Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Llanelli Warriors 34 Cambrian 22 (Match 146)

The final match of the season saw another Warriors victory. Unbeaten at home for the 2nd time in 3 seasons the Warriors only lost at Swansea University for a record of played 12, won 11, lost 1. The bright sunshine and hard grounds showed summer had arrived but opposing Directors of Rugby blamed each other for the Saturday kick off with Block reporting he had told Rowlands the Cam' would struggle for a team on that day whilst Lee maintained it was Blocks idea. The Cam certainly did have a lack of players but luckily the Warriors (via Mynydd y Garreg) had plenty.
Former Warriors, Mynydd and Furnace (and Betws) leg end 'Evil' Mike Esney (complete with personal supporter Justin Townsend)was first to volunteer to join the Cam ranks and with Dean Roberts having brought the Thomas twins Kerrie and Andrew down from the mountain for their Warriors debuts the Club were able to donate Lee Rowlands, James Duw Duw and a Carpenter. Jonathan Kerr had the distinction of playing against both Fathers when Phil Will was press ganged into joining John Kerr whilst various other Warriors swopped to appear for both sides. The highlights of all this were Phil's panic when passed the ball and 'two hairy cavemen who looked like they hadn't eaten for days came tearing at me'and Joshua going round Simon Tarw. There were also late apperances in the Cam ranks from Cotterall and some bloke in an e**land jersey.

Anyway it was a fun match:
MATCH REPORT
The Llanelli Warriors completed their season with victory over the Cambrian XV in their traditional curtain raiser to their Presentation evening. It completed their most successful season, unbeaten at home they lost just 1 of their 12 fixtures and were obviously determined to finish on a high. However with the Cambrian doubling as HQ for the Warriors there was plenty of familiarity and rivalry on the field making for two motivated teams.
For once the Warriors got off to a strong start, the hard conditions suiting their open brand of rugby. Half backs Gilasbey and Roberts soon showed the way they wanted to play and opened everything out. They gained early rewards when centre Alun Stephens crossed and another early attack saw Lee Barber squeeze into the corner.
Not surprisingly it took the Cambrian a bit longer to gel but strong running prop Simon Delaney charged over to get them into the match.
The strong running of Stephens (Warriors) and Delaney (Cambrian) was a feature of the game. Stephens was later named man of the match but Delaney had the satisfaction of outscoring his opponent 3 tries to 2. Others to stand out were the Carpenter brothers Liam and David while forward Darren Pollitt provided good line out ball and contributed in the loose. For Cambrian Joshua Crowther proved an elusive runner while Phil Williams maintained his usual standard.
A second try from Lee Barber plus one apiece for the Thomas brothers Kerie and Andrew put the Warriors firmly in command but Jason Bennett got one back for Cambrian and they had the final word when Delaney completed his hatrick.
It was no less than the Cambrian team deserved with the likes of John Kerr and Richard Evans giving their all. The Warriors though will have been delighted to end their season on a high note.

Tony Whittaker (Cpt), David Carpenter (Liam Carpenter), Andrew Thomas, Alun Stephens, Joshua Crowther, Dean Roberts, Dean Gilasbey, Richard Evans, Jason Jenkins, Colin Talcon (Darren Pollitt), Jonathan Kerr, Kerie Thomas, Lee Barber, Simon Jenkins, Gwilym Lewis

Cambrian XV inc: Jason Bennett, Lee Rowlands, Mike Esney, Coco, James Dew, various relatives of James Dew, Richard Evans, Dai Carpenter, Joshua Crowther, Colin Talcon, John Kerr, Phil Williams, Simon Delany, Cotterall and a bloke in an e**land jersey
Warriors scores: Lee Barber, Alun Stephens (2 tries), Kerrie Williams, Andrew Williams (try), Simon Jenkins (2 conversions)
Cambrian Scores: Simon Delany (3 tries), Jason Bennett (try), Coco (conversion).
Seren y gem: Alun Stephens

There was obviously a bit of rivalry between the sides with so many friends, relatives and former team mates involved but no one took it quite a seriously as Lee Rowlands who after a couple of cheap shots on Gwilym Lewis found he had to leave the field and eventually attend A&E. Comedy moments included Neil Parkers laconic refereeing style (when not on the phone), Mike Esney's tackling technique and Kerie Thomas' awesome interception try.
The most hotly contested award though was for 'biggest pwdi/strop' where Jon Kerr's simmering moaning for 80 minutes was matched by pout of the year from Captain Tony Whittaker.



This shot shows Jonny Kerr moaning- in fact every photo of this match was taken whilst Kerr was moaning

Can't make anyone out in this photo - but can still almost hear Kerr

Colin & Bloc watch in resignation as Darren Petticoat confirms himself the latest Warriors line out hero

Bloc frozen with shock as Big Al named Seren y Gem (on his 75th apperance)

This is what happens if you are a semi retired f**tball wuss who tries to mix it with the big boys : Gwil 1 Lee 0




Then on to presentation Night which you can read about here: cliciwch