PENARTH Under-14s rugby squad brought their playing season to a close on Sunday by competing in Cwmbran’s sevens tournament.

The under-14s have had another successful season only losing a handful of games since September and having many games with 50 plus points scored.

The boys have played in sevens competitions for their school teams, but it was a first for the under-14s at club level. With only one training session in preparation for the tournament, it was a case of learning on the job.

The first game was against a very strong Hereford team. Evan Lloyd, the Penarth captain and Stanwell school pupil, opened the scoring with a well executed try. Hereford came back and levelled the scores before Penarth scored again through Drew Musa.

Mason Grady scored Penarth’s third try before Hereford replied again with a superb individual try. Penarth remained strong in defence to take the game 19-14.

The second game was to prove the most testing for Penarth as they had to battle hard as they were trailing Cwmbran Ravens all throughout the game. With a couple of minutes remaining Evan Lloyd scored his second try of the game and outwitted his opponent by getting underneath the post to allow Drew Musa the easier option of converting and ending the game 19-19.

Penarth’s next game was against Swansea-based team Waunarlwydd. Will Hardy opened the scoring for Penarth with great vision and speed on the wing. A good move that resulted in a try for Mason Grady, followed by a second from Will Hardy, meant the score was 17-0 in favour of Penarth at half-time.

A solid second half performance with a great try from Dan Cahalane saw Penarth emerge as winners 29-7.

In the final pool game, Penarth needed a good score against opponents Porth in order to go through to the knockout stages as pool winners. Some great work on the floor and in the loose by Lewys Williams and Rhys Newman provided quality ball for the backs. Cameron Sultana played his part with some gutsy tackling in the open field.

A great team performance from all the boys saw six tries being scored by Penarth by six different players, this time Aled Rees, Ryan Allen and Joe Roberts getting on the score sheet. An excellent display of sevens rugby gave Penarth the result they needed 38-0 and they went into the knockout stages as pool winners.

Onto the semi-finals and the opponents were Cwmbran’s other team Cwmbran Crows. Ever reliable Evan Lloyd was again the first person to score and confidence was high amongst the Penarth players, both Aled Rees and Joe Roberts added two tries apiece, with one of Joe’s tries coming from a well read interception. Will Hardy added one of his own to end the semi-final with a convincing 40-12 to Penarth.

The final match of the day was against Cwmbran Ravens, the team they had a draw with earlier on in the day. The coaches prepped the players well and urged them to play the fast paced, expansive rugby they had displayed all day.

A much wider pitch in the final suited the boys, particularly Will Hardy who had the space to show his impressive speed.

The game started well from the kick-off with Ryan Allen catching the high ball and finding himself in space, a sprint for the line saw him get caught at the last second by the Cwmbran full back. However, the terrific start meant the try line was very close for Penarth and the Cwmbran boys were under great pressure.

It wasn’t long before the class of Mason Grady opened the scoring for Penarth. After that it was Will Hardy who finished every opportunity that was given to him. One try for Joe Roberts, two great tries by Aled Rees and five tries for Stanwell pupil Will Hardy in the final put the game out of contention for the opponents.

Cwmbran did finish strongly with three tries of their own but the game was a comfortable and classy performance for the Penarth Under-14 players to win the final 52-22.

Apart from lifting the trophy, captain Evan Lloyd, was also voted Player of the Tournament, a well deserved accolade. Congratulations to all the players involved, it was a long but very rewarding day for the players, parents and coaches.

A massive thank you to Cwmbran Rugby Club for a fantastic day of rugby, the tournament was very well organised and ran smoothly throughout the whole day.

The final farewell to the 2015-16 season will be their Presentation Evening on Friday, June 10, at Penarth Athletic Club.