Briton Ferry RFC Mini's The "PIRATES"

Briton Ferry RFC Mini’s enjoyed a fine morning when they visited their hosts in Bryncoch.  Briton Ferry Under 9’s kicked off proceedings with a game against Bryncoch.  The Briton Ferry team were captained by the try scoring Katie Miller.  Briton Ferry were soon on the attack displaying some fine handling and driving mauls.  Madison Davies used his ripping skills to drive over for the first of his three tries.  Some fine running enabled Kealan Jones to show a turn of pace to race in at the corner.  That try was soon followed by a dazzling run and try from Taz Jones.  The attacking prowess was laid on a strong defence with exceptional tackling from Kyle Ball and the Rhys Williams. Bryncoch tackled well and were acquitting themselves well.  The second half was very similar to the first with Briton Ferry applying pressure.  This allowed Dennis, Zak and Sam to enjoy some ball carrying duties.  They were ably supported by the energetic Iestyn Thompson and Callum Pickerell.  Some strong running from Dan Brookes, Corey Mayne and Kian setting up the final tries of the game.  Final Score Briton Ferry 6 – Bryncoch 0

The second game against Taibach was almost a mirror image of the first game.  Despite some strong efforts by Taibach, Briton Ferry were too strong and finished the game with a final score Briton Ferry 5 – Taibach 0.

The Under 9’s maintained their good form with two wins over South Gower.  It was the first meeting between the two teams.  Both players enjoyed the day and the glorious weather for running rugby.  Captain for the day Dennis Fidler lead the way with some fine runs.  Daffydd, making his debut, made some fine tackles.  Some direct running from Kealan and Rhys Williams set up Madison to sprint over for the first try.  Some good rucking by Callum and Kieran allowed Briton Ferry to work the ball free to powerful runner Morgan Jones.  Dan Brookes made some lovely tackles and was ably supported Jordan Brettle.  Some great ripping by Kyle Ball stopped the South Gower attacks.  Soon it was the turn of Taz and Iestyn to go on the attack and use their sidestepping skills. 

Final Score 6 – 1 in favour of Briton Ferry. 

The second game was a great exhibition or running rugby.  The score 5 – 2 in favour of Briton Ferry. 

Briton Ferry 3 - Pontardulais 2

Briton Ferry 7 - Pontardulais 3

Briton Ferry 6 v Neath Ath 0.

Briton Ferry RFC Under 9’s, the “PIRATES”, continue their unbeaten start to the season with a fine win over Neath Athletic.  With the cold snap hitting, the team were reduced by 8 players who had caught a cold bug.  The remaining 12 players braved the elements and started the game strongly with a smart try by Taz Jones.  Madison Davies used his strength to rip the ball out of the maul and feed Kyle Ball who accepted the pass and raced in at the corner to make it 2-0.  Some fine tackling from Zak, Callum and Corey ensured that Briton Ferry did not concede a try.  Some smart passing by Sam Archer, Kieran Nicolas and Kealan Jones set up the next Briton Ferry attacks. Some strong running by Rhys Williams & Cellan Davies brought them 2 tries each. Man of the match for his ball carrying was Morgan Jones.  Final Score 6 -0

The Pirates defied the winter freeze and took to the field for the first time in 6 weeks.  The squad were reduced to 11 due to unavailabilities and illness.  There were some fine performamces by all squad members.  The referee chose Madi as Man of the Match for his mauling technique.

Briton Ferry RFC Under 9’s, the “Pirates” fought off a chilling wind in their recent encounter at Skewen.  With the hosts unable to raise an Under 9’s team, the pirates boys & girls stepped up to play against an older Under 10’s team.  Following a great kick off from Katie Miller, Kyle Ball put a trademark tackle to force a turnover.  From the turnover, the Pirates switched the direction of play and Taz jinked his way over the try line for the first score.  The Pirates were soon on the attack and spread the ball wide to the left wing where Kealan Jones sidestepped the home defence to make the score two nil.  Following good tackles from Cian and Iestyn, Taz played the ball to Madi who in turn ran in the first of his 4 tries.  The driving maul was working well, lead by Dennis and Kieran.  Half-time score 4 nil.  The second half was similar to the first, with the pirates attacking through Dan Brooks and Callum Pickerall.  Some fine tackling by Corey Mayne set the ball up for the strong running Rhys Williams to score the first of his 2 tries.  The final attack saw Dafydd set off on a dashing run.  He was ably supported by Katie Miller who danced her way pass three defenders to round off the scoring at 9 – 1 in favour of the Pirates.  Taz was voted man of the match.

