LAST Friday saw 43 intrepid travellers from Penarth RFC Youth section set off from the Penarth Athletic Ground for their annual tour to Cornwall.

A great weekend was rounded off by the Penarth boys overwhelming a Penzance Pirates Colts team 60-5.

On a glorious Friday afternoon, the 29 players, three coaches, two committee, four dads and four 'special' chaperones set off from the Penarth club with both excitement and slight trepidation.

Last year’s tour lasted all of 40 minutes as the bus broke down at the Pontprennau services, and there was always the fear for many that if the bus broke down again, the diet coke and flavoured water would run out in the heat of the day.

However, a heartfelt cheer went out from the bus when it passed, at great speed, last year’s breakdown destination and everyone knew the trip was 'on' and the boys were well on their way.

Everyone on the bus relaxed, and within hours 'Sospan Fach' was being belted out by the lead chaperone Morgan Smith to everyone's joy, a ‘joy’ that was repeated on many occasions during the tour.

The Penarth boys turned on the style against the Colts which saw the opening try scored after only six minutes centre Aron Arthur crossing after good work by the Penarth eight, who were magnificent in the scrum area, with young front row forwards Yaz Ghandour and Matt Hocking dominating their older opposition, supported by second rows Owain Jones and Will Parsons and a back row of Thaine Baker Tom Faz and Ellis Smith.

It was only eight minutes later that the Penarth boys struck again when wing Luke Pringle, on as a blood replacement for Mike Halligan, finished off a great back line move which was started by outside half Ben Jones and centre Toby Dyer, Pringle stealing potential glory from wing Halligan, who stood on the side line in disbelief whilst stemming the blood from his nose.

It was obvious that the young Penarth starting line up were dominating early play as the Pirates struggled to cope with the speed and skills of the Penarth team, and it was only 17 minutes further into the game when Arthur struck for his second try of the game and take the score to 0-21.

A further try for Penarth came from openside flanker Thaine Baker who scored what can only be described as a stunning try after connecting with second row Will Parsons in a ballet like dance, which saw the two players weave, side step and switch their way down the pitch for the flanker to score under the posts for the' try' of the match.

This moved the score rapidly on to 0-28, however, as the boys started to relax in the sun, the Pirates stole a score back, and at half-time the teams turned around at 5-28.

Most pleasing for the Penarth coaches at the half time point, was that the impressive first half team consisted of all the players which will be available for next year's season for the Penarth RFC Youth.

The second half gave the opportunity for the coaches to send on the 'senior' boys of the squad for their last tour game for the youth, knowing that the 'cavalry' would not make life any easier for the Penzance side.

With only four minutes on the clock and with a dominant Penarth pack that was pushing back the Pirates at a rate of knots, the back line attacked the opposition, and it was Harry Williams who stormed over for Penarth's 5th try.

The sixth try came from captain and centre George Roberts who seems to be scoring more tries in the latter part of the season as he gets closer to the awards night, and the sublime running skills of the centre took him under the posts after only six minutes of the second half and Penarth into a commanding 5-38 lead.

The wind had well and truly been blown out of the Pirates sails and further tries for Luc Kean-Adams, Luke Pringle and Rhys 'Hit Man' Beynon stormed the defensive lines of the Pirates.

Following a drink at the Pirates clubhouse and the exchange of speeches, which included a fascinating short speech on the history of the Barbarians connection with the Penarth club by coach Dai Williams, a return to the hotel gave the boys an opportunity to relax, making full use of the leisure complex at the hotel before experiencing the delights of the Cornish fishing village, to celebrate the outstanding victory of the day.

A great weekend was had by all, and the great spirit of the team showed both on and off the pitch by players, coaches, committee and dads alike.

Chair and coach Simon Rees said: “A big thank you goes to the many parents and sponsors who have supported the team for the season and during the annual tour, this has created a great team spirit which has shown itself both on and off the pitch throughout the season.”