South Gower Under 9's Match Reports

I have been a bit slack due to no time but here are the last 5 match reports for the Under 9's.

Date : 18.11.07

South Gower - 10

Bonymaen - 1

Tries Scored : Tom Jenkins (2), Tom Mogridge (3), Ethan Smith, Jack Bates, Ben Westerholm, George Grammenos, Dylan John.

What a performance !!!!!!!!

Harry Brown captained the team on this very wet and windy day. South Gower controlled the game from start to finish with some excellent tackling and cleaning up around the contact area. Our very own speedster Tom Jenkins opened the scoring with a great run around the opposition to score a good try. This was followed by the impressive Tom Mogridge. Tom has the knack of entering a maul and leaving unnoticed with the ball and before anyone knows what has happened, he is 30 yards up the pitch scoring a try.

Tom's second try was from a good passage of play, clearing out in the rucks and getting the ball to Tom, who raced clear of the opposition with a final sidestep around Bonymaen's last player to score a great try.

Next up was South Gower's Shane Williams.......Ethan Smith. Good hands from South Gower put Ethan into space. Ethan applied his speed and his sidesteps and raced clear for a fantastic try.

Just before half time, Moggy was in the maul again and ripped the ball free before spinning around and racing clear for a try to make it 5 - 0 to South Gower at half time.

We had 15 players today, so we made 5 changes at half time. We turned Possession over straight away and Moggy ripped the ball free from a maul (again) and fed Jack Bates who raced for the corner. He dived for the line and just made the score for a well worked try.

Next up was Ben Westerholm. The roadrunner received the ball 5 metres from his own try line and dashed down the touchline, before sidestepping back in to the open to race clear for a great try.

Tom Jenkins hadn't scored for 5 minutes so he decided it was his turn for another. The ball was played through the hands to Tom who sprinted down the touchline before a neat sidestep took him past the last defender to score his second of the game. Again, we turned possession over with some great tackling and rucking. We were held on Bonymaen's line with some good mauling when the ball came to Max Collis. Max, unselfishly passes to George Grammenos who waltzed over the line unopposed for a good team try.

Bonymaen replied with a try of their own whilst our defence fell asleep and scored in the corner.
South Gower had to have the last say and this time the ball was fed out to Dylan John who charged his way through one tackle before neatly sidestepping the last defender to score a great try.

This was by far our best performance of the season and the rucking and tackling has vastly improved. The team should be proud of themselves as we controlled the game completely and shut Bonymaen out of the game.

Well done Lads !

Date : 11.11.07

Penclawdd - 6

South Gower - 7

Tries Scored - Tom Mogridge (4), Ethan Smith, Tom Jenkins (2)

Dylan Griffiths captained the Gower against his old club and led from the front.

We had 18 players and played 9 a side, so we had 2 completely different teams for each half.

South Gower opened the scoring with our very own Shane Williams...Ethan Smith. Ethan received the ball on the wing after some great hands from Gower and raced clear for the first

try.

Ethan wisely offloads to Bullethead Bates before the onslaught !

Next up was Gowers' version of New Zealand's Richie McCaw !....Tom Mogridge. Tom ripped the ball form a maul and sidestepped his way into space before racing clear to score a good try.

Penclawdd replied with a good try. They had 2 massive players who we didn't want to tackle ! They split open our defensive line before offloading to make it 2 - 1.

Gower replied again with Moggy ! Tom received the ball and jinked his way through Penclawdd to score a wonderful try. Again, we turned over the opposition and moved the ball to Moggy. This time Moggy used his raw pace to slice the opposition open and race clear for his 3rd of the game. Penclawdd restarted and some good tackling set up a maul.
Jack Bates runs with Dylan and Connor in support

Enter Richie McCaw. Tom went in and came out with the ball before disappearing towards the try line to score his fourth of the match. Just before half time, penclawdd responded with a good try. One of their bigger players rampaged straight through us and our lack of tackling invited their player to make it 5 - 2 at half time.

We changed the team completely at half time and a new set of 9 players entered the fray.

I don't know why, but the sight of these big boys from Penclawdd made weary of tackling and they opened the scoring.

We replied in style with Tom Jenkins racing around the complete Penclawdd team to score a great try in the corner. Again, no tackling cost us as penclawdd scored 3 unanswered tries before Tom Jenkins raced clear for the winner. Luckily before the ref blew for full time, Penclawdd looked in for a try to equalise but Tom Jenkins got back and made a match saving tackle and the game ended 7 - 6 to South Gower.

Tom Jenkins proves size is not everything !!!