With heavy frost on Briton Ferry’s ground, this weeks game was re-scheduled to Corus.  Briton Ferry were missing a number of players.  The 10 boys & girl who turned up enjoyed the opportunity of a full game. The team played well and demonstrated their skills in the cold weather.  Final score Briton Ferry 9 tries – Corus 0.

Thank you to Cegsy and the other coaches at Corus for accommodating us at short notice.

Briton Ferry RFC Under 9’s, the “PIRATES”, continued their season with two fine wins over Morriston and Bryncoch. The Morriston game was a good test against a big and well organised team.  The strong defence and great ball handling gave Briton Ferry victory by 6 tries to nil.

The second game was a derby game against local friends from Bryncoch.  Briton Ferry opened the scoring and took a 3 – nil lead by half time.  A nice run from Bryncoch gave them their try for the game.  In the second half, Briton Ferry “Pirates” introduced 5 new boys from the under 8’s to give them their first taste of tackling rugby.  Well done to all.  Final score Briton Ferry 5 – Bryncoch 1. Man of the match for his ball carrying was Rhys Williams.

Briton Ferry Mini section enjoyed a great morning of Rugby at the Little Warren with games against Aberavon Greenstars and Bridgend Sports.  The under 7’s continue to improve and narrowly lost to the Green Stars.  The under 8’s and under 9’s won both their games and the under 10’s beat the Greenstars and just lost to Bridgend.

Briton Ferry RFC under 9’s, the “Pirates”, used both games to give their full squad a run out.  With an improvement in the weather, 17 players were available.  The Greenstars were first up and provided a stern test for the Pirates.  The Greenstars had some strong runners.  The team enjoyed the game and came away with a win Briton Ferry 3 tries – Aberavon Greenstars 0.

Next up was a game against Bridgend Sports.  This was a first meeting between the teams.  In this second game of the morning, all 17 squad members played on rota, each contributing to the game.  The skill level and dedication in both teams were a pleasure to behold.  Both teams ran and tackled strongly.  Bridgend provided a demanding test and made sure Briton Ferry were made to work hard for their win. Briton Ferry 4 tries – Bridgend Sports 3 tries.

For the first time in 2009 the coaches were able to wear their shorts on a Sunday morning in Pontardulais.  The Sun was shining which ensured a great game of rugby.  The Pirates kicked off and were soon in the ascendancy with some great tackling.  A quick turnover ball allowed the pirates to pass the ball wide out to Dan Brookes who showed great balance to score the games first try.  More determined tackling lead to a further turnover.  Madison Davies reacted quickly to pounce on the loose ball.  His burst was held up two metres short of the tryline.  With help from Morgan Jones, Cellan Davies and Rhys Williams, Madi drove his way over for the second try of the game. Half-time score 2 – nil to Briton Ferry.  The second half started with the pirates applying considerable pressure with Kealan Jones and Corey tackling hard.  A lovely pass from Taz Jones allowed Kyle Ball to run up the touchline and just get tackled into touch on the tryline.  One of the final plays of the game saw Madi run up the touchline, but once again a determined defence from Pontardulais stopped further scoring.  Final Score Briton Ferry 2 – Pontardulais 0.

With the players from the first game going to play for the under 10’s, the Pirates were able to field a new team of players.  Zak and Sam tackled well.  There were some lovely runs from Dennis Fidler, Kieran Nicolas and Josh. Iestyn Thompson and Cian played well throughout this second game. Final score Briton Ferry 0 – Pontardulais 3.