Arras give Youth a tour to remember (From Penarth Times)

Arras give Youth a tour to remember

OF ALL the end of season tours which Penarth Youth rugby squad have organised in their eight-year history, this, the first ever Youth expedition abroad to old friends Arras, has to be the best.

The sheer warmth of the welcome reserved for the Welsh, with accommodation and all food provided, showed how much the French wanted to build on the links which had originally been established by Stanwell School more than 30 years ago, and continued more recently by the youngsters of Penarth mini rugby who were on tour in Arras on this same weekend. One of the Penarth parents, Tim James, hadn't been back since his school trip 28 years ago, but he was spotted by French "anciens" of the old school exchange and feted in style.

Despite the arrival time at 4am, the Youth turned out on Saturday for a match against Lycee Robespierre refereed by teacher M Thierry Tourdot, another old friend of Penarth, and in the warm sunshine Penarth heads cleared as they took control of the game and in the first half a fast sprint by winger and vice captain Dan Read put the visitors just 5-0 up at half time.

In the second half Penarth showed more flair and a "pile-over" try by Kyle Blake followed by an excellent run including a copybook dummy by James Williams and a conversion by scrum-half Jon Wingren put the Welsh ahead in a game with some quality rugby but with some frustration due to differences in rule interpretation. The final score was 17-0.

The French gave the Penarth boys a very good time indeed during Saturday evening, perhaps hoping this would impair their game on Sunday afternoon, but in fast Les Gallois played even better and tries by Penarth captain James Coslett 2, Jon Wingren and Dan Read gave Penarth a 26pts to 18 win in a hotly contested match.

The Chairman of Arras Rugby Club presented a new cup for what is to be an annual fixture between Arras and Penarth Under-19s, and Penarth were the first recipients. This Wednesday evening Penarth were due to play positively their last match of the season against Markham Youth, but there is still the Trimsaran Sevens and the end of season dinner to look forward to.