Colwyn Bay

Rugby Club

End of season presentations for the U18 Mermaids

 Anna Parkin, assistant coach for the U18 Mermaids welcomed the girls and their families to the club on a gloriously sunny day.  She also introduced special guest Jenny Davies, who has been awarded 43 caps for Wales women.

This season has not been as busy as in the past due to the scarcity of opponents in this area.  Nevertheless the Mermaids have carried themselves well despite the difficulties of maintaining girl’s rugby in North Wales. They managed to overcome the absence of teams in North Wales and have carried on with their long relationship with the teams from across the border: Sandbach and Waterloo, who have become  regular opponents over the years, and this season they have also played Tyldesley and Glossop.  The girls have beaten all the teams they met this year and still remain the unbeaten champions of North Wales.

This year as before they have provided the core of players to form the Gogledd Cymru U18 girls who themselves had a good season; all of the U18 Mermaids were selected and have played for Gogledd Cymru.

Several girls have left the team during this season for various reasons and at present there are only 10 players registered with the club.  Amongst them are girls who travel long distances to come to Colwyn Bay to train and to play - from  Anglesey,  Argoed,  Llanfairfechan, Nant Conwy and St Asaph.  

Medals were presented to those who have remained with the Mermaids:

Bethan Lloyd Jones, Cara Hope, Chloe Dymond, Elin Royle, Gwen Harries, Kaya Harding, Kumari Tilakawardane, Paige Davies. 

Players not present at the ceremony: Laureanna Mc Gee and Hayley Ellis.

For the other awards there were several candidates in each category:

Most improved Player:

Chloe, who played for the first time this season.  She announced her presence crash tackling everyone in sight at a development day in Denbigh.  She has continued to do this ever since in all our games. 

Cara, who joined us from Bangor.  Again she showed amazing skills, giving us headache as to find her a definitive place, was she to join the front row- she was good there; was she to be amongst the backs because she could run and kick, or was she to play in the back row because she was fearless in winning the ball on the floor. 

 Bethan, who again joined us last season from Bangor, having played against us before.  She came up here as a shy, retiring, unlikely front row player and has grown in stature.  This season she led the front row, for the Mermaids and Gogledd Cymru.  Her progress has been so dramatic that she was called by the Elite Development Team at the National Centre of Excellence in Cardiff, without any referrals from the coaches, as is normal, but was head hunted by the Welsh coaches to come up for trials for Wales U20s after they viewed a DVD of one of the regional matches.

After much consideration we thought that the player who has progressed the most this season is Bethan Lloyd Jones.

The second trophy was for Coaches Player:

Kaya, who brought to the team her remarkable natural skills as a scrum half, and commitment to the team by attendance at training over the season,

Elin, our last line of defence and who has held firm match after match, against high balls, against fast wingers and the big girls wanting to breach our try line. It has been a joy this season to see Elin stand firm under charging opponents all by herself, pick up the high ball and dart away from clutching hands to take the ball away from danger to attacking positions.

 Gwen, who has managed to translate the visions of game plans that the coaches had put together, and make them work on the field.   

After much discussion and consideration it was eventually decided the Coaches Player for this season is Elin Royle.

The Third Trophy was for the Player of the Season.  We considered the players who have made a contribution to the game and who have become a leader or a role model for other players to follow this season. 

We again considered Bethan, who by her hard work and attitude had forced herself into recognition as a player.  Bethan is the player we know will be there at every training, at the bottom of every ruck, looking worried and trying to better things she has done well, helping with translating the coaches’ ideas into reality by leading the front row.

Kumari has been at the heart of the team and also the core of the development of the game at Gogledd Cymru.  She has brought to the team her knowledge of rugby, the player who can take up matters of rugby law with the referee and puts him under pressure, says the witty comments on the field, neutralising the opposition and helping the team to smile when the going is tough.  She is the natural leader of the forwards and the senior figure of the team.  She has also contributed to the game off the field.  She has completed Level 1 as a referee, Level 1 as a coach and is a player/coach for the Mermaids and Gogledd Cymru.  She has become the regular author of the team reports after each of the matches. Her talents in this regard have been recognised and she has now been invited to become the official reporter for the RGC 1404 Senior Team.

