U8's: Bonymaen Home 26.11.06

Date : 26.11.06
Score : South Gower 8, Bonymaen 4
Tries : Ethan Smith, Jack Bates, Ben Westerholm, Tom Jenkins (3), Tom Mogridge (2).

Game Summary :

Ben Westerholm captained South Gower in this entertaining match. Bonymaen had 9 players and we had 18 so each South Gower player played 1 half each.
From the start, Bonymaen took advantage of some missed tagging from South Gower to score the first try of the game. From the restart, Ethan Smith received the ball and launched an arching run around the entire oppostition team to score in the corner. Bonymaen replied with a good try before Jack Bates scored a great try.

Jack Bates scores a great try after this fine run and a wicked sidestep to finish

Jack received the ball from the kick off and sped off down the wing. He was then one on one with the last Bonymaen defender when Jack sidestepped inside the player to score.
Next up, The Road runner. Captain Ben Westerholm received the ball after great tagging by South Gower ensured a turnover of possession. Ben took Bonymaen one way and then the other before muttering the words "Beep Beep" and racing away to score a fine try. We went into the break 3-2 up with a complete change of team to follow.

"Beep Beep" The Roadunner (Ben Westerholm) leaves Wile E. Coyote in his tracks

Straight away, Tom Jenkins went on one of his mazy runs to touchdown in the corner. Bonymaen came staright back at us, but when the ball was dropped, Tom Mogridge picked up and weaved his way over the try line for a good score.

Cellan Pitson has a weaving run eluding the Bonymaen defenders

Some great tagging by South Gower turned over possession and Laura Cheley had a run before offloading to Tom Mogridge who then claimed his second try of the game. Bonymaen then scored a great try. They dodged our players before finally getting tagged 20 yards out, but the offload to a player taking the ball a pace who raced over the line unopposed.
Tom Jenkins immediately replied with a blistering run up the line to score his second try and when Bonymaen were penalised for a knock on, the turnover resulted in a great jinking run from Cameron Barker, who offloaded in the tackle to Tom Jenkins who scored his 3rd, and South Gower's 8th and final try.

Tom Jenkins scores his 3rd try of the day after some good passing

Some very good running passing and tagging ensured South Gower's Under 8's biggest victory of the season. Well done to all.

OSPREYS PULL IN LEAGUE RECORD CROWD FOR DERBY

Extracts from Evening Post 28th November '06 -South Gower RFC leading the way....

The Ospreys will play their Boxing Day clash against the Scarlets before a record Magners League crowd for a Welsh professional side.Club bosses have announced that 18,500 tickets have already been sold, leaving the region on course for a Liberty Stadium sell-out.

''Clubs from all corners of what we call Ospreylia are embracing what we are doing and our offer to provide transport for large groups travelling to Liberty Stadium is proving popular."

"From South Gower to Abercrave, rugby clubs and supporters are getting behind the Ospreys, and it is fantastic to see that clubs from outside the original Neath-Swansea region are now supportive of us."

Some tickets are still remaining - speak to your coach to check on availability.

SOUTH GOWER (SENIORS) WALTZ THROUGH TO NEXT ROUND

Extract from Evening Post 2oth November '06

Worthington Cup, South Gower made light of the wet conditions to march into round four of the Worthington Cup with an impressive 66-0 victory at Aberbeeg in the Gwent Valleys.Lock Roger Gill opened the scoring with the first of his two tries, with four more shared between centre Phil Jones and flanker Ciaran Aldridge. Wings Sam Moore and Rhodri Griffiths added further touchdowns, with replacement lock Pat McLernon also scoring.The last try came from fly-half Simon Jones, who missed the conversion after a faultless kicking performance in difficult conditions when landing all eight previous attempts.

U9's Bonymaen Home 26.11.06

Date : 26/11/2006
Score : South Gower 5 : Bonymaen 3
Tries : Tom (3) Sam (1) Josh B (1)

Under 9's : 2006-2007

Game Summary:

After some extremely loud thunder and rain the night before, the sunshine and blue sky was a very welcome sight and a good omen for what was to follow. From the kick off, Bonymaen applied pressure that was dealt with very well. Tackling was not bad but, again, two tries were given away due to tackling too high or in some cases not tackling at all. Before the end of the first half, South Gower replied with a fine run by Tom, but again a missed tackle let Bony in for one last try.

