A TRIO of Monmouth players helped the Crawshays invitation side see off the English Lambs at Abergavenny RFC, as a large crowd saw a fantastic game of running rugby on a muddy pitch, reports JONATHAN WATKINS.
Mason Parfitt, Henry Warren and Seth Butler were part of the Crawshays squad in a match that showcased some of the nation’s best junior players, alongside the host club’s James Trumper and Ben Main.
The difficult weather conditions did not stop both teams playing in great spirit and producing some expansive rugby.
Crawshays started the stronger of the two teams with the forwards carrying hard into the Lambs’ defence.
Led by captain Owen Conquer of Llantwit Fardre RFC, some strong ball-carrying kept the Lambs on the back foot and forced them to defend narrowly.
After a sustained period of pressure the ball went across the line and it was full-back Jake Jones of Llandaff Cathedral School who found his way over in the corner for a 5-0 lead.
The conversion was missed but almost immediately from the kick-off, a penalty was awarded and scrum-half Rhys Price of Cardiff’s Coleg y Cymoedd stepped up and extended Crawshays’ lead to 8-0.
The Lambs responded and looked to play an expansive off-loading game, and nearly scored a try, but the ball went to touch before Connor MacMillan of Shebbear College could finish.
Crawshays started off the second half with a number of big forward carries, and after a period of pressure in the opposition 22, wing Dylan Skyrme of Gwernyfed showed his class to dance around the defence and burst over.
Replacement fly-half Rhys Mottram of Stanwell added the extras to take the score to 15-0.
Keeping the ball alive and with some impressive lines of running the young Crawshays now found themselves camped in the opposition 22 for long periods.
Lambs captain George Jones (Millfield) and the impressive Freddy Wharton (St Peter’s, York), put in some crucial tackles, but Crawshays’ forward pods worked tirelessly and kept breaking down the defence.
And it was the pack’s power that sealed the game for Crawshays, powering over for the third try, with Mottram again adding the extras to make it 22-0.
The last 10 minutes saw the men in pink start to find some form again, and they finished off the game with a well struck cross-field kick by Joel Sheldon (Royal Hospital School) putting Ampleforth College’s Joe Barrett over in the corner for a final score of 22-5.
A Crawshays spokesperson said: “A special thank you must go to our hosts Abergavenny RFC for the exceptional hospitality and the immense work at the ground to ensure the game could be played.”
* Usk RFC ran out 36-18 winners over visitors Llanhilleth on Saturday to leapfrog Blaina and go top of Division 3 East A.
Fixtures this Saturday afternoon (March 5) include Risca v Monmouth, Blaenavon v Brynmawr, Caerleon v Abergavenny and Deri v Usk,