Trebanos Youth 16 Glynneath Youth 6
Saturday 29th September 2007
This was the first league game of the season for the youth, against a strong Glynneath side containing Ospreys and Wales players. Trebanos were hit by injuries and defections with some players believing that “the grass is always_ _ _ _ _ _ “ at other clubs. This resulted in players having to play out of position, but true to the ‘Banos spirit, no one complained. Flanker Rhodri Williams having to play at outside centre, where he had an excellent game putting in big hits on the opposing backs and scrum half Kristian Jones playing at full back, another to impress with his willingness to play where needed. The first half was an evenly matched contest with the only scores, a penalty apiece from Nathan Jones and one for Glynneath by Jack Reiley.
Soon after the break the home forwards secured good ball to allow outside half Ross Jones to slot over a dropped goal to edge Trebanos in front. The forwards continued their improvement, evident since the arrival of forward’s coach Phil Beynon and began to take control of matters up front. In the vanguard of the home eight were outstanding flanker Luke Davies and equally impressive No 8 Lee Sinclaire, who both regularly turned over opposition ball. When Glynneath had possession they chose to use the high ball as their main tactic, but each time found Kristian Jones unfazed when dealing with this aspect of his new position. He also tackled well and was usually straight back on his feet securing the ball or winning penalties for the home side. Trebanos extended their lead with another Nathan Jones penalty, which seemed to spur Glynneath to greater efforts, which Trebanos had to work hard to resist. The highly contested struggle was finally put beyond doubt with Nathan Jones spotting half a gap in the defence and was through to score under the posts before the Glynneath players could react, a try which he duly converted for a final score of Trebanos 16, Glynneath 6, with ‘Banos points all coming from the Jones brothers.
Trebanos Team
Kristian Jones, Jordan Hopkins, Rhodri Williams, Dan Docherty, David Grenfell, Ross Jones, Nathan Jones, Ross Jones, Rhys Thomas, Damien Blake, Bradley Owens, Declan Bale, Rhys Carney, Luke Davies, Lee Sinclaire, Jamie Haney