Jack showing how to tackle - "push him a bit harder Ben"

The score was 1:3 at half time and emphasis was placed on getting to the ruck quickly and passing the ball out before we were pushed back.

Evan showing how to lay the ball back with Tom and Matt ready to pick up and go

From the kick off, South Gower kicked the ball dead, but Bony decided to run. South Gower put in two hard tackles and with some good driving, Tom scored - 2:3. South Gower continued to apply pressure and started to reap the rewards of training. Three further tries ensued due to quick recycling and some good passing and support. Sam scored a great swerving try, Tom got his hat trick and Joshua Burt finished things off showing good support and a great turn of pace.

Sam grounds the ball to score a great try

Tom rips the ball in the tackle and breaks to score his hat-trick

Josh B finished things off nicely with good support from Evan

After an excellent run from Matthew who drew the defender and just failed to get the pass away, the final whistle blew. South Gower had won their first game of the season 5:3 .

Well done boys - pints all round (of lemonade that is) !!

Christmas Shopping on the web

Select this link (you can buy from most major sites) and support the club, we get a 5% commission on average for nothing !

http://www.buy.at/southgower

U11's: Bynea Away 12.11.06 & Bonymaen Home 26.11.06

Date: 26. 11.06
Opposition: Bonymaen RFC
Venue: Home
Score: South Gower 34, Bonymaen 7
Conversions: Jamie Thomas, Sam Prictchard
Tries (Scored By): Jack Hooper-Lewis, Alex Ashburner, Eliott Owen, Jonathan Blakemore, Jack Rosser and Chay Smith

S.G.R.F.C. Man of the Match (And Why): Jack Hooper-Lewis for his up front aggressive drive leading to his own personal try.

Game Analysis:
South Gower 11’s and Bonymaen agreed to a full pitch 15 a side game. Both teams looked well organised, but Gower took the game straight to Bonymaen and looked set to camp out in their half. The early determination showed when Gower’s Jack Hooper-Lewis broke free from the maul early on for the first try. In the same vein, the Gower forwards maintained the pressure where both Alex Ashburner crashed over the line, with Jamie Thomas adding the extras, hooker Eliot Owen followed carrying the ball from a tap and pass penalty blazing over for 5 points.Just as if that wasn’t enough, this all firing all guns blazing South Gower team hadn’t even got the ball to the backs yet. Winger Jonathan Blakemore kicked that off however sealing another 5 points just before half time; kicked successfully for another 2 points by Sam Pritchard.
In the second half Bonymaen really needed to make their tackles count, but the slick back line running of outside half Jack Rosser and centre Chay Smith kept them at bay both crossing deservedly to add their own successive 5 points to the score board. Bonymaen true to their roots however never gave up and were stronger in the second half, determined to the end claiming their own 7 point combo score, but the damage was already done. Gower’s slick transition between the forwards and backs really looked impressive and won the day - Well done boys.

Date: 12.11.06
Opposition: Bynea RFC
Venue: Away
Score: South Gower RFC 14, Bynea RFC 14
Conversions: Jamie Thomas [2]
Tries (Scored By): Jack Rosser [2]

S.G.R.F.C. Man of the Match (And Why): Thomas Wright, for getting stuck in with ball in hand and committing himself to the rucks and driving mauls.

Game Analysis:
A well matched but forward orientated game. Both teams were up for the battle without any side really dominating. Thomas Wrights driving charges certainly made an impact along with some great support play by Jack Hooper-Lewis. All the pressure however failed to deliver a score, leaving it nil, nil at half time.
In the second half, Gower’s forward were rampaging through the defence, off loading in the contact area, recycling the ball allowing Jack Rosser to come blazing through for the first five pointer, successfully converted by Jamie Thomas. Giving Bynea more of the same, another strong wave of phases from the Gower All Blacks led them into Bynea's 22, allowing an on form Jack Rosser to score another try again slotted over by Jamie to claim another seven points. Some harsh penalties against South Gower allowed Bynea back into the game who also managed two further tries of their own, equalising the score line. A fair result, but with better concentration and determination, Gower could have held onto their lead and claimed an away win. Keep the focus boys, otherwise well played.