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Tyldesley : 5  - U18 Mermaids : 20

The U18 Mermaids travelled over the border to Liverpool St Helens RUFC after Tyldesley’s original opponents cancelled their planned match. It was the first time the girls had pulled on the famous pink shirts for 23 weeks and indeed 19 weeks since they had played any competitive rugby at regional or club level. At such short notice only 11 players were available, with one rising from her sick bed to travel with her compatriots. Loz McGee was captain for this encounter with Gwen Harries as Vice Captain.

From the first whistle it was apparent that the girls had lost none of their flair and competitive edge. In fact, Tyldesley were immediately put under the cosh, as Bay attacked relentlessly with some excellent link play between the backs and with excellent support play from the forwards. The first try was scored by Gwen Harries under the posts and from then on the Mermaids managed to score three more adventurously constructed and perfectly executed tries  - a second from Harries and a further two from Cara Hope (though Paige Davies also had her hands on the ball) and scrum-half Kaya Harding.

As the game progressed the Colwyn Bay girls grew more and more adventurous, and began putting together some advanced and intricate moves that time and time again allowed them to break the gain line. Towards the end of the game, Tyldesley began putting some phases together and were richly rewarded with a try of their own by Jenny Carney.

Colwyn Bay Mermaids overcame their long absence from the game with a fantastic display of attacking, defensive and support play. The coaching team were so impressed with the entire team display that each and every player was awarded the player of the match award.

4th Oct '09

Glossop U18s 14 -19 Colwyn Bay U18 Mermaids

The Mermaids travelled to Glossop on Sunday aiming to keep their unbeaten record this season intact. The team, however was anything but intact – with their full-back, fly-half, top try-scorer and several other key players missing it was always going to be an uphill struggle.

The Colwyn Bay team agreed to play with less players than Glossop, in order to prepare for the inevitably tough matches coming up against the other Welsh regions.

Captain for this match, Kumari Tilakawardane chose to receive kick-off, and in rainy conditions the match kicked off.

As it was a training game, play was allowed to continue despite errors, and this made for a scrappy start, particularly for the Bay, and Glossop soon scored two tries, making the most of chances given and the two-player overlap.

At 14-0 down, the Mermaids knew they had to pick up their game, and they soon did – Gwen Harries making some thunderous tackles in the mid-field to keep Glossop in their own half. Due to the lack of players and in preparation for the regional campaign, positions were rotated, with Cara Hope and Chloe Dymond alternating between flanker and centre, and Abi Beards and Kaya Harding taking turns at scrum-half.

Through tenacity, determination and by showing great skill the Mermaids worked their way up-field, and good interplay between backs and forwards allowed Dymond to step her way through the last line of Glossop defence in the 22, with Hope adding the conversion.

The match was hard-fought, and tempers began to flare as the second half began, and the visitors refused to let their heads down, and in experimenting with different moves and set-pieces, worked their way down to the Glossop try-line. After several missed chances and infringements by the opposition, the Welsh team managed to form a strong maul which resulted in Hope, spurred on by vociferous Glossop supporters, driving through to touch down in the corner. The difficult conversion attempt was pulled just wide, which left the score at 14-12 to the home team.

With fifteen minutes left the Mermaids sustained several major injuries, with Harding leaving the field temporarily to have a knee wound seen to, Dymond with an ankle injury and Hope with a minor head/neck injury. There were no substitutes available to take the injured players places, nevertheless play continued with even more determination, and through consistent phases, and phenomenal driving from Amelia Stubbs the ball was released to Harding, who side-stepped through to score what would ultimately be the match-winning try. Hope added the conversion, and the game ended with some heroic defence in the last ten minutes, which saw play kept in Glossop’s 22 until the referee blew the whistle for full time on a tense match.

