Dragons U16s in Leicester
The Gwent Dragons U16s regional team set off for Loughborough and Leicester early Saturday morning. The players were particularly tired from the training session the night before where ‘contact skills’ were the order of the day.
The trip had been organised to finish the pre-season programme of the age group in preparation for the Regional Championship, which will prove to be as competitive as ever.
The squad stayed overnight in Loughborough University where the staff and players had the opportunity to examine in detail the previous games and in particular, the unlucky loss to the Ospreys the week before. The players showed great level of maturity and took responsibility for their time, organising themselves throughout the weekend. This was a real step up for the squad as they have been constantly encouraged by the staff to take responsibility for their actions and be ‘leaders’ both on and off the field.
On the Sunday, the team travelled to Leicester Tigers training ground where they were to play in a round robin tournament against Leicester Tigers, Northampton Saints, Leeds Carnegie and Newcastle Falcons.
The Dragons battled against a much bigger Leicester Tigers team in the opening game, with the Tigers players fighting to secure academy contracts. The game started off slowly but the Dragons soon started working their way into the game, dominating in the set piece but unfortunately, could not turn pressure into points. The game finished an exciting 0-0.
Changes were made for the next game against Northampton Saints. With the weather preventing both teams from playing the expansive game they had worked towards, the Dragons dug deep and ground out a 5-0 win.
The next game was against the Newcastle Falcons who had demonstrated throughout the tournament that they were amongst one of the better teams. The Dragons started off slowly, over-awed by the passion and commitment of the Falcons team. This led to a 10-0 lead at half time for the men from the North. A couple of forced changes through injury just before half time really changed the game and the Dragons battled through to gain the upper hand in the second half. In the end though it was too little too late and the Falcons held out 10-5.
The last game of the day was to prove to be the toughest. Leeds Carnegie had beaten all before them in the day and were in a confident mood when starting out. The Dragons players were extremely motivated and wanted to show the travelling supporters exactly what they could do. The game started off in a to and fro fashion, with both teams having opportunities to score. The Dragons lineout was dominate and the scrum was solid but poor weather conditions often meant the last pass didn’t quite go to hand.
The Dragons however, scored first through an opportunist interception try from Rhodri Lloyd but just before half time, after extreme pressure from the Leeds pack, they equalised after a driving lineout.
The second half turned out to be a battle of attrition. Leeds dominated the early part of the half, with about 90% possession but the Dragons defence was outstanding, forcing the Leeds players backwards at every opportunity. Despite being under a huge amount of pressure from the Leeds supporters, the Dragons remained composed and disciplined and eventually finished the half on top. Unfortunately, the game ended in another draw.
The weekend was a huge success on all fronts as the players are beginning to show their maturity and will to improve as individuals and as a team. James Chapron, Head Coach commented, “this was a great opportunity to try out some new combinations and give every players some game time. I was impressed with the level of committement of the players if, at times, the skill level needed to be improved. This tournament will give us huge confidence going into Sundays game against North Wales.”
The Dragons 16s play their next game at Rhymney RFC on Sunday 7th September, 2pm Kick off.
