthyr v Blackwood

13/12/2014Newbridge v RGC 1404Swansea v TonduBridgend Ath v BargoedTata Steel v LlanharanCardiff Met v NarberthMerthyr v PontypoolBlackwood v Glynneath

20/12/2014RGC 1404 v MerthyrNarberth v SwanseaBargoed v NewbridgeTondu v Tata SteelGlynneath v Cardiff MetLlanharan v Bridgend AthBlackwood v Pontypool

27/12/2014Pontypool v RGC 1404Swansea v GlynneathMerthyr v BargoedTata Steel v NarberthNewbridge v LlanharanBridgend Ath v TonduCardiff Met v Blackwood

03/01/2015Swansea v Cardiff MetPontypool v BargoedTata Steel v GlynneathMerthyr v LlanharanBridgend Ath v NarberthNewbridge v TonduRGC 1404 v Blackwood

17/01/2015Bargoed v RGC 1404Cardiff Met v Tata SteelLlanharan v PontypoolGlynneath v Bridgend AthTondu v MerthyrNarberth v NewbridgeBlackwood v Swansea

24/01/2015RGC 1404 v LlanharanTata Steel v SwanseaBridgend Ath v Cardiff MetPontypool v TonduNewbridge v GlynneathMerthyr v NarberthBargoed v Blackwood

31/01/2015Tondu v RGC 1404Swansea v Bridgend AthLlanharan v BargoedCardiff Met v NewbridgeNarberth v PontypoolGlynneath v MerthyrBlackwood v Tata Steel

07/02/2015RGC 1404 v NarberthNewbridge v SwanseaBargoed v TonduBridgend Ath v Tata SteelMerthyr v Cardiff MetPontypool v GlynneathLlanharan v Blackwood

14/02/2015Glynneath v RGC 1404Swansea v MerthyrNarberth v BargoedTata Steel v NewbridgeTondu v LlanharanCardiff Met v PontypoolBlackwood v Bridgend Ath

28/02/2015RGC 1404 v Cardiff MetPontypool v SwanseaMerthyr v Tata SteelLlanharan v NarberthNewbridge v Bridgend AthBargoed v GlynneathTondu v Blackwood

07/03/2015Swansea v RGC 1404Cardiff Met v BargoedTata Steel v PontypoolGlynneath v LlanharanBridgend Ath v MerthyrNarberth v TonduBlackwood v Newbridge

CHAMPIONSHIPFIXTURES 2014-15

28/03/2015 (SW Cup QF)RGC 1404 v Tata SteelBargoed v SwanseaLlanharan v Cardiff MetPontypool v Bridgend AthMerthyr v NewbridgeTondu v GlynneathNarberth v Blackwood

04/04/2015Bridgend Ath v RGC 1404Swansea v LlanharanTata Steel v BargoedCardiff Met v TonduNewbridge v PontypoolGlynneath v NarberthBlackwood v Merthyr

11/04/2015 (SW Cup SF)RGC 1404 v NewbridgeTondu v SwanseaBargoed v Bridgend AthLlanharan v Tata SteelNarberth v Cardiff MetPontypool v MerthyrGlynneath v Blackwood

18/04/2015Merthyr v RGC 1404Swansea v NarberthNewbridge v BargoedTata Steel v TonduCardiff Met v GlynneathBridgend Ath v LlanharanPontypool v Blackwood

25/04/2015RGC 1404 v PontypoolGlynneath v SwanseaBargoed v MerthyrNarberth v Tata SteelLlanharan v NewbridgeTondu v Bridgend AthBlackwood v Cardiff Met

RGC v MerthyrPhotos by Alan Skeates

NorthWalesIntermediatePlateDrawsQuarter and Semi Finals Matches

Intermediate Plate Quarter FinalPreliminary Round losers and 1st Round LosersTO BE COMPLETED BY 17th JANUARY 2015

Q1 Bangor v Llanidloes - TBAQ2 Welshpool v Rhos - 14.01.15 7.30pmQ3 Newtown v Llangollen - 27.12.14 2.00pmQ4 Menai Bridge v Bye

Intermediate Plate Semi FinalsGames to be played on Saturday, 14th February 2015,unless another date, prior to 14th February can be agreedupon by both Clubs.