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U18 Mermaids v Waterloo

Colwyn Bay’s first home game of the season was against Waterloo, and the Mermaids were keen to keep up their winning streak after last week’s hard-fought win over Sandbach. This season the captaincy will be rotated throughout the season to give a selection of players a chance; Abi Beards was chosen to captain this match, while Colwyn Bay loaned Amelia Stubbs to Waterloo to even up the sides. In usual form the Bay couldn’t get the phases and handling together at the start, and it was only some great last-ditch tackling that prevented Waterloo from scoring in the first quarter, which was played with the Mermaids one player down as Elin Royle was late arriving from her weekend job!.

The second quarter showed more promise from the home team, with moves from the likes of the captain, Alaw Hughes and Elin Royle kick-starting the rest of the team into action. Despite this, Waterloo managed to exploit the few defensive weaknesses of Colwyn Bay for Kayleigh Southerland to score a try with an impressive move, with Jenny Carney adding the conversion. This spurred the hosts on, and some positive moves off the back of an ever-improving scrum performance eventually led to a try. Scrum-half Kaya Harding passed out to Gwen Harries who slipped the ball out to new Mermaid Charlotte Pirie, attacking from full-back to cross the line, Cara Hope unlucky with a difficult conversion attempt.

This seemed to give the Bay the incentive they needed, and soon they were playing an open, attacking brand of rugby. Following breaks from the backline and great support play from the forwards, Waterloo found themselves pinned in their own 22, and after impressive side-stepping through the defence, support play from Kumari Tilakawardane brought the second try to put Colwyn Bay into the lead, Hope just missing with the conversion attempt.

With the score almost equal the play evened out, and there were some ferocious tackles to halt both teams’ progress. Bay were unlucky not to score on a number of other occasions, a number of moves just not going to hand at the last phase. An unlucky mistake out wide from the Bay resulted in Waterloo advancing to the try-line. The home team managed to drive the opposition back for a few phases, but eventually the inevitable push came on and Waterloo were leading 12-10 after Jade Hambury touched down.

Colwyn Bay’s heads did not go down, however – they came back at Waterloo even more determined than before. Gradually working their way downfield, the Mermaids managed to get the ball to the Waterloo 22, for Elin Royle to sprint past two defenders and offload to Charlotte Pirie for her second try of the game, putting Colwyn Bay into the lead - 15-12.

The last three minutes of play were tense for all Bay supporters, as Waterloo kicked over the top of the Bay defence line and it was body-on-the-line stuff for the remainder of the game, before Hughes kicked the ball out to end the game.

Another all-round good performance from the Mermaids resulted in their second win in 2 weeks. Waterloo voted Beards their player of the match, while the Colwyn Bay/Gogledd Cymru coaching team gave their accolade to Gwen Harries. The Mermaids voted Bojan Johnson as the Waterloo player of the match but as she had left early a substitute had to be brought in for the traditional (non-alcoholic) drinking contest, which Waterloo won with ease, Beards having trouble putting away a pint of cola.

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13th Sept '09

Sandbach 10-20 Colwyn Bay

Colwyn Bay U18 Mermaids’ first game of the season was away to Sandbach. Both sets of coaching staff decided to play the game in four quarters of 15 minutes, with Colwyn Bay deciding to have a different captain for each quarter; Abi Beards was the first captain of the day. The referee decided to play uncontested scrums in the first quarter to ease the new players into the game, however this didn’t stop Beards from leading from the front and applying unrelenting pressure on the opposing scrum-half Jordan Morris.

The first ten minutes saw a few scrappy mistakes before the game got into full flow. One of the first Bay players to get into the rhythm of the game was Iona Evans, whose inspirational slamming tackles and clearing kicks paved the way for the Mermaids’ impressive display.

