Pontypridd 12 vs Sardis 7’s 5

The Senior Leg of the Sardis 7s – Saturday 6^th August

A warm, early-August Saturday afternoon saw a mixture of local clubs and invitational sides come together to take part in the 2022 Sardis 7s tournament. As can be seen below, the eight teams were split into two groups of four. The final group standings would then determine the ties for the knockout stages in the two competitions – the Plate and Cup.

Match 1 – High Motive Commandos 5-14 Bwldogs

Representing Pontypridd RFC, High Motive Commandos got the 2022 Sardis 7s underway against local side the Bwldogs – the Bwldogs having a few familiar faces recognisable to Ponty fans in their ranks. Bwldogs’ Joel Raikes put in the first meaningful play of the match gathering his own chip and chase but it came to nothing. High Motive’s Cai James tried the same trick which he pulled off expertly, gathering his own kick to crash over for the first try of the afternoon. Bwldogs then hit back with a try of their own, Joel Raikes adding the conversion to give them a 7-5 lead. With time ticking away in the match, High Motive were pressing but the ball was spilled at the Bwldogs scored a breakaway try to seal the win 14-5.

Match 2 – Porth Panthers 12-7 Cynon Crusaders

The Panthers made a good start to the match with an early try, this was followed by a length of the field second try to give the team from nearby Porth an early 12-0 lead. The Crusaders stuck at it and were rewarded with a converted try of their own. Cynon had one more chance but some fantastic hands and offloading were in vain as the ball was spilled and the final whistle blown.

Match 3 – Cilfynydd RFC 5-26 Mindset Gym

A lively start from the Mindset Gym team which included Ponty second-row James Murphy saw them get the first try in the right hand corner attacking the clubhouse end following some good offloading. Cilfynydd hit back with a superb try – a step inside and good pace from one of their live-wire players looked like the try would be finished but he was hauled down short of the line, but another good offload to a supporting team-mate saw Cil open their account. Mindset Gym then responded with their second try and they had a 12-5 lead. Cilfynydd then received a yellow card for a late tackle and Mindset scored again. There was still time for another yellow card for Cil, this time for using a shoulder in a tackle and Mindset Gym scored their 4^th try with the last play of the match to seal a 26-5 win.

Match 4 – St. Peters RFC 5-12 Llantwit Fardre RFC

With the sound of the ref’s whistle to start the match still ringing in the players’ ears, Llantwit Fadre intercepted a St. Peters pass to score and within seconds they had a 7-0 lead. There was a familiar face in the Llantwit side – Ponty RFC skipper Kris Parker donning the blue shirt for one of his former clubs and it was he who made a superb break and from that play one of the St. Peters players was given a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. Llantwit made the numerical advantage pay when they scored again giving them a 12-0 lead. It was the men from the capital who then got back into the match scoring a nice try of their own, extras missed but now only 7 behind at 12-5. Llantwit Fardre were then given a yellow card for not releasing the ball quickly enough and then petulantly rolling it away. This gave St. Peters one last chance to get something from the match but the ball was knocked on and the referee blew for full-time.

Match 5 – Bwldogs 12-5 Cilfynydd RFC

There were two familiar faces that linked up in the build-up to the Bwldogs first try – James Little fed Joel Raikes and a couple of phases later Dion McIntosh scored. Cilfynydd then intercepted a pass and levelled the scores up at 5-5. Bwldogs were then given a yellow card for not retreating close to their own try-line from a previous penalty award. Cil tapped and threw a long searching pass but it was intercepted by Lucus Welch and he went the full length of Sardis Road to score and secure a 12-5 win for the men with 6 men on the pitch.

Match 6 – Cynon Crusaders 7-10 St. Peters RFC

St. Peters couldn’t finish a good early chance and were made to pay when one of the Cynon lads showed great pace to score from just inside his own half for a 7-0 advantage. However, St. Peters responded really well with a try, the was conversion missed but it was game on at 7-5. Then with the last play of the match, St. Peters attacking the right hand corner switch play across the width of the pitch and crashed over in the left hand corner to earn a dramatic 10-7 win.

Match 7 – High Motive Commandos 22-7 Mindset Gym

The match started with an innocuous, but potentially serious injury to Ieuan Morris who fell to the floor with what looked like a nasty knee injury. That incident led to the ball rolling loose and Mindset gathered and scored for an early 7-0 lead. Winger Sam Hayman then hit back with a well taken try galloping down the right-hand touchline attacking the clubhouse end. A superbly struck Lloyd Rowlands touchline conversion fell agonisingly the wrong side of the crossbar, the Gym boys maintaining a narrow lead. High Motive kept the pressure on and it paid off when Morgan Bowen bust through a tackle to score – 12-7 to the Commandos. It wasn’t long until another sweeping High Motive move saw Cai James unselfishly hand the ball to Bowen for him to dot down for his second try. Morgan Bowen the completed his hat-trick of tries, finishing from nearly 50 metres which put the icing on a 22-7 Commandos win.