Winner of Q2 (Welshpool or Rhos) v Menai BridgeWinner of Q1 (Bangor or Llanidloes) v Winner of Q3 (New-town or Llangollen)

NorthWalesCupCompetitionDrawsMadeMouth watering matches to reach the Finals at Parc Eiriason Extravaganza Week End 2/3rd May.

The draw for the semi finals of the:

North Wales Senior CupRhuthin v Dolgellau or BalaBethesda v Nant Conwy

North Wales Senior PlateLlangefni or Pwllheli v MoldBro Ffestiniog v Colwyn Bay or Rhyl

North Wales Intermediate CupAbergele v Wrexham or Menai BridgeFlint v Bangor or Harlech

NB1. The above games to be played on Saturday, 14th Febru-ary 2015, unless another date, prior to 14th February, canbe agreed upon by both Clubs involved in that game.

2. The draw for the semi finals of North Wales IntermediatePlate will be distributed after 20th December.

Check out the RGC Under-16 upcoming fixtures in theWRU Regional Age Grade Championship.

POOL A :BLUES SOUTHDRAGONS SOUTH...OSPREYS EASTSCARLETS EASTRGC CALON

Sunday 25th January - RGC Calon v Ospreys EastSunday 1st February - RGC Calon v Scarlets EastSunday 8th February - Blues South v RGC CalonSunday 15th February - Dragons South v RGC Calon

POOL B :BLUES NORTHDRAGONS NORTHOSPREYS WESTSCARLETS WESTRGC BALCH

Sunday 18th January - RGC Balch v Dragons NorthSunday 25th January - Scarlets West v RGC BalchSunday 1st February - Ospreys West v RGC BalchSunday 15th February - RGC Balch v Blues North

RGC UNDER-16 FIXTURES

The Rygbi Gogledd Cymru wheelchair rugby team - formal-ly the North Wales Dragons - celebrated their new namewith a friendly against able-bodied rugby union namesakeRGC 1404 tomorrow.

Since their move to Glyndwr University, which becometheir training ground earlier this year, the team have forgedstrong bonds with RGC 1404 and, following discussionswith the Welsh Rugby Union’s Rupert Moon and Marc Rob-erts - RGC General Manager and Performance ProgrammeManager respectively, decided to change their name andbecome GBWR’s newest registered club.

The match celebrated the launch of the new team and tookplace at Colwyn Bay Leisure Centre ahead of RGC’s SWA-LEC Championship match against Merthyr.

Moon said: “We are thrilled with this new partnership be-cause it brings another team under the umbrella of RGC,growing our rugby family across North Wales and providinganother opportunity for more people to play rugby in thearea.”

David Pond, GBWR Chief Executive, added: “This is greatnews for the growth and development of wheelchair rugbyin North Wales. With ongoing support from RGC andGlyndwr University the team has been able to focus onexpansion and on encouraging more people to participatein the sport.

“We’re grateful to the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust whichhas funded regional development work with the club andlook forward to seeing the new RGC side competing at thehighest level in the UK Wheelchair Rugby Super Seriesleague in 2015.”

An exciting fusion of ice hockey, handball and rugby,

wheelchair rugby was originally founded in Canada in 1977and has been growing popularity around the world. It’s notonly based on physical speed and chair contact, but is alsoa highly tactical intelligent game to be involved in.

“With eight rolling substitutes making up squads of 12, withfour players on court per team at any time, all with the aimof driving the ball across the opponents’ goal line. Contactbetween wheelchairs is permitted, as players use theirchairs to block and hold opponents. The emphasis of thesport is on fun, excitement and inclusion, particularly forplayers with higher levels of impairment.