Our attacking was breathtaking at times but our defence left a lot to be desired. This is something we will be concentrating on in training.
Well done lads for another good win.

Date : 02.11.07

South Gower - 8

Bynea - 2

Tries Scored - Tom Jenkins (5), Cameron Barker (2), Tom Mogridge.

George Grammenos captained the team against our Scarlets opposition. The game started with a bang, when Bynea kicked off, Tom Jenkins caught the ball and cut the opposition apart with a fantastic try. Bynea replied with a try before Tom Jenkins got his hat-trick before half time with some searing runs making it 3 - 1 at half time.

Tom Jenkins, aka Bryan Habana, aka The Cheetah !!!!!!!!!

We started the second half well with Tom Jenkins opening the scoring again. Again, his pace was the key as he raced clear of the opposition to score a very good try.

Moggy races clear much to the unhappiness of the Bynea supporters !

Cameron Barker was next up after receiving the pass in space, Cam put his head down and scored in the corner. Bynea replied with a good try of their own before Tom Jenkins scored his 5th of the game. Tom Mogridge joined in on the fun and scored one of his trademark, rip the ball and run tries !

Moggy rips the ball and races clear unopposed

Connor Holt breaks his way through some tough Bynea tackles

Cameron Barker finished of the scoring with a well taken try, his second of the game.

All in all, a very good performance from the boys resulted in a convincing win.

Well done !

Date : 21.10.07

South Gower - 5

Fall Bay - 0

Tries Scored - Jack Bates, Tom Jenkins, Ethan Smith, Ben Westerholm, Tom Mogridge.

Tom Mogridge captained South Gower against our local rivals on a perfect day for rugby.

We started well and applied constant pressure on Fall Bay when the ball was passed through the hands to Jack Bates who charged through 3 players to score a great try.

This was followed by Tom Jenkins who skinned the opposition to score.

Tom Jenkins opens up to race clear from Fall Bay

Fall Bay never looked like causing us any problems and as soon as they had possession, we were straight up on them forcing a turnover. This time, Ethan Smith received the pass before jinking through Fall bay to score a good try. Again, we turned over possession and the ball was worked to the Roadrunner. Ben Westerholm raced past the opposition and cut back inside to score a blinder and put South Gower up by 4 tries to nil at the break.

Ben Westerholm cuts back inside the opposition to score a great try

We made 5 changes at half time to ensure everyone who turns up plays. Tom Mogridge opened up the scoring for the half with some good team play.

Moggy races clear leaving the opposition in his wake to score a brilliant try !

We turned Fall Bay over with some good tackling and rucking to follow. The ball came to Moggy who raced clear of the opposition to score a wonderful try.

Harry Brown breaks clear of Fall Bay

Fall Bay came back into the game in the second half, but our defence was great and we repelled their attacks every time.

The game ended 5 - 0 to South Gower in which was another convincing win Bryan & Jon's all black army !

Well done lads !

Date : 14.10.07

Gowerton - 0

South Gower - 4

Tries Scored - Dan Garry, Tom Mogridge (2), Tom Jenkins.

Jack "Bullet head" Bates captained the Gower on this damp Sunday morning. We had the bare 10 players so needed a committed game from all the team. This game was extremely tight to start with good tackling from both sides. Some silly knock ons and forward passes restricted us from opening the scoring in the first half and when Tom Jenkins raced clear, i thought we would score, but one of Gowertons players raced back to make a great tackle. Unfortunately, there was no support from the all blacks for Tom and we didn't score.

Half time, 0 -0. We talked at half time and i said that our tackling and close contact play was good but when we break the gain line, we are lacking support. The talk seemed to have worked when straight from the kick off Tom Mogridge raced clear for the line. Another great tackle from Gowerton stopped Tom just short but this time our support was there. We rucked Gowerton off the ball and the pass went out to Dan Garry and he raced over in the corner for the first try of the game.

Some great tackling ensured another turnover and this time Tom Mogridge made it all the way for a great try.

Again, we held Gowerton up in the middle of the park and some great mauling from Moggy and the team meant that Tom was able to spin off the back of the maul to race for his second try of the game. In the final moments of the game, some good passing from South Gower released Tom Jenkins who raw speed tore Gowerton apart to score a great try.

It ended 4 -0 to South Gower in a game that started tight, but when we concentrated and started doing the things that we had been working on in training, we pulled away and came out deserved winners.
Well done lads !

