Another year and another great day in Cefneithin. This year was the 10th anniversary and will be memorable for: having a wrestling style intro as we took the field, a number of debuts ("This is Adrian is it alright if he has a few minutes"), the return of the Warriorettes and Lynn Williams.
As ever it was Itlay v Wales, singing, dancing and a general lurve vibe (check the album here). Tony Rees was his usual self post match and was ably helped by Chris Bonar & Jason Jenkins. As ever there was some great fundraising and the news that there will be a Warriors cabinet to celebrate the 10th anniversary which will house the new cup that Cefnithin had commisioned.
Match report
The Warriors obviously enjoyed the warm spring sunshine at Cefneithin to cut loose and pass the 50 point mark for the 1st time this season. The popular fixture was celebrating it’s 10th anniversary and the home side had put up a cup which added to the sense of occasion.
For the Warriors, returning half back Dean Gilasbey made his 100th appearance for the club whilst at the other end of the scale there were debuts for Messaggiero, Lawson and Williams. Cefneithin’s side must have had one of the largest age ranges in the clubs history with the return of several old stagers alongside some of the older youth members.
The contrast from the Warriors last game in a frozen Edinburgh couldn’t have been more stark and they hit the ground running. Captain Jonathan Kerr showed an excellent appetite for work and his strong support play saw him grab a record equalling 4 tries within the 1st half an hour. Three conversions saw him set a new match points record of 26 and left the home team visibly stunned.
It set the order for the day and both sides switched on the exhibition mind set, keeping the ball alive at all costs although the defence of both teams might need some work.
With both teams playing with width there was a battle royal on the wings with Cefn duo Alan Taylor and Tony Whittaker going hammer and tongs with Liam Carpenter and Josh Crowther of the Warriors. Taylor, hatrick hero the week before, did eventually get through the Warriors defence only for Warriors full back Lee Rowlands to hammer him in one of the biggest tackles of the game. Crowther got on the score sheet for the Warriors but it was Liam Carpenter who was named man of the match for an excellent all round performance. Whittaker also looked dangerous on occasion and slotted 2 conversions.
Rob Hughes got the pick of the Warriors efforts with a great solo run from half way while Messaggiero, and Lawson got over on their debuts. Dancing prop Jason Bennett completed the Warriors try scoring. Messaggiero and Hughes also improved their efforts to give the Warriors their highest total in 4 years.
Cefn recovered well from their early set backs and eventually notched 8 tries of their own. Marcos led the way with two darting efforts, whilst Williams and Hollbroke finished sweeping moves. The biggest cheer of the day was for veteran Tony Rees who rolled back the years to show the youngsters how it’s done with a storming effort. Nothing could spoil the Warriors day though and the Llanelli side claimed the cup which will now become an annual prize.
Warriors XV: Lee Rowlands, Joshua Crowther, Neil Parker (Nathan Lawson), Alun Stephens, Liam Carpenter, Dean Gilasbey, Mathew Jones, Huw Jenkins (Colin Talcon), Jason Jenkins, Jason Bennett (Adrian Williams, Chris Bonar), John Horwood, Jon Kerr (Cpt), Luke Messaggiero, Rob Hughes, Gwilym Lewis
Man of the Match: Liam Carpenter
It was nice to have Dean Gilasbey back at half back and the difference for the Warriors was obvious with play switching nicley around the field. The official review doesn't mention Alan Taylor's red card from Charlie for (again) fighting with Gwilym but he probaly had had enough by then anyway from Rowlands. Tony gets bite of the day for his fantastic reation to any teasing from the Warriors ranks whilst Liam had a great game on the wing and deserved his Man of the Match bottle of bubbly. With the Bonar family largley absent (see below) it fell to the Messaggiero's to provide the biggest crowd of the day with young Luke getting a try, conversion and almost a can of beer off Lee Rowlands all on his debut (Just don't tell anyone he's only 16!)
The video provides a taste of the day but as ever, you had to be there!
Finally there was a shadow over the day. Anthony Bonar who usually organises so much of the Warriors day at Cefn was with his family up in Cardiff visiting his brother Jonathan. They would not wished for this to spoil the day (and it didn't) but our thoughts were also with them.
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