Anyone that would like to find out more about the club, orto join as a member, can check out the GBWR website at:www.gbwr.org.uk. Or contact Amanda Thomas at Amanda.thomas@gbwr.org.uk (07950 545014) or Tony Stackhouseon 0770 1045576.

Picture includes WRU’s Rupert Moon and Marc Roberts

RGC 1404embracewheelchairrugby team

WRUNEWS

The Welsh Rugby Union has launcheda nationwide anti-doping informationand awareness programme.

The campaign includes comprehen-sive online information (wru.co.uk/antidoping) with clear advice to helpinform players and support staff of therules and regulations with regards todoping, including a new World Anti-Doping Code which comes into forceon January 1. The web page includeslinks to help players check any medi-cation and supplements they may bethinking of taking to ensure they arenot on the prohibited substances list.

Wales captain Sam Warburton hasproduced a video message as partof the campaign, calling on everyoneinvolved in the game in Wales to pro-tect our sport so that every player hasthe right to compete with and againstother clean players.

In the video he says, “As a RugbyPlayer you set goals to get to thehighest levels, from turning out foryour club to representing your Regionand pulling on the Wales jersey at theRugby World Cup.

“I know that every time I go on thatfield I have trained to my potentialto reach these goals and that I havetaken nothing I shouldn’t have thathas enhanced my performance. I

WRUlaunchanti-dopingawarenesscampaign

know my hard work in the gym andon the training field has made me theplayer I am.”

All clubs, players and support person-nel have been written to, to highlightthe changes in the World Anti-Dop-ing Code which come into effect onJanuary 1 and include two additionalAnti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs)along with greatly increased sanctionsfor breaching the Code.

There will be four year bans for cheat-ing involving serious doping sub-stances (eg steroids, growth hormone,EPO) and refusal or evading samplecollection. The new ADRVs coverComplicity - helping another person tocover up an ADRV or avoid detection- and Prohibited Association - associ-ating with a person such as a coach,doctor or physio who has been foundguilty of a doping violation such asproviding banned substances.

It is stressed in the letters issued thisweek that there is no room in theCode for carelessness or not know-ing, and players are encouraged tocheck the prohibited lists, found viawru.co.uk/antidoping which includeover-the-shelf medication and supple-ments.

WRU Group Chief Executive RogerLewis said, “The Welsh Rugby Union

takes anti-doping offences very seri-ously and condemns any violation ofanti-doping rules. The WRU worksclosely with UK Anti-Doping (UKAD)and this important information cam-paign comes as a revised World Anti-Doping Code comes into effect as ofJanuary 1.”

A key element of the campaign is toask members of the Welsh rugby fam-ily and members of the public to helpkeep our strong rugby values in tactby reporting anyone who they suspectis involved in doping.

Warburton added, “Please speak out,protect our sport and help keep itclean by reporting it to the WRU or UKAnti-Doping.”

The WRU advises all its NationalSquads on anti-doping and ensuresthe professional regions and semi-professional clubs fully educate theirplayers of the UK anti-doping rulesand regulations. Players who are onthe international pathway also haveto complete World Rugby’s e-learningcourse.

As part of a wider campaign to in-crease awareness of anti-doping rulesand regulations, the national govern-ing body is also training its coachdevelopment officers and school-clubhub officers to become advisors andeducators so they can deliver the Anti-Doping education and setting up train-ing for volunteers in clubs to becomeanti-doping advisors.

Testing is carried out at international,professional and semi-professionalmatches and training. Out of Competi-tion Testing occurs at amateur level ifUKAD receive intelligence of a playercommitting an Anti-Doping Rule Viola-tion.