U10's vs Burry Port & Brynamman (A)

04.11.2007
Burry Port 21 (3 tries : 3 conversions)
South Gower 0

Brynamman 0
South Gower 22 (4 tries : 1 conversion)

The day started with a one minute silence in memory of rugby legend Ray Gravell - a great ambassador and character of the game who will be sadly missed.

The Team - Looking Good !

The Team - Looking not so Good !

The first game was against Burry Port and with only 11 players, both sides played 11 a-side. South Gower started well and kept up the pressure however failed to convert it into any points. Burry Port showed some good handling and driving and camped on the South Gower line. We tried to clear with a kick which did not go very far - Burry Port picked up then scored.

I am all in favour of letting the game flow from a ref's perspective, however when teams are so close to the try line, it is only fair that knock-ons are penalised. This did not seem to happen and I had to stop myself asking for the video ref. It was good heads did not drop and the game was still there to be won at half time 7:0.

Some good rucking and presentation maintained possession

The second half started well but handling failed to move the ball past the fly half due to the pressure exerted by Burry Port. Handling errors, due to this pressure, caused us to lose the ball and in some cases we ended up throwing the ball anywhere. Burry Port countered and just managed to score a second try and convert.

Harry, playing at scrum half, linked up well with Cameron down the blindside on more than one occasion, however Burry Port covered and gave us very little space to run in. Tom was first to alot of the breakdowns and always kept the ball alive.

Harry just clears his lines and relieves some of the pressure exerted by Burry Port

In the last seconds we kicked the ball from close to our try line in field to chase only for Burry Port to pick up and with some good hands and a lovely side step from their winger scored. Final score 3 tries to nil.

Based on the statistics we had 63% of the possession but couldn't convert it to points. In summary a good game by two evenly matched sides. Rucking and ball retention was greatly improved from last week. The forwards led by Zac tackled well and the game was ours to win - unfortunately we could not use this possession due to the poor handling. This week we will practice passing,passing and more passing - especially under pressure.

Jo does his thumb warm ups before the second game

The second game was against Brynamman and was only their second game as a team. Due to their low numbers we played 8 a-side. South Gower started well and kept up the pressure shown in the first game. Tom and Jack both ran good straight lines and Josh Burt finished well in the corner after a fine pass out of the tackle by Tom.

Brynamman had one very strong lad who seemed to be the only one they used to run. We tried to tackle high in some cases and on more than one occassion it took four of our lads to bring him down. Still, Brynamman did not look like scoring at all.

Other try scorers were Jesse, Tom and Harry. The only conversion was a drop kick.

Jesse and Owen congratulate each other on a good try

A well deserved win which was needed to boost confidence - well done.

U10's vs Fall Bay (Home)

21.10.2007
South Gower 14 (2 tries : 2 conversions)
Fall Bay 52 (8 tries : 6 conversions)

The day started well with new shirts being issued to the players. Many thanks to Schaeffler (UK) Ltd ("INA") for the sponsorship - even though the company also sponsors the Scarlets!

The shirts were the highlight of the day

Again we had a good turnout of 17 players and opted to play 3 10 minute thirds. The boys however started apprehensively as this was probably the best team we will play all season. A few missed tackles and 7:0 to Fall Bay. This trend continued for the first ten minutes. It was not until the second third that we started to put together some phases - the best of which finished with Harry scoring in the corner.

Owen takes a great restart which we chased down

Some silly mistakes and another dropped ball over our line gave away an easy try. This has happened in each of the last three games and needs to be eliminated in practice.

A cracking tackle by Josh but again Fall Bay kept the ball alive by offloading in the tackle

The trend continued where we would exert a few minutes of pressure only to be pinned back by some very fast direct running by Fall Bay. Another try by Harry took the score to 5 tries to 2, however in the last 5 minutes, Fall Bay scored another few tries to earn a well deserved victory.

Harrison played his first game for the team and did well at second row - although this was not his preferred position.

Things to work on in practice / coaches comments are:

A position on the rugby pitch has a job associated with it. All forwards should follow the ball around the pitch and be in every ruck if possible - not watching the ball. All backs should run straight then pass and look to create space for the wingers who are usually the fastest in the team. If you are close to your own line - kick (until passing improves). Tackle the shorts with your eyes open and wrap your arms around like a ring of steel - not a gentle shove to the chest.

If we do all this we may beat them next time. Nice shirts though!

U10's vs Gowerton (Away)

14.10.07

Gowerton 20 (4 tries)

South Gower 10 (2 tries)

We had an amazing 22 players at practice and 18 players turn up for the game this week which was superb. Gowerton had 17 players so due to the large numbers, 3 10 minute thirds were played.

The game started much better than last week with pressure being exerted by South Gower and everyone driving over in the rucks.

