The Under 12s travelled to Abernant Park, the home of Glyneath RFC to face Ystalyfera in the Ospreys Cup Final. There was a rugby legend in the crowd; none other than Max Boyce who had come along to watch what was to be an incredible display of rugby by both sides.

We haven’t played ‘fera this season and had lost by just one try to them on our past two encounters. So, we were under no illusions about the size of the task that faced us.

We won the toss and elected to play “downhill” in the first half.

We started well, receiving the ball from the kick off and running hard at the ‘fera defence. Our forwards provided quick ruck ball and Sam kicked for territory just inside ‘fera’s half. They threw the ball to the front of the lineout and Koby flew out of the line to intercept the pass from the scrum half and run 50m for our first try. Sam slotted the conversion and we were 7-0 up. Great Start.

We had our tails up and carried well again with the forwards and backs working their way down the field. Ystalyfera gave a penalty just outside the 22 and we elected to take the three points. Ten minutes in and ten points to nil.

Ystalyfera battled hard and managed to get deep into our half. The Dunvant pack put in a massive shift on the floor and a great turnover saw us mount a counter-attack from deep in our half. Two quick passes set Isak free and he ran almost 70m beating numerous defenders to score on the right wing. Sam narrowly missed the conversion so it was 15-0 with ten minutes to go until half time.

Ystalyfera were never going to lie down though and they threw the kitchen sink at us for the final ten minutes of the half. They pinned us deep in our half and were camped in our 22 until another incredible turnover by Ben Whettleton allowed Sam to clear into touch. We ran into the sheds with a 15-0 lead.

The second half was uphill both physically and metaphorically. We kicked off and ‘fera employed a great kicking game to pin us back in our 22. Their outside half had a cracking boot on him and he tried his best to pin us back.

Dunvant had to defend for the next fifteen minutes as ‘fera kept coming at us. Our defence was outstanding but some over-eagerness meant that we found ourselves on the wrong side of the ref. They kicked their penalties to touch and attacked us from the front of the lineout. They kept knocking at the door with their massive front row but we managed to keep them out.

However, by this point the ref deemed us to be “persistent offenders” and showed Ben a yellow card. They kicked to touch again and then managed to get over the line for their first try from 5m out. They missed the conversion and so the score remained at 15-5.

Both sides battled it out for the next ten minutes but Dunvant’s excellent defence was resolute and managed to keep them out. They did manage to get the ball to their super-fast winger who weaved his way along the right-hand touchline to make the score 15-10. The conversion was missed and the ref indicated that there was time for one more play. With hearts in mouths we kicked off and managed to win a penalty from the re-start. We tapped and kicked the ball into touch and the celebrations started!

The celebrations were cut short when the assistant referee deemed a Dunvant player to have been offside for the penalty kick, which meant ‘fera had one more chance to win the game. They took the quick tap but our forwards closed them down quickly and ‘fera were penalised for holding on. Sam tapped the ball and gave it to our tight head prop Ben who belted the ball into touch to end the game 15-10 to Dunavnt.

It was an incredible game of rugby, played in exactly the right spirit by two very talented teams. It was easy to forget that this was an Under 12’s game at times!

During our cup run we have scored a total of 181 points and have conceded just 25 points, which says something about the strength our defence!

We travel to Beddau RFC on Sunday for our next test.

The coaches and players would like to thank all the Mums, Dads and other family members for supporting the team this year.

https://www.dunvantrfc.co.uk/photos/under-12s-cup-final-1058240.html