U9's Fall Bay Home 19.11.06

Date : 19/11/2006
Score : South Gower 2 : Fall Bay 7
Tries : Tom and Harry

Game Summary:
As was to be expected, the game started at a fast pace with Fall Bay putting in some heavy tackles. South Gower tried to go forward but the aggressive rucking by Fall Bay quickly gave them a two try headstart. South Gower replied after 5 minutes with a superb try by Harry in the corner after some good handling. With one more attack and try by Fall Bay, the score after the first 10 minutes was 1:3.
South Gower started the second 10 minutes well with some hard tackles and good pressure but a break away try by Fall Bay put the score at 1:4. From the restart, we were again under pressure but the lads continued to tackle well and tried to spin the ball wide to Harry or Tom whenever possible. We eventually got the ball to Tom who ran superbly to score. This made it 2:4. From the restart, we ran and tackled and drove over forcing Fall Bay to kick. An excellent catch by Evan gave us the advantage but we again lost it after several phases in the ruck. Fall Bay continued to go forward and some missed high tackles by South Gower and strong running made the score 2:6 after the second third.
The final third of the game was very evenly matched. South Gower had gained confidence from the second third and tried to pass to make space whenever possible. Tackling remained at a high standard and the passing continued to improve. The Fall Bay defence remained strong and South Gower tried hard but were unable to break it down. A last try by Fall Bay made the final score 2:7, however the game was more evenly matched than the score represented.
Well done boys - this was by far the best game of the season - especially with regards to tackling, attitude and determination. One point to improve is keeping the ball in the ruck which can be worked on in training. Excellent performance all round!

U8's: Fall Bay Home 19.11.06

Date 19.11.06
Elders -
Score : South Gower 5, Fall Bay 2
Tries : Tom Mogridge (2), Ethan Smith, Cameron Barker, Fergus Kneath.

Youngsters -
Score : South Gower 3, Fall Bay 5
Tries : Morgan Israel (2), Dan Garry.

Elders Game Summary:

Jack Bates captained South Gower in this local derby which was played in very damp conditions. Fall Bay kicked the game off but great South Gower Defence ensured that we turned the ball over. From the turnover, we gained territory and Tom Mogridge raced over for a good try. Fall Bay replied with a fine try but South Gower were straight back at them. Ethan Smith showed great team support when Tom Jenkins was tagged. Ethan ran at pace, took a good pass from Tom and raced clear to score a great team try.
We went into the break 2 - 1 up and started with the ball in the second half. Some good tagging from Fall Bay earned them possession. When Fall Bay spilled the Ball, Harry Brown dived on the ball to secure possession. His pop went to Cameron Barker who raced clear to score a great try. From here, Fall Bay clawed one back but straight from the kick off Tom Mogridge went on a mazy run from the halfway line and scored a fantastic individual try.
With the final whistle coming, Fergus Kneath was passed the ball and made a tiger like dash for the line, he evaded the fall bay taggers to score in the corner. It ended 5 - 2 to South Gower. The greatest compliment to this team was that the Fall Bay coach congratulated us and commented on the way our players offloaded the ball to team mates coming on at pace. This proved the key and set up 3 of our tries. This is part of the game that we have been concentrating on in training and it is extremely satisfying to see it work on a Sunday. Well done everyone !!

South Gower Under 8's (Elders)
Back Row L-R: Ben Westerholm,Tom Jenkins, Fergus Kneath, Jack Bates,
Cameron Barker, Harry Brown, Tom Mogridge.
Front Row L-R: George Heard, Ethan Smith.

Youngsters Game Summary:

Dan Garry captained the youngsters against Fall Bay's youngsters. Fall Bay started the game with possession and played well to score the games first try. South Gower replied and made territory but some good tagging by Fall Bay turned over possession. Fall Bay scored a good try with some great running from the pass. We went into the break 2 - 0 down.
We came out in the second half fired up and Laura Cheley went on a mazy run. Laura went across, backwards, across some more, backwards again before i finally caught up with her and pointed the way forward. Laura then proceeded to tear apart the opposition with her twinkle toe sidesteps before she was tagged. The ball was passed to captain Dan Garry and he raced clear of the opposition to score a great try in the corner.