Some good rucking initially gave us the advantage

This pressure paid off when Harry pushed over a defender, picked up the ball and sprinted to score. Gowerton came back with some strong running by some large boys however our tackling had significantly improved from last week and we stopped their attack. Unfortunately we just ran out of space and Gowerton tied the game at the first interval with a strong drive.

The whole team (with the exception of 2 players) was then switched. Gowerton started the second third very strongly and scored a push over try due to some high tackling. We did not really have much space to run and when we did, we chose not to pass and lost the ball in the tackle. Some sloppy defending led to a third try by Gowerton after we dropped the ball over our own line.

We did not look ready for the ball just before we dropped it and they scored

Just before the second whistle, Gowerton broke away and scored their fourth try which took the score to 4 tries to 1.

George just misses the tackle with a double pike dive but Tom and Dan were covering and took him down

In the final third, we tried to switch the players to ensure everyone played the same amount of time. Tackling and pressure improved which caused Gowerton to lose the ball near their line and Owen E was on hand to pick up and score. The South Gower coaches made their final substitutions however the ref did not stop play which meant we had 16 players on the pitch at once - interesting. Normality was almost restored and after some good breaks and crunching tackles, the final whistle blew.

A very good game which was again frustrating as it could easily have been won if all 18 players were awake. Final score 20 : 10 - although we drew, lost then won each of the thirds.

Win, lose or draw, the boys still sang at the end of the game : well done !

Under 9's V Felinfoel (Away) 07.10.07

07.10.07

Felinfoel 0
South Gower 3

Tries Scored : Tom Jenkins (2), Tom Mogridge.

Again this week we had a great turnout with 13 players. We played 9 a-side as Felinfoel only had 9. We started well with some good passing and running. Tom Jenkins received the ball wide and used his pace to accelerate away to the corner to score his, and South Gowers' first try of the match.


Tom Jenkins speeds down the touchline for his first try of the game

Felinfoel restarted but some excellent tackling from Gower, namely George Grammenos and captain George Heard ensured we turned over the ball. Again the ball was passed wide to our flyer Tom Jenkins who sped over for another good try.


Tom Jenkins reels away after scoring his second try of the match

Again, Felinfoel restarted and again the Gower tackles were flying in disrupting their play. We gained a turnover and took the ball in to contact. From the resulting maul, Tom Mogridge peeled off the back unchallenged and raced clear for a try just before half time.

We made substitutions at half time to ensure everybody played. Connor Holt made his debut for the All Blacks and made an immediate impact. He tackled everything that moved ensuring we kept Felinfoel on the backfoot. The 2nd half remained scoreless although we came extremely close on a few occasions.


Ethan Smith teases Felinfoel with his "Gareth Edwards" sidestepping

What was most impressive about our play in this game, but especially the 2nd half was our passing. We have been working on our passing a lot and it really paid of here. There was one occasion when we passed the ball through every set of hands down the line, cut back inside and one of the players even had the cheek to pull off an inside pass to Cameron. I sat back an admired with only thoughts of Fijian rugby coming to mind...Awesome.

This was by far our finest performance of the season, tackling and passing was spot on. Well done everyone. We look forward to our game away to Gowerton on Sunday.

U10's vs Felinfoel (A) & Uplands (H)

07.10.07 (Away)
South Gower 7 (1 try : 1 conversion)
Felinfoel 22 (4 tries : 1 conversion)

23.09.07 (Home)
South Gower 41 (7 tries : 3 conversions)
Uplands 17 (3 tries : 1 conversion)

Two very different games to report on this week.
The game against Uplands was a superb performance with everybody putting pressure on the opposition. Once again the running and passing game was very good however tackling could be improved by going for the legs as opposed to the chest.
Tom W was back on fine running form and notched up 4 excellent tries. Harry scored 2 tries and Tom R scored a very good opener on his first game of the season at scrum half. Uplands showed resolve and did not give up and scored 3 well deserved tries.
Joseph, Jesse and Tom all converted well.
An excellent game with teamwork and passing starting to improve.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The game against Felinfoel was a different affair. We turned up with 16 players against their 10 so played 10 a side. In line with the substitute rotational system, we had virtually two teams - 1 for each half which meant it was hard for the boys to get into the game. Felinfoel maintained possession well and scored two breakaway tries from ripping the ball out of the ruck. This was disappointing as it was one area that we did well in against Uplands.

This an example of 5 FF players in the ruck against 2 of ours. This was why we lost possession.

Good body position Owen turning to face our team.