Match 8 – Porth Panthers 10-7 Llantwit Fardre RFC

It was first blood to the lads from Porth in match eight, 5-0 early on. Both sides showed plenty of endeavour but with little reward, however Llantwit then got themselves back in it scoring out wide and a difficult conversion was slotted superbly to give them a slender 7-5 advantage. Then Porth, with ex-Pontypridd winger Dan Hitchings at the centre of the next passage of play got the match winning try. Hitchings put in a great run but was dragged down in the Llantwit 22, he got up and helped link the play and the ball was spun along the line for one of his fellow Panthers to score and seal a 10-7 win.

Match 9 – Cilfynydd RFC 0-19 High Motive Commandos

High Motive started the match well, fantastic hands between Matt Bancroft, Sam Hayman and Joe Miles led to Miles scoring the try. Miles himself then slotted a fantastic conversion and the Commandos had an early 7-0 lead. High Motive doubled their lead to 14-0 when Rory Harries fed Liam Herdman who finished from distance. Cilfynydd kept taking the match to High Motive but it was the Commandos that had the last meaningful say in the match when a lovely jinking run and grubber from Lloyd Rowlands was gathered by himself and he fed Ewan Skuse to score.

Match 10 – Cynon Crusaders 21-5 Llantwit Fardre RFC

Cynon started the match well and a nicely taken try gave them a 7-0 lead but Llantwit hit back with an unconverted effort to make the score 7-5. Then there was a 14-point swing in the match, which ended up being crucial. Llantwit put in a chip and chase and it was a foot race. The men in blue got there first, gathered but were hauled down on the Cynon line with the white-wash a few feet away. This missed chance compounded when they were penalised for holding on which allowed the Crusaders a chance to counter attack from deep. All of a sudden it was they who were camped on the Fardre line, Fardre were shown a yellow as the pressure built and the dam burst and Cynon scored, 14-5 to them. The one-man advantage paid off again for Cynon when they scored their 3^rd try of the match to seal a 21-5 win.

Match 11 – Mindset Gym 14-21 Bwldogs

Mindset came flying out of the blocks in match 11 and the aforementioned James Murphy got on the end of a grubber kick through from a great early attack. He burst through and offloaded at the end of his run but the ball couldn’t find a Mindset Gym hand and the threat was gone. This was compounded when Bwldogs pounced on the loose ball and scored a few phases later – the nature of 7’s rugby in a nutshell! Mindset then scored a fantastic try! Their player, wearing 21, put in a great turn on a six-pence, followed by a step before turning on the gas to score the try. The score was 7-7 but not for long when the Bwldogs replied to make it 14-7 in their favour. The ball then fell into the possession of the Bwldogs again and next a moment of magic from James Little when he ran, dummied, ran 40 metres and fed Joel Raikes to score and Raikes added the extras himself for a 21-7 lead. Mindset Gym stuck to their task and had had the last word with the final try but the Bwldogs triumphed.

Match 12 – St. Peters RFC 5-0 Porth Panthers

There weren’t many clear- cut chances in the final match of the group stage between St. Peters and Porth Panthers. St. Peters worked themselves the first good chance of the match but were tackled into touch just before the try-line. Then came the key moment of the game with Porth attacking and camped deep in St. Peters 22. St. Peters were penalised for a deliberate knock-on and down to 6 men as a result of the yellow card shown to them. However, that was only the start of the drama because despite being down a man St. Peters scored a length of the field try against the run of play to seal a dramatic 5-0 win!

The group stages were complete, the scores were totted up and the semi-finals got underway – the Plate competition first.

Match 13, Plate semi-final 1 – Mindset Gym 7-12 Llantwit Fardre RFC

Llantwit got off to a great start with an early try before Mindset replied with a near-halfway effort themselves, and with the conversion had a 7-5 lead. Llantwit had the chance to go back ahead but a try went begging although they soon remedied that with a converted try and had the advantage in the match 12-7. The Mindset Gym boys kept battling, James Murphy with another barnstorming run, hand-off, but the hail-mary offload didn’t quite go to hand and Llantwit Fardre kicked the loose ball out for the win.

Match 14, Plate semi-final 2 – Cynon Crusaders 0-19 Cilfynydd RFC

Cil landed the first blow of the second Plate semi-final making use of an overlap to score in the right hand corner, extras added and it was 7-0. They then proceeded to double their lead with a superb second try, some great hands from the backs who worked the ball back inside really well for Rhod Smith to score under the posts, 14-0 to Cil. The Cynon boys threw everything at Cil whilst still trying to play entertaining rugby but couldn’t quite find the killer pass needed to unlock the Cil defence. Cil finished the match with a third try, pressure on the Cynon line took it’s toll when the ref binned a Cynon defender and the try came from the resulting tapped penalty.

