Coached by former Wales Sevens star Richie Pugh, the Wales Under 18 Girls side combined ruthless finishing power with staunch defence to claim golden glory.
On Saturday, Dragons ‘A’ began in impressive fashion with a comfortable 48-7 win over Scotland with Jasmine Joyce and Ellie Norkett leading the way with a brace of tries each while Robyn Wilkins banged over four conversions.
Joyce raced over twice more in the next game to guide the Dragons to a 33-19 win over England Midlands with Norkett also getting in on the act alongside Wilkins and Rhian McCulloch.
Dragons ‘A’ were held 12-12 by London and South East England but bounced back in their next game against Dragons B with a 43-5 victory.
Dragons ‘A’were unstoppable on finals day, brushing aside London and South East England 17-0 before winning the final against South West England 10-0 with Joyce and Norkett again on the score sheet.
Norkett finished the tournament with nine tries with Joyce hot on her heals with eight.
A delighted team manager Daryl Morgan said: “We were fifth last year in London so to win this time is brilliant. The girls came together as a squad and with a professional attitude fully bought into what Pughie (coach Richie Pugh) was trying to achieve.
He added: “The girls were superb – both in attack and in defence. Jasmine Joyce was a revelation on the wing. She stepped up a level at the tournament while Ellie Norkett played really well out of position for us. She gave the side plenty of go-forward and showed devastating pace out wide.
“Captain Robyn Wilkins led by example and always made her presence felt while on the field. While we scored plenty of tries, our defence won us the tournament. Megan Jones led the defensive push and pulled off four or five stunning tackles in the semi-final.
Dragons B were a development side also attending the tournament and despite putting up some brave performances, came away winless to finish eighth.
Team Manager Gwesyn Price-Jones said that despite the scorelines, there were a number of positives to come out of the tournament.
“Catrin Roberts and Rhiannon Thomas improved dramatically as the tournament went on while Rachael Norris, Annie Bevan and Jess Pritchard stood out as players not willing to give up and worked tirelessly even when games were lost. For other players it was a great experience and they gained a lot of confidence.”
Dragons A Team
Hannah Jones (Neath/Ospreys)
Rhian McCulloch (Carmarthen Quins/Scarlets)
Alisha Butchers (Carmarthen Quins/Scarlets)
Amberley Ruck (Cardiff Quins/Blues)
Megan Jones (Cardiff Quins/Blues)
Robyn Wilkins (Pencoed/Ospreys)
Ffion Jones (Carmarthen Quins/Scarlets)
Jenny Collins (Carmarthen Quins/Scarlets)
Jasmine Joyce (Haverfordwest/Scarlets)
Steph Harries (Haverfordwest/Scarlets)
Kathryn Salter (Cardiff Quins/Blues)
Elli Norkett (Neath/Ospreys)
Dragons B Team
Meg Daley (Cardiff Quins/Blues)
Catrin Roberts (Ysgol Bryntawe)
Annie Bevan (Newport High School Old Boys/Dragons)
Brook Jenkins (Newport High School Old Boys/Dragons)
Rhiannon Thomas (Neath/Ospreys)
Rachael Norris (Carmarthen Quins/Scarlets)
Jessica Pritchard (Cardiff Quins/Blues)
Malen Williams (Caernarfon/Scarlets)
Robyn Harris (Gilfach Goch/Dragons)
Kaysha Hughes (Gilfach Goch/Dragons
Issy Strinati (Cardiff Quins/Blues)
Heather Rees (Rees Camarethen Quins/Scarlets)