After a good break from Jesse and fine offload, Harry scored a very well finished try using his strength and stretching to ground the ball. Owen E in his own unique style executed a very good conversion.
Some missed high tackles let Felinfoel drive over to score their third. We could have scored another try but the ball just went forward in the tackle. To round it off, Felinfoel scored again from another breakaway and sprint to the line.

Tom R nails his opposing scrum half which got us possession back

It was good to see Josh N back and playing well, as well as Markus on his first game for the club.

In summary this was a frustrating game to watch as we could easily have won if we had tackled low, kept the ball in the rucks and exerted pressure. Something to work on this week in practice.
The boys did not give up and tried hard right to the end which is all any coach can ask for - well done lads for the effort.

U12's 07/10/07 South Gower V Uplands RFC (Home)

South Gower V Swansea Uplands, always a mouth watering prospect, playing against one of our neighbouring clubs. Uplands undefeated last season, Gower Cup wiiners for two successive seasons and haven't conceded a try this season to date.
On kick off, the visitors certainly piled on the pressure, camped in the South Gower 22 with great ball retention, South Gowers focus to mark the man and make the tackles count certainly paid off with valient efforts from Max Adams & Dan Barker.
Gower made it back with some great attacking play by Elliot Owen and Sam Jones but with one South Gower disallowed try to Uplands two, The All Blacks were down 14 nil at half time.
The restart produced more gutsy rugby, backed up by good ball handling by both teams, but South Gower's Chay Smith had the early second half glory, to deliver a Gower 5 pointer and spoiling Uplands clean sheet. The Uplands forwards were powerful with ball in hand, that Gower couldn't keep out, with Uplands scoring a further 3 tries, ending the game 5, 31 to Uplands. South Gower man of the match was Jack Rosser who played admirably with good running lines and committed tackles.

Not the result we wanted, but good building work for the forthcoming Opsreys Cup. South Gower RFC V Birchgrove at home, 14th October.

Under 13s - We are still going and improving

After a couple of troubled weeks when Phil and Myself told the team that enough was enough and we could not carry on with a bare 10 players turning up each week, we are back.

Thanks to the comeradery and pure determination we played Waun today and had 19 players ready to play plus 2 regular players who couldn't play ! Phil and myself now need to go on a coaching course to learn what to do when we have substitutes.

An excellent game from the start with James Wild scoring from a 50 metre run down the side of the pitch, guts and willingless produced two more tires scored by Tom Gwyn (Gwynny) down the right wing after coming on at half time. Waun played welll but could only manage one try to our three and all three of our conversions were kicked. Final Score Wanarlydd 5 South Gower 21.

Keep it up boys, training starts at 6pm Tuesday and we have Swansea Uplands at home next Sunday in the cup.

U12's 30/09/07 South Gower V Mumbles RFC (Home)

The local derby, where most of the players from both teams know one another and looked determined to play a great game of rugby, looking for a win to earn the bragging rights in school the following day. South Gower took the lead after a hell for leather start where some great ball handling through the back line sent Gower winger Kieran Shreves in at the corner for a classing try, the timing of the passing and the drawing of the man from Jack Hooper-Lewis gave Gower an early confidence boost.
Mumbles, new they had more in them and enjoyed a passage of play dominating up-front, retaining possesion through the rucks building the phases and pressure which earnt Mumbles their first 5 pointer plus the conversion. The restart saw much the same, South Gower were pushed off the ball in the rucks and with further phase play Mumbles scored another try just before half time.
At 5 - 12 to Mumbles, the South Gower boys had some ground to make up, the aggression levels lifted allowing Chay Smith who spotted a gap to tram line the touch line and a successfull hand off to make a 35m run for an under the posts try.
Both sides at this point were capable of clinching the game, the Mumbles pack verses the slick hands and pace of the Gower backs, but Mumbles again had the upper hand claiming another try that was successfully converted. At 10 - 19 to Mumbles and 10 minutes to go, Gower forwards went on the rampage, Rob Mogridge, Lewis Clarke, Eliot Owen driving forward making the hard yards with No.8 Sam Jones almost making it to the white line but with a final off load to Jonno Blakemore who gained another try for the Gower boys.
At 15 - 19 to Mumbles, the clock was ticking down to the final whistle. The All Blacks were chasing a final attack, but on this day it wasn't to be. Two distinct styles of play, backs verses forwards, matched on try count, but Mumbles being able to add the extras, gave them the win. However, it really was great entertaining rugby for all the supporters to see. Unlucky boys...
South Gower Man of the match being Kieran Shreves for marking his winger, and staying out in space earning him a classic wingers try.

