Ahead of their game in the National Youth Bowl Final, we caught up with Resolven RFC.
Before they take on Tenby at the Principality Stadium on the weekend, Head Coach of the side , Craig Pritchard is looking forward to the challenge ahead:
“It’s so exciting! We’re all thrilled for the boys to have the opportunity to play in the Principality Stadium. It’s a once in a lifetime chance and we’re all really chuffed.”
“It was a bit of a mixed start to the season. We had some new players come in and some of the boys were representing the Ospreys at regional level, but we said from the start that one of our targets was to take this cup seriously. We looked at it and said that five wins would get us to the final, and every time the cup came around we put in a solid performance.”
Joining Pritchard in the coaching team is joint Head Coach, Steve Lewis, and assistant coaches Garwyn “Gaffa” Ridge, Lynne Roderick, Darren Davies and Kevin Lewis, who all help out during the course of the season.
“The boys are all ecstatic and can’t wait for the day to come around. As the final was getting closer the pressure was really starting to build. The semi-final especially you could see the pressure on the boys and they were really nervous before and probably during that game. But after the final whistle you could see the pure relief and joy in the boys faces and what it means to them. That was the game we needed to win with the prize being to make it to the Principality Stadium, and they did it!”
The young side have picked up some impressive wins during the course of the competition. They kicked off with a 55-3 win away to Cwmgors in the opening round, before going onto beat Briton Ferry and Gowerton and Porthcawl in the quarter finals.
“It not only means a lot to them, but it means a lot for all their families, the club and the community. We have people stopping us to say well done and have a lot of support behind the squad which is just superb.”
A tense game against Cwmavon in the semi-finals, saw the side take the 27-22 victory, earning them a spot in the finals against Tenby.
Speaking about their opponents, Pritchard said: “We don’t know a lot about them, we’ve never played them before but met their coaches when we had our briefing ahead of the finals. Just by looking at their league results, you can see they are a strong side and must be a tough side to have made it to the finals. Even though it’s the Bowl competition, we’ve played some very good sides to get here, so they would have had to have done the same.”
“It’s going to be a tough challenge, but one we’re very much looking forward to and can’t wait for.”
Catch the squad in action on Saturday 4th May at the Principality Stadium, K.O 11am.
Photo courtesy of Tia Sandry Photography.