Tomasso Morgan tries to beat the Fall Bay defense on the outside.

Fall Bay replied with 2 great tries. Both of them came from good running and good passing. The next try was scored by Morgan Israel. Morgan used his pace and awareness to cut inside and score a good try. We then turned possession over with great tagging but unfortunately, we were penalised for a forward pass which Fall Bay took advantage of and scored.
With the last minute of the game left, Tomasso Morgan had a great run and when tagged passed to Morgan Israel who took the ball at pace and scored a brilliant try in the corner. This was an excellent performance from our Youngsters especially as Fall Bay had to make up the numbers with a few of their elder players. So a big well done to our Youngsters !!!

South Gower Under 8's (Youngsters)
L - R: Morgan Israel, Laura Cheley, Cellan Pitson, Thomas Hopkins,
Tomasso Morgan, Bruno Morris, Dan Garry.

U8's: Bynea & Bonymaen Away 12.11.06

Date: 12.11.06

Score : South Gower 4, Bynea 1
Tries : Cameron Barker (2), Ben Westerholm, Ethan Smith.

Score : South Gower 5, Bonymaen 4
Tries : Tom Jenkins (4), Fergus Kneath, Jack Bates.

Game Summary:
South Gower V Bynea
Max Collis captained the team in their first game against the hosts Bynea. Cameron Barker got the show under way with a fine turn of pace to race clear and score in the corner. Bynea equalised almost straight away.


Cameron Barker running clear (Good technique, Ball in two hands)

Next up was the "Roadrunner" Ben Westerholm. Ben threw an outrageous dummy and disappeared down the blind side and raced half the length of the pitch to score a fine try. Ethan then decided to join in the fun with a great try. He weaved and bobbed through the Bynea defence to score a typical Ethan Smith/Shane Williams try. Cameron finished things off when Bynea dropped the ball. Cameron Pounced on the ball like a hungry lion and raced clear to score his second of the match.
This was a very impressive performance from the team especially as we mixed the 5, 6 and 7 year olds all into 2 teams. Well done guys and gals.


Tom Jenkins scores 1 of his 4 tries against Bonymaen, Well done Tom !

South Gower V Bonymaen
Fergus Kneath captained the side against Bonymaen. This was a close affair with lots of running. Tom Jenkins opened the scoring for us with one of his curved runs around everyone and into the corner. Bony replied straight away. When Tom Jenkins raced clear only to be tagged just before the line, the nearest in support was captain Fergus Kneath who took the pass and scored.


The Kneathmeister Fergus speeds away from Bonymaen

Again, Bonymaen scored again and it was down to Tom Jenkins to show his pace and put the Gower one in front. But just before half time, Bonymaen scored a great try to take the game into the break level at 3-3.


Jack "Bullet Head" Bates sprinting away like a bullet from a gun !

Bonymaen took the lead after the break only for 2 great tries from that man again, Tom Jenkins. Bonymaen equalised with a minute left. We restarted with Tom having a run before he was tagged, he passed to Jack Bates, and Jack raced clear to the corner to score the winning try. This was a very tight match, but with the team showing great commitment and great tagging, South Gower came out on top. Well done everyone.

South Gower RFC Ospreys V Australia Trip

300 South Gower members (6 coach loads) supported the Opsreys and helped create an important day in the history of the Liberty Stadium. Not only did we have a fabtastic turn out, but we were fortunate to have 30 of our junior players pitch side as club representatives of the Opsreys region. A big thanks must go out to all who attended and enjoyed but a special thank you from all at the club to Andy Thorburn for going through the pain barrier to arrange the tickets, buses and the pain staking seating plan.

U11's: Penclawdd Away 5.11.06

Date: 05.11.06
Score: South Gower 39, Penclawdd 14
Conversions: Jamie Thomas [2]
Tries (Scored By): Chay Smith [3], Sam Pritchard, Sam Jones, Jamie Thomas, Jonno Blakemore


S.G.R.F.C. Man of the Match (And Why): Jonno Blakemore for his supporting role, putting himself in space on the wing and a great personal try skinning his man on the outside for a corner flag touch down.