1st XV - Aberavan Naval v South Gower 22nd Sept 07

Saturday produced the mighty Gower’s first win 43-0
away to Aberavon Naval, our first in the WRU plus the extras for
scouring more than four tries and we are now sitting around mid table.

Penlan look to be the strong leaders however, second in the league
Llangadog only have 9 points (3 more than us) so the league is wide open
and a few more good results and we will be up the top end of the table.

The good stuff first, 7 tries and once we started to put a few points
on them in the second half we didn’t stop, linking between the
forwards and backs well in some nice play.

I thought the forwards in general played well Gouge carried the ball
and cleared out well around the fringes. Nice to see Tom Wills back, who
had an aggressive game on the back row and scored a couple of tries. The
backs in general played well with some clean breaks and Dill tackled and
dealt with any kicks back.

Their ground set up was a bit strange and we could have easily let that
affect the game, as we spent a lot of time hanging around waiting to get
changed. The first half was a bit scrappy, and at 10-0 at half time we
needed to step up a few gears in the second half, which happened.

Again at times the rucking was a bit soft, but later on that was
probably due to the fact that we lost our shape a little as we got a bit
try hungry and did not go through the phases. Its important to win good
ball and go through some phases in that situation even if it has become
semi opposed to practice for the bigger games to come.

In all well done, a good game, big win, but no rugby next weekend,
boooooo!

U12's 23/09/07 South Gower V Birchgrove RFC (Away)

South Gower under 12's were a depleted of side with only 13 players available, none the less the boys were up for a battle. Birchgrove came straight on the attack controlling the ball in the contact area, keeping possession and going through the phases which delivered Birchgrove the first try of the game and a succesfull conversion.
Gower retaliated against the early try, the forwards attacked with the some aggressive runs made by Lewis Clarke and Max Adams to gain South Gower the territiory, followed by Jamie Thomas getting the ball out wide for expansive use of the back line which sent Jonno Blakemore over for a try.
South Gower recognised the skills which increased their confidence, and similarly fought hard for possession before allowing the secure hands of Jamie Thomas, James Bevan Jones who put Chay Smith in space (again well supported by Jonno Blakemore) leaving the Birchgrove defence indecisive while Chay skinned between two defenders for another well orchestrated try.
At half time and 7 - 10 to South Gower, Birchgrove new they had to up the pace which led to both teams confronting up front. Birchgrove had the edge in the forwards and ground out another battling try, finalising the game 17 - 10 to Birchgrove. The Gower boys ceratinly look class in control at times but lack of concentration and some panic passing under pressure helped Birchgrove to victory.
South Gower Man of the match was Jonathan Blakemore for a great try and supportive play on the wing.
South Gower face Birchgrove again in the Opsreys Cup on Oct.14th at South Gower RFC.
Next Sunday...... Mumbles at home.

South Gower Under 10's Match Report

16.09.07
South Gower 26 (4 tries : 3 conversions)

Tumble 26 (4 tries : 3 conversions)

09.09.07

South Gower 25 (5 tries : no conversions taken)

Waunarlwydd 5 (1 try)

Two very good games to start the season. The away game at Waunarlwydd started very well with two excellent break away tries by Sam and Zac. Everyone seemed keen to start the new season and put the Waun team under pressure whenever they had the ball. Tackling was good and the passing from set pieces went remarkably smoothly considering this was the first game played with scrums and lineouts.

Waun returned the pressure and earned a well deserved try however it was now time for the fliers to have a run. Harry and Josh B both scored two very good fast running tries and Tom scored in the corner in the last minute with good passing all down the back line.

Well done boys - excellent start.

Josh Burt sprints for his try

First scrum - looks like the ref has had enough already

Half-Time team talk

The home game against Tumble was a different game altogether and was not helped by the kick off being delayed until 12pm.

Some missed tackling and a very good Tumble scrum-half meant the South Gower All Blacks were playing catch up for all of the game. Dan scored an excellent try in the corner and Sam got his hat trick in the last minute after intercepting and sprinting to the line.

Sam, Owen Evans and George all converted with George's excellent conversion under pressure tying the match in the dying seconds. Well done lads - good fight back.

After the Tumble game it was off to the sea-front to watch the amazing "Red Arrows"

Under 9's V Pontardullais (Home) 16.09.07

16.09.07
South Gower 3
Pontardullais 0

Tries Scored : Tom Mogridge, Cai Adams, Cameron Barker.