Match 15, Cup semi-final 1 – Porth Panthers 12-7 Bwldogs

The Panthers started the match well and got the first try, the conversion was struck well but came back off the post, 5-0. From the resulting restart, the loose bouncing ball was gathered by Joel Raikes for the Bwldogs and he showed a good turn of pace but was held up short when cantering towards the try-line and the Panthers managed to extinguish the danger. Play then shifted to deep into the Bwldogs half but then a good try against the run of play followed – at the heart of everything for the Bwl, Raikes got his hands on the ball on his own try-line and with little options available put in a cross-field kick which was gathered on the bounce by James Little just outside their own 22. Little displayed a good turn of pace to score the try from the best part of 70 metres, extras kicked and the Bwldogs were ahead by two at 7-5. This proved to be an entertaining semi-final, the next try, another well-taken effort was scored by the Panthers and was converted for a 12-7 lead to them. With time running out, Porth were given a yellow card in the Bwl 22, Bwl in the last chance saloon attacked from deep and worked a good field position but the ball was spilled in the Panthers 22 and the chance was gone, the Porth boys were into the final.

Match 16, Cup semi-final 2 – High Motive Commandos 14-7 St. Peters RFC

The early throws of the match were played in the middle third of the pitch before St. Peters scored a well worked try for an early lead. Morgan Bowen replied for High Motive, the conversion was added and the scores were level at 7-7. Straight from the kick-off High Motive gathered the ball and were through, the ball is passed back inside but is dropped with the posts in sight. The play is still in St. Peters territory and good work from High Motive at the ruck wins them the penalty, from the resulting quick tap Cai James powered over for the try, Lloyd Rowlands adding the extras for a 14-7 lead. St. Peters were still battling hard to level the scores, their efforts given a boost when Jordan Howells was given a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. At this point St. Peters had possession just a few metres from the High Motive line but the ball spilled out of a ruck, the Commandos pounced on it and it was kicked out for a 14-7 win.

Match 17, Plate Final – Llantwit Fardre RFC 5-14 Cilfynydd RFC

It was first blood to Llantwit in the Plate Final, a well worked try was finished in the right hand corner for an early lead. Cil then went on the attack, a high-tackle in the build-up was waved on as they had the advantage, they went through the hands and the try was scored. Extras missed, 5-5. It was a good end to the match with both sides going all out for the win as you would expect. After some good Llantwit territory and possession, it was Cil that turned the ball over in their own 22 and a length of the field counter-attack brought a superb match winning try for Cilfynydd RFC!

Match 18, Cup Final – High Motive Commandos 12-5 Porth Panthers

Rory Harries gave High Motive the perfect start in the Cup Final with an early try, the conversion missed. High Motive, looking to extend their lead were nearly successful in doing so when Matt Bancroft fed Cai James who passed inside to Sion Parry but Parry couldn’t quite find the switch pass and the try went begging. The Panthers then ramped up their offensive play, attacking with purpose but High Motive forced the penalty and a minute later had their second try as a result – a superb effort from deep was finished by Jake Lloyd for 12-0. Porth hit back with a try from Dan Hitchings and it was game on in the Cup Final although time wasn’t on the Panthers’ side. From the restart, the Panthers in their eagerness were penalised for offside and High Motive kicked the ball out to claim the spoils in the Cup Final.

The High Motive Commandos squad was as follows:

1. Ieuan Morris. 2. Cally James. 3. Joe Miles (c). 4. Daniel Phillips. 5. Cai James. 6. Sion Parry. 7. Ewan Skuse. 8. Liam Herdman. 9. Jordan Howells. 10. Matt Bancroft. 11. Morgan Bowen. 12. Jake Lloyd. 13. Sam Hayman. 14. Lloyd Rowlands. 15. Rory Harries. 16. Jacob Dicomidis (technical support)

The Youth Leg of the Sardis 7s – Friday 5^th August

The Youth Leg of the tournament got the weekend’s action started on Friday 5th August. The Youth teams, being the future of all their respective clubs’ senior sides, all did themselves proud. The clubs competing in the Youth section of the tournament were –

• Pontypridd RFC
• Tondu RFC
• Maesteg Celtic RFC
• Brecon RFC
• Pontyclun RFC
• Rhydyfelin RFC

The winners in each competition were – Rhydyfelin – Bowl Winners, Pontypridd – Plate Winners and Maesteg Celtic were crowned Cup Champions.

The U13’s and U12’s Leg of the Sardis 7s – Sunday 7^th August

Finally, to finish off the weekend’s entertainment on Sunday 7th it was the U13’s and U12’s 7s Tournaments. The U13’s teams were –

• Pontypridd RFC
• Beddau RFC
• Llantwit Fardre RFC
• St. Albans RFC

The winners in each competition were – Beddau – Bowl Winners, Llantwit Fardre – Plate Winners and St. Albans were crowned Cup Champions.

The U12’s teams were –

• Pontypridd RFC
• Beddau RFC
• Llantwit Fardre RFC
• Mountain Ash RFC

The winners in each competiton were – Pontypridd – Bowl Winners, Llantwit Fardre – Plate Winners and Mountain Ash were crowned Cup Champions.

Once again we’d like to place on record our thanks to all the teams that competed over the weekend – every single one played their part in making it such an entertaining three days of rugby. We’d also like to thank all the match officials who were kept extremely busy with the amount of rugby played.

Pontypridd RFC would once again like to thank all the sponsors who supported the event over the three days whilst reserving special thanks for Phil Miles from High Motive for his continued support of the club.