Despite sustained pressure and good attacking rugby from the away side, Sandbach managed to kick through to Colwyn Bay’s 22, where only body-on-the-line defence from the defending team saved a try. Nevertheless, Bay fought back determinedly and through some strong rucking from Cara Hope, Chloe Dymond and Hayley Ellis, the ball soon found winger Elin Royle, who sprinted past the Sandbach players to cross the try-line, even going so far as to run under the posts with a would-be defender hanging onto her leg.

After the opening try, Colwyn Bay began to play more expansive rugby, helped hugely by the performance of the forwards at the set-pieces – Emma Beaumont stealing opposition line-out was crucial.

The second quarter began with Charlotte Pirie captaining from full-back. With new confidence, Bay began to play with aggressive defence and solid, quick attacking ball. Flanker Dymond put in some thunderous tackles, while the introduction of contested scrums only helped the Bay’s cause, with the entire pack putting in an impressive effort.

Many more attacking opportunities were launched from this platform – Ellie Jones was unlucky not to score after crashing through two defenders in the opposition 22 – this led to a strong drive in the corner, with Royle piling over for her second try of the half. Hope was handed another difficult conversion from the touchline which just drifted right of the uprights. Pirie led by example, instigating potent attacking moves and sustaining the defence line that won Colwyn Bay the game, despite occasional indiscipline which cost penalties.

Most of the quarter saw Sandbach pinned back in their own half, but when they did break through Bay fly-half Alaw Hughes was a revelation in defence, making last-ditch tackles to regain territory for the Bay.

The forwards continued the work at the breakdown, winning quick ball from rucks, which gave the backs a big advantage – fantastic communication saw a loop between Ellie Rawicki and Evans almost result in more points. Despite this, the lack of support from some Bay breaks saw chances go begging.

No 8 Kumari Tilakawardane captained the third quarter, which began with Pirie sustaining a head injury and leaving the field. The competitive scrummaging allowed the Bay to gain momentum and territorial advantage, and with Jones taking over at 9, Beards linked up with the captain for back-row moves edging the Mermaids closer to the try-line. However no advantage could be gained, and some scrappy play resulted in Sandbach working their way downfield, where they were stuck on the Bay 5m line, held back by heroic defence, especially from Hope and Royle. However, a penalty was awarded to the home side, and a quick tap could not be stopped, resulting in Sandbach’s first try. This only made Colwyn Bay more determined, and after the kick-off was chased down a strong maul led by Hughes and Tilakawardane drove ten metres, before the referee called play back and awarded a scrum, which halted the momentum of this move.

The next few phases saw Sandbach edge forwards, but a spilled ball was pounced upon for the lightning-quick Royle to score an opportunistic try. After this the advantage was firmly with the away team.

The final quarter saw Pirie return to the field and Hughes captain, and soon after become the beneficiary of Loz McGee’s offload to score in the corner. Sandbach had one more charge for the Colwyn Bay line, with the away team being saved by a strong clearance kick from Pirie.

However sharp reflex tackles from Beaumont and quick attacking play from the likes of Jones and Royle saw no overlaps being exploited.

As the game entered the final stages, Sandbach scored an impressive try, which started from their 22 and was finished off with brilliant support play by Hannah Johnson.

Determined not to let the English team have the final say, the Bay launched one last spirited charge from the final restart. Continued surges forward resulted in a penalty for the Mermaids. Stubbs made a powerful charge for the line, which soon resulted in a heated confrontation, as a Sandbach player was sent off for eye-gouging. Sandbach stole the ball illegally from the resulting ruck and threw it out, after which the referee decided to end the game.

Although this was not an ending either side enjoyed, the game was hard-fought and a highly entertaining one for spectators. Sandbach chose Hope as the player-of-the-match, while the Colwyn Bay coaches Tom Rogers and Louis Tilakawardane thought the efforts of Dymond and Evans deserved special mention.

Many thanks to the ‘honorary Mermaids’ who came along to enable a 15 a side game:

Charlotte Pirie (Pwllheli), Alaw Hughes (Caernarfon), Iona Evans (Nant Conwy), Ellie Jones (Oswestry)

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