We had 13 players this week to Pontardullais' 9 so we played 9 a side. We welcomed 2 new faces, George Grammenos and Dylan John who trained with us Wednesday and played in this game.
Sporting our new kit sponsored by Lee Mogridge, we started well and there was a massive improvement in our tackling and passing. Players were running hard and getting stuck in. The game was very tight with South Gower enjoying a lot of possesison but unable to break the visitors defence down. Half time 0 -0.



Ethan Smith takes the ball into contact


Jack Bates nails his man

We came out in the 2nd half more determined and pressuring Pontardullais from the off. We controlled the game and used our heads whereby if the opposition was close to the touchline, we would tackle them over it ensuring a turnover ball. Our pressure finally paid off after some good rucking, the ball was passed out to Tom Mogridge who darted over in the corner.
Straight from the restart, we tackled and some good rucking turned over possession. We moved closer to their line, rucking and mauling before Cai Adams raced over in the same corner to make it 2 - 0.


Cai Adams crosses for Gower's 2nd try

With the last play of the game remaining, again, we turned over possession and Cameron Barker crossed for a great try.
This was a vast improvement on last weeks game and the more games the boys play, the more their confidence and understanding of the game will develop.
Training on Wednesday to START at 6.30pm and then away to Swansea Uplands on Sunday.


South Gower Under 9's 2007 / 2008

Back row (L/R) : Dylan John , Cai Adams, George Heard,
Jack Bates, Cameron Barker, Max Collis, Tom Jenkins.

Front Row (L/R) : Ethan Smith, George Grammenos,
Tom Mogridge, Ben Westerholm, Harry Brown, Dan Pritchard.

South Gower "Safe The Roof" Ball

5th October 2007

Could all people wishing to attend this event contact Louise Mogridge by the end of this week (21.09.07) to confirm names and numbers attending.
Payments need to sent to Louise by next week at the latest.
You can contact Louise at TheMogridges@dsl.pipex.com
Please ensure the above is followed to guarantee your tables.

U12's 16/09/07 South Gower V Penclawdd RFC (Away)

The first away match for the Gower under 12's. The boys looked ready for a good game of rugby in the warm up. On kick off, Gower went on the attack with good pace with the wind behind them. The forwards being quick to the breakdown forced an early line out leading to a text book catch and drive. After some hard yards being made by Alex Ashburner and co. scrum half Jamie Thomas got the ball out to the back line eventually finding Kieran Shreves who crossed on the far left wing for a classic try by using the overlap, a great start. Penclawdd, tightened their defence and enjoyed some good possession only to be ripped by Gowers Rob Mogridge in a mid-field position who made a line breaking 10m run, got hit to ground realeased, picked up and on for a further 5m and same again, by this time the Gower forwards had caught up to support, driving the team on towards the try line - Rob Mogridge, the creator eventually popped out with another 5 pointer for the All Blacks.

Penclawdd, feeling the pinch, dug deep, made some great tackles gaining themselves territory which led to them gaining their own 5 pointer, backed up with a great conversion from out wide.

At 7 - 10 to South Gower, the boys new they had more in the tank and with 2 minutes to go to half time the backs fired with Chay Smith cutting in side the opposition near the corner flag for a well worked try.

After half time, the confidence was growing within the Gower squad, new signing outside half Sebastian Heimrich had great vision and saw an opportunity as the ball came out of the scrum to go all the way, side stepping through the defence for a solo try, converted by Chay Smith. Penclawdd never gave in, but the backs ball handling skills put Chay Smith into space followed by a dummy pass and swerve to leave him un-touched crossing the line to draw the game to a 7 - 29 South Gower win.
The praise was high from the spectators towards the players who really put on a display of some great ball handling from forwards and backs.
Prop Alex Ashburner however stood out by making the hard yards but with good hands and therefore was named South Gowers Man of the Match.

Under 9's V Waunarlwydd Away 09.09.07

Date : 09.09.07

South Gower - 2
Waunarlwydd - 7

This was our first game of the season and a difficult introduction to contact rugby. Over the past few years, Waunarlwydd have proved to be very tough opponents. Today was no exception. Unfortunately, what we have been seeing in training was not carried onto the pitch.
We struggled in the tackle area and had no fluidity when trying to move the ball through our hands. Too often we were caught, man and ball, when the ball should have been passed out. Having said that, we are not the welsh national team (We are way better than that shambles !), this was our first contact game and it was good to see where we need to concentrate on rather than just seeing it through rose tinted glasses in training.
When we had the ball in hand, we looked good, we were running well but all too often were caught without support. Some good tackles were put in with a few try saving ones, one especially from Dan Pritchard.