Game Analysis:
South Gower captain for the day Sam Jones (Pictured below gunning for the try line) lost the toss resulting in us playing up hill with the sun in our eyes for the first half. Penclawdd were straight on the attack, helped by South Gower’s poor tackling allowing Penclawdd to cross for an early try and a successful conversion. South Gower was going to have step up to the mark if they wanted to play this game and that they did. A scrum deep in the oppositions half won by South Gower hooker Eliot Owen allowed scrum half Jamie Thomas to offload to Chay Smith blindside for a weave to the try line through 4 players untouched for an equalising try and conversion. On the restart, South Gower pressured their way back to the Penclawdd try line for Chay Smith to cross for a second try. A third try soon came following by Sam Pritchard who was playing out of position up front with a powerful run, crossing the white wash, ending half time with a strong 17 points to 7 lead.

The second half with the sun on their side and a great day for expansive rugby allowed the All Blacks to continue to face up, forwards Thomas Wright, Jack Hooper-Lewis and Eliot Owen took the game head on. Forward Sam Jones adding his contribution of 5 points to the score line for a well positioned charge over the white wash. Penclawdd in fairness never gave up the fight and managed another well deserved try and successful conversion. The Gower confidence however was flying with the ball being thrown openly around the back line allowing Jamie Thomas to cross the score line, try of the match by winger Jonno Blakemore who stood up to the defender before skinning him down the outside and Chay Smith who claimed his hat trick of the game. All in all, a great display of phased rugby and some safe hands off loading at the break down. Well-done boys – a good all round game.

U9's Penclawdd Away 5.11.06

Date : 05/11/2006
Score : South Gower 0 : Penclawdd 11
Tries : none

Game Summary:
The sun was shining, the birds singing - the South Gower all blacks were ready.
With no time for a warm up the game started. Penclawdd kicked to us - we gathered but they stole possession from the ruck. The ball went to ground in what we thought was the try area so we grounded it awaiting a 5m restart. The ref did not blow, they picked up and put the ball down in the dead ball area. 1:0. (looks like the ref did not know what line represented the try line). The next try they broke away from a maul and ran down the line to be tackled in the corner. The ref gave a try in the correct area. Both coaches then confirmed to the ref what was the try line and what was the dead ball line - needless to say our boys were now a bit disheartened.
Penclawdd continued to apply pressure but we tackled well. When we stole the ball we tried to ship it wide only to be tackled mid field by a very determined Penclawdd back line. They rucked over and shipped the ball wide to score in the corner.
This trend continued with their rucking play being much more agressive and we were in defense mode for the rest of the game. A slighly unfair score although Penclawdd were the best team we have played this season.
We can learn three things from this game :

1. The ball will not suddenly magic itself into our hands by standing and shouting - we have to fight for it. If you can see it then go and get it.
2. Once we have it, we need to keep it at all costs - by supporting and making sure we are always behind the ball. Remember if you are in front of the ball, you may as well be on holiday in disneyland as you cannot be passed to.
3. If they have bigger boys - tackle them around the legs. They will not fall down if you try to tackle them around their bellies - you will just bounce off.

Although we lost, we did not give up and ran and tackled to the final whistle. Well done boys for your determination and spirit!

U9's: Uplands Home 29.10.06

Date : 29/10/2006
Score : South Gower 4 : Uplands 6
Tries : Tom W (3) Ozzy (1)


Game Summary:
Another excellent performance by the South Gower U9's who narrowly missed out on their first win of the season.

Leading by example

Captain Jack puts in another cracking tackle - bit lower next time Jack

Owen "The Rock" sets off on another rampage

South Gower were ahead for the majority of the game due to some very well worked tries by Tom and Sam, but could not quite cope with the downhill second half pressure applied by a larger Uplands team.

Ruck ? Maul ? who knows - now where is the ball ?

Tackling was good throughout and passing is continuing to improve. If we can improve the positioning and play to our strengths, we will definately start to win. Well done boys!