Caernarfon is ready for veterans' festival
Jan 28 2010 by Rob Griffiths, Daily Post
IT’S been a tough task, but everything is finally starting to fall into place for the 10th European Golden Oldies Rugby Festival which is taking place in June in Caernarfon.
In little more than five months’ time, 34 teams and more than 1,100 players will descend on the Gwynedd town for a three-day rugby festival, with the chance to become European champions.
But that is of little consequence for most of the participants, who will be rolling back the years when they take to the field at Caernarfon rugby club’s Y Morfa ground.
“It’s not about winning, it’s about enjoying your rugby,” claimed organiser Emrys Jones.
“We want the community to be included in this – it’s not just a rugby tournament, but a festival.
“The Golden Oldies’ motto is ‘fun, friendship and fraternity’, but we’ve added family as well, because we want this to be a family event that everyone can enjoy.
“This has taken more than two years organise and it is all starting to fit into place.”
Another motto doing the rounds at the official launch of the festival was “We don’t stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing”, and that idea was clear as Jones enthusiastically explained the idea behind the tournament.
Essentially it is a 20-minute each way 15-a-side match – although games can often last a little longer or shorter – with a few rule changes added in.
A player’s age or physical well-being determines the colour shorts they are wearing, which in turn signifies whether a player can indeed be tackled with full contact, can only be stopped by touch or has a free 10 yards (an advantage reserved for the more senior participants).
Jones said: “We as the Gogs (Geriatrics O Gymru) have travelled the world to Golden Oldies festivals.
“We’ve been internationally to play in New Zealand, Australia, France and then we found out about the European Golden Oldies festival and we went to our first one in Benidorm in 2004.
“Since then we’ve been to Zurich and Madeira and in 2004 we said why don’t we come to Wales?
“It’s never been here before and it’s certainly never been to a small town like Caernarfon.
“We put the application in and came second to Madeira, which is only slightly warmer that Caernarfon, but we won it for the 2010 tournament, so this year we’re hosting the 10th European Golden Oldies festival.”
Jones added: “Golden Oldies rugby itself was created in New Zealand in the ‘