Max Collis goes through for his first try of the game

Max Collis scored both tries for The All Blacks with good direct running. Max took the tries very well and showed he enthusiasm looking for the ball. George Heard was constantly in the opposition faces whilst Owen Renowden was a handful in the contact area. Cameron Barker had a few nice runs and Tom Jenkins also. Cai Adams and Dan Garry both had the ball a few times and made good ground. Jack Bates' direct running ensured the opposition had to put in some good tackles. When Ethan Smith and Ben Westerholm had the ball, they looked dangerous, but we need to get the ball out to our 2 flyers quicker to give them the space and time they need to perform.



George Heard tackled in what was a lively performance by him


Cameron shows the grit and determination to break through his opponents

We need everyone to attend training on Wednesday to start at 6.30 pm SHARP so we can have a full session with the players.
I look forward to next weeks game.
Well done to everyone in their first contact game against what was most probably one of our hardest opponents we will play this season.

U12's 9/09/07 South Gower V Gorseinon (Home)

The first game of the season for our under 12's sporting their new kit courtesy of Swansea Sony Centre, Llansamlet. The boys certainly looked the part and were confident in mood but the time had come to see if they could perform full pitch, 15 a side.

South Gower went on the attack in the early moments of the game, the forwards scavanged well and produced an early dominant forward display which allowed Max Adams to break through the pack to claim his and the teams well deserved first try of the season.

The Gower backs had seen very little ball but that soon changed when the boys started running some great lines produced wide ball allowing the boys to attack the corner flags at pace with good ball / hand skills which delivered Gowers second try via Chay Smith.

10 nil to the Gower All Blacks at half time, but Gorseinon produced some good forward play of their own in the second half backed up with a high possession count that gained them their own 5 pointer.

Final score South Gower 10, Gorseinon 5 - a good start to the season where the signs are there for more to come. South Gower RFC, Man of the Match - Rob Mogridge

Senior XV starts new season

Well the grass is cut, the pitch is ready and the fixtures are in. Another new season starts down the Gower for the senior XV. Coming off the back of a season filled with ups (winning the league) and downs ( presidents cup, ref anyone? and losing to Narbeth in the playoffs).

All that is done and dusted now and we start the new season in a new league (W.R.U division 6 for those that don't already know) and with a new captain.


According to Steve the count of players lost since last season is 13 this includes some very influential members of the team : Boner, Pete Manion, graham and Taff.This means it is now more important than ever that we get players down at training Tuesday and Thursday 6:45 for a 7:00 start (several boys seem to have forgotten when training is).

Also Gareth and I will be spearheading a recruitment drive with all aid from able bodied players appreciated. We have decided to start this off with a poster campaign advertising the benefits of the club email me at joinsouthgower@hotmail.co.uk for a pdf file. Please download print and put up wherever you think there may be budding rugby players of south gowers caliber.


Have also included a list of this years fixtures below(apologise for the dodgy formatting in advance):

Date Team L/F/Cup H/A

Aug 11th Watstown TRIAL H
Aug 18th Blackwood Stars TRIAL H
Aug 25th Ely TRIAL H
Sept 1st Cimla League A
Sept 8th Llangadog League H
Sept 22nd Aberavon Naval League A
Oct 13th Penybanc League H
Oct 20th Nantgaredig League A
Nov 3rd Fall Bay League H
Nov 10th Tregaron League A
Dec 1st Pontrhydyfen League H
Dec 8th Penlan League A
Jan 5th Cimla League H
Jan 12th Llangadog League A
Jan 26th Aberavon Naval League A
Feb 16th Penybanc League A
Mar 1st Nantgaredig League H
Mar 22nd Fall Bay League A
Mar 29th Tregaron League H
Apr 5th Pontrhydyfen League A
Apr 12th Penlan League H

South Gower Summer Camp Out - 7th July 2007

After 3 weeks of solid rain, the clouds parted and gave us a day of sun and a night of clear skies for the camp out. I am sure everyone who attended would agree that is was a great day/night. Having played football and rounders on mass, everyone took part in a well deserved drink whilst the youngsters ran riot ! I am sure a few people will feel rough for a few days, it may either be the beer or more likely the bacon in the morning................cheers Nige.

Here are some photos of the night.

Birthday boy Aaron passes his test

South Gower Coaches disputing the rounders score

Jake & Morgan keeping warm by the fire

Pippa & Rob..and some lunatic from the other field

Come on Dad, its your round and i'm on the Stella

Parents disputing the Football result !

Edward.......the last man standing !

Jo was in a merry merry mood

What can i say, it says it all...............a good night !