Roger Lewis added, “We encourageanyone who has any intelligence ofdoping taking place to speak out andcall the UKAD Report Doping in Sportnumber - tel 0800 032 2332, go towww.reportdoping.com or email anti-doping@wru.co.uk “

This report and picture kindly suppliedby The Welsh Rugby Union

WRUNEWS

The Welsh Rugby Union haslaunched the recruitment process tofind two new non-executive directorsto join the main Board of the govern-ing body with one of them ideallybeing a woman.

Applications are being requestedfrom individuals with the integrity,independence and broad experienceto operate in a high profile sector atboard level.

The application process will close on31 January 2015 when a shortlist ofcandidates will be drawn up for con-sideration.

The new Board appointments aretaking place after the Annual GeneralMeeting of the WRU in October 2014approved a series of changes to thegovernance of the Union.

This followed a two year review ofthe existing governance structuresheaded by the eminent High CourtJudge Sir Robert Owen.

In a further radical change to theWRU’s governance the Annual Gen-eral Meeting of members voted to limitthe overall tenure of any non-execu-tive Board member to 12 years.

The new appointees will be added to

the existing Board which comprises18 directors with 17 of those directlyappointed by member clubs.

The Board of Directors of the WRUhave appointed the Odgers Berndstonmanagement recruitment company tooversee the application process.

The brief for the new roles states theWRU is seeking candidates with prov-en experience at a senior executivelevel within a complex and substantialcommercial organisation.

They state that business leadership isat the heart of the WRU requirementsalthough senior experience in a corecommercial function such as legalor financial management will also beconsidered an asset.

The application document also says:“The WRU board is highly mindful ofthe value that diversity can bring tothe board. While gender diversity is acritical consideration, the company isalso interested in individuals whoseage and experience can bring a differ-ent perspective and outlook to boarddiscussions.”

WRU Group Chief Executive, RogerLewis, said: “This represents animportant development in the govern-ance of Welsh rugby which will makethe governing body more effective

in the complex and dynamic globalrugby landscape.

“We have carried out a detailed andforensic review of our existing struc-tures and we can now move forwardinto a new era for Welsh rugby withconfidence.

“Our remit covers all of rugby from thegrassroots to the pinnacle of the pro-fessional game and we also own andoperate our own Millennium Stadiumso the decisions we make at Boardlevel are vitally important.

“We have declared openly that wewant at least one of the new non-executive directors to be a womanand that appointment will send out aclear and dynamic message about thedirection we will take in future.”

WRU Chairman Gareth Davies said:“The addition of this extra expertiseand knowledge will improve the corpo-rate strength of our governance at atime of great change within rugby.

“The Board of the WRU is, quiterightly, dominated by rugby expertisebut in the professional era we have tomake sure that all our decisions andstrategies are monitored and testedthrough a lens of experience andexpertise.”

WRU seeks new non-executivedirector roles

Cofis at home and ‘Dudnoaway in WRU NationalYouth CompetitionsAll ties to be played on Saturday,14th February, 2015

WRU Youth CupCowbridge I v Bridgend AthleticCrymych v PenalltaPontypridd v NantyfyllonYstrad Rhondda v Aberavon Quins

WRU Youth PlateRhydyfelin v Furnace UnitedRTB Ebbw Vale v South GowerCaernarfon v PontarddulaisNarberth v Pontypool United

WRU Youth BowlWattstown v LlandudnoCardiff Quins v YstalyferaPenygraig v PorthcawlYstradgynlais v Cowbridge II

SWALEC PLATE 2014-2015ROUND 4

To be played the weekend of 17thJanuary 2015

Ystrad Rhondda v Glamorgan WanderersYnysybwl v PenlanSkewen v PwllheliPontypool United v Nant ConwyAberystwyth v TalywainNewcastle Emlyn v PencoedPenallta v Heol y CywLoughor v Ystalyfera

