Under 15

The visitors had to react quickly to the hard playing surface with the home side gaining territory from the kick off through handling errors and indecision. Early Flint pressure was soaked up by The Bay's defence which resulted in the visitors gaining turn over ball and quick handling by the backs released Tom Williams to show his speed and strength to run over half the length of the pitch to score the opening try which he also converted. This try settled The Bay and they started to get their game together with the forwards working hard up front by consistently crossing the gain line and then releasing the backs to expand the game, but against the run of play Flint intercepted a pass to score a try in the corner, this was converted to level the scores.

Colwyn Bay soon found their way again in the second half and were punching holes in the Flint defence and a superb move wide on the left let in Jon Bastow to touchdown in the corner. The Bay were now growing in confidence and were able to break down the flanks or through the middle but the support players were frequently missing. The hard surface was starting to take it's toll where injuries was common and the visitors were down to twelve players. Gaps started to appear because of the equal amount of players on the pitch resulting in another two converted tries by the playmaker Tom Williams.

Flint's spirit was beginning to deteriorate but a controversial try from a disputed lineout move lifted them to produce a fight back. Due to front row injuries uncontested scrums remained for the rest of the match, this meant quick ball was easily gained but indecision by Flint where they had a seven man overlap saw The Bay with some fierce and determined tackling clear their lines and the last minutes of the match was played in the opponents half.

Winning the was another plus point to add to the season's achievements where the U15's/U16's have made huge strides in their development as players and individuals. A big thank you from all the management and coaching staff goes to every player which has contributed to the team's development. Good luck goes to all the U16's who will move up to join the youth squad next season and with their continued support and loyalty make them into a strong and competitive side.

SUNDAY MARCH 26th '06

ERYRI CUP FIRST ROUND

BRO FESTINIOG U16 19 COLWYN BAY U16 10

Colwyn Bay travelled to Blaenau Festiniog with a slightly weakened squad through injuries and unavailability's. Heavy overnight rain nearly caused the cancellation of this cup tie, but surprisingly conditions were favorable for some running rugby. The home side soon settled down and obviously used to playing in such conditions went ahead early in the first half. This was a wake up call for the Bay who began to build up a few passages of play through the forwards, but they were always having to start attacking from deep due to the oppositions kicking game.

A converted try separating the two teams at the turnaround meant the Bay were still in this cup tie, but a few handling errors and missed tackles the home side extended their lead early after the interval. A spirited fight back followed by the Bay with the forwards gaining good territory through some powerful direct running by hooker Steve Williams and flanker Dafydd Owen. This hard work resulted in a deserved try in the corner after some good support, quick ball down the line for Ed Haley to cross the Bro Festiniog line.

The Bay maintained their territorial dominance but they lost crucial possession and from the resultant kick and chase up the pitch saw the home side score.

Urged on by the Bay supporters, amongst whom was Bill Atwill the visitors with good tactical kicking by fly half Tom Constantine kept the pressure on the home defence. Typical grit, strength and determination by scrum half Ian Marshall scored a try to keep the Bay's hopes alive, he also had a late try disallowed for not grounding the ball properly. Bro Ffestiniog went through to the next round but not without a better second half performance by the Bay.

SUNDAY MARCH 19th '06

After 4 weeks without a game Colwyn Bay travelled to Bethesda hoping for revenge following a narrow home defeat earlier in the season. With a full squad of 22 to choose from it was decided to field a majority of 16 year old players in the first half. With the wind behind the Bay and near perfect playing conditions the visitors were in control right from the first whistle. Good controlled forward play provided territorial advantage for the backs to be let loose and a strong; jinking run from center Tom Williams resulting in a touchdown under the posts. More forward pressure followed with the home side very rarely being allowed into their opponents half, this again resulting in the backs combining well for Tom Williams to score his second.

Colwyn Bay under 15 squad members made up over a third of the Conwy County Schools squad which played their latest game away at Neath Schools on Thursday March 16.Considering limited squad training sessions and matches the team performed with a huge amount of praise and credit. The score line suggests the talent in the area is on par to their counterparts from a traditionally strong rugby playing area of South Wales.

This was a very hard game for C/BayU16's weakened by lack of squad members and injury. Those who played showed the determination and commitment shown in previous weeks but were outplayed by a stronger and well organised Llandudno team, whose pack had the Bay going backwards for most of the game. Although most of the play was with the Bay on the defensive they gave little away in the first half, but the loss of Liam Hasnip due to injury meant a re-organisation of the backs & lack of numbers limited possible substitutions.

