Under the guidance of coach Aled Parry, the team produced a superb display of flowing seven a side rugby with all 12 girls in the squad making huge contributions along the way.
The day hadn’t started well for the YDA girls as a motorcycle accident en route meant that they were within seconds of being disqualified from the tournament. Luckily, team managers Helen Gazzi and Lynne Llewellyn were able to soothe things over with the tournament organisers as the girls ran onto the pitch for their first match against King Henry VIII School from Coventry. The girls soon settled into top form and ran out 61-0 winners.
They then had to take on last year’s winners Clyst Vale Community school in a much tougher match and, despite an early scare, emerged deserving winners by 26-10.
Then came their first all-Welsh derby of the day as they took on QE High School from Carmarthen. In what was
their toughest game of the pool the girls played excellent passing rugby to run out 31-5 victors and almost secure their place in the semi finals. It was left to the others within the strong squad to see off Bloxham School, 26-7, in the last pool match to ensure they went through as pool winners having scored 144 points and conceded just 22 points.
The semi final promised to be a bruising affair against a physical team from Christ’s Hospital but, in probably the performance of the tournament, they were outstanding in a 29-12 win. This set up the all-Wales final where they met Bro Dinefwr.
With many of the girls on both sides being team mates outside school with Ammanford U18s there was little to choose between them in the early stages but as time went on YDA’s better teamwork, running and passing skills saw Carly Jones, Hannah Jones and Lucy Packer cross for the decisive scores.
Angharad de Smet ran strongly for their opponents but was marked tightly by Caitlin Lewis and Delun Allcock and with Meg Williams and Catherine Jones proving dominant in the tight exchanges they won a great
game by 19-10.
With squad members Brittany Lewis, Ayesha Fairclough, Katie Plimmer, Alannah Walters and Jess Jones outstanding every time they came on the field there were huge celebrations at the final whistle.
Star performer for Ysgol Dyffryn Aman throughout the tournament was Welsh international Hannah Jones. The bad news for their opponents next year is that 10 of the squad will be available to return. In fact two of the players in the final’s starting team, Caitlin Lewis and Lucy Packer, will still be available for the next three years!
The appointments of Tom Marks (Bro Dinefwr) and Gareth Potter (Dyffryn Aman) as rugby officers with the schools last September has meant that added time is now being put into rugby development at both centres.
Ysgol Dyffryn Aman have introduced rugby into the Girls PE lesson timetable and no doubt both teams performance in Rosslyn Park showed that the future of girls rugby in East Carmarthenshire is bright!