SWALEC BOWL 2014-2015ROUND 4

To be played the weekend of 17thJanuary 2015

Harlech v Colwyn BayLlangefni v Shotton SteelAberaeron v PembrokeFishguard & Goodwick v Lampeter TownSwansea Uplands v PenybancBurry Port v YstradgynlaisNantyffyllon v Briton FerryCwmavon v Bridgend SportsDinas Powys v Cambrian WelfareNantymoel v BryncethinOld Illtydians / Ynysowen v AberdareTonyrefail v TreharrisOakdal v AberbargoedCefn Coed v AbercarnHartridge v CaerleonCaldicot V Ynysddu

PLEASE HELP US TOSPREAD THE NEWSABOUT WOMEN’S

RUGBYPlease send news,match reports and

pictures togwcymru1@aol.comfor inclusion in future

issues

WOMENS RUGBYPenalltaMinerbirds5

vAbergeleLadies44it was a cold, gloomy day down inSouth Wales, however the sun wasshining down on the the “green army”girls where they continued theirstream of good results as Penalltaplayed host to the in form ladies.

The game was filled with action fromthe very first whistle with big hits andstrong running from both teams.

Gele drew first blood with somecharacteristic running from SophieEdwards. This was quickly answeredby the hosts as the Gele defence wascaught napping.

After some strong words from captainLaura Taylor the green army ralliedand got two tries in quick successionwith both Lucy Edwards and SophieEdward crossing the whitewash.

Abergele then dropped down to 14players after an injury to the Gele full-back. Injuries have been somewhat of

a curse this season and with a coupleof girls carrying them from previousgames the inevitable happened 30minutes into the first half.

However as soon as one of the girlsdeparted vice captain Nikki Weldon-Jones gave the girls all the proof theyneeded that they were more thancapable of carrying on as they werewith Gele’s fourth try of the game.

Second half started much the as thefirst with the big tackles coming fromboth teams throughout.

Some great movement from Aberge-le’s back line and with the mobileforward joining in at the backs, somenimble footwork and some slight ofhand saw returning Lauranna Mcgeedown the ball for the green army girls.

Gele’s powerful forwards drove theball up the pitch time after time so itwas just deserved as prop forward

Gail Banks powered her way throughthe relentless Penallta defence.

The game came to a close as LucyEdwards, unwilling to be out doneby her sister, polished off what wasa hard fought battle against a verystrong and physical team.

Thanks to Abergele RFC for the reportand Tracey Lintern for the pictures.

Penallta Minerbirds v Abergele Ladies by Tracey Lintern

@ovalzonerugby

Nant Conwy Girls U16 20 v Welshpool Girls U16 35

Welshpool travelled up to Nant Conwy who have also re-cently started playing the game.

Women’s rugby may be one of the fastest growing sportsnationally but this is largely due to girls taking the game upat university.

“To field a girls’ team is the culmination of much goodwork by the Club, our Development Officer Dai Higgs andWelshpool , Llanfyllin and Llanfair High Schools, we aredetermined to continue to grow the girls game.” said a Clubspokesman.

Nant Conwy dominated early possession and scored twotries in the first five minutes.

Welshpool attempted to reply with two solo runs down thewing but Nant’s determined tackling cut them short just be-fore the line. The game started to settle into a close contestwith very good tackling from both sides.

Eventually, some determined work by the Welshpool for-wards enabled Libby Jones to crash over from five metresout.

This encouraged the Welshpool girls who grew in confi-dence as the game progressed and the reward came fromthe first of several tries by Sophie Hazlehurst. The first halfended even but the second half saw an increasingly fluentWelshpool stamp their authority on the game and drawclear.

Coach Jess Andrews said: ”I’m delighted with every singleone of my players. This was a team performance and astandard of play that we can all be justifiably proud of,onwards and upwards from here”.

Team: Libby Jones, Sophie Hazlehurst, Ceri Glover, CeriGriffiths, Mazie Evans, Lucy Morgan, Mabli Johnson, EleriRoberts, Ffion Johns and Romanna Parkes.

HistorymadeasWelshpool