The injury and hospitalisation of hooker Steve Williams was the final straw, and the Bay U16's were finally beaten by 38 points.

Great performance today from the Under 16's against Caernarfon, Richard Lewis with excellent dummy scoring a try and another try from North Wales cap Tom Williams. Good support and link ups from the team. Final Score 10 - 7 to the Bay.

More success for Colwyn Bay lads:- U15 squad members represented their county side on Wednesday 25th January. More proof to the commitment of the players and the ever improving strength of Colwyn Bay Juniors.

Those players were:- Ian Marshall, Laurence Beagley, Richard Lewis, and new member to the squad Ben Brummit. Another squad member Dafydd Owen had previously been selected but injury had denied him a place.

This was a hard fought game of rugby, which showed effort and commitment from both teams. With no score at half time it could have gone either way. Bay showed a definite improvement in their play since their last meeting and spent much of the first half forcing Nant Conwy to defend.

Unfortunately it was Nant who scored first in the second half with an unconverted try. This gave them some momentum and they soon followed with another try and conversion. Bay never gave up and continued to put Nant on their back feet. They were eventually rewarded with a try scored by Sam Pierce-Jones following a breakdown close to Nant’s heavily defended try line. The ball was spread wide by the Bay back line for their winger to carry over the line.

As well as being member of C/Bay U16s squad, Gaz is also a keen Air Cadet Following recent trials for the Air Cadets Rugby Squad Gaz represented `Wales & West` as scrum half against Regional teams from England and Scotland. The `Wales & West ` team were tournament winners, and Gaz has now been selected to play for the Air Cadets Corps (@ 16-18 yrs) representing cadets from Wales, England & Scotland. They have a fixture against the Lancashire development squad in March

A Colwyn Bay side weakened by injury and late call offs were beaten by a stronger and more experienced Wrexham Team. Although spending the 1st 20 minutes in the Wrexham half, Colwyn Bay failed to score and a runaway try by Wrexham got them back into the game. Although Wrexham dominated the second half, the score line did not give justice to the effort and determination shown by the lads from Colwyn Bay.

Colwyn Bay were asked to play a seven-a-side fixture against a new Ruabon side. Two 7’s games and a mix-&-match game were organised. The first game saw an athletic Colwyn Bay 7 scoring a convincing win against the older Ruabon team.

The second game was an evenly matched game with both sides scoring, which boosted the morale of the Ruabon side. The pick of the tries was Chris (Debbie) Turnball’s effort, gaining possession on his own 10 M line & running over half the length of the pitch to score in the left hand corner.

Colwyn Bay treated Ruabon with full respect taking consideration of their inexperience. A small amount of money was raised, as a gesture, to help Ruabon get established.

Colwyn Bay connected well against a quicker Bethesda side & it was 3 breakaway tries that were instrumental in the Bethesda win. But good forward play was the basis for a spirited fight back from the Bay and resulted in 2 second half tries which edged the u16’s nearer to the opponents total. Better decision making & passing would surely have resulted in a Colwyn Bay win.

The following boys from Colwyn Bay U 15/ U 16's rugby squad were in action representing Erias High School against a touring Saint Columbus college from Ireland on Saturday 15th October. Tom Williams, Jack Thomas, Ed Hayley, Richard Lewis, Chris Turnbull, Tom Morris, Ian marshal, Shaun Thomas and Ollie Billcliffe also playing in the forwards was John Astbury from the U/14s. Erias showed they were up for it from the kick off as Richard led a powerful pack on the rampage and time and time again won quality ball for the backs and it wasn't long before Ed Hayley went over for a try which was converted by scrum half Ian Marshall and Irish eyes were certainly not smiling as inform Marshall kept disrupting scrum after scrum and eventually broke away down the wing to touch down for another five points for Erias. Full back Tom Williams had a fine game also with some good counter attacks and went over for what looked like a good score, only to be ruled out by match official, Mr. Harding for not proper grounding, a brave call !! this game was played in excellent spirits by both teams and it was the visitors who finished strongest scoring a consolation try at the end.

Colwyn Bay Under 15/16's fought hard away today at Denbigh with 2 tries in the first half. 1st try by Tom Williams and the second by Sam Truman.
In the second half the Bay kept the momentum with Ed Healy scoring 2 tries giving bay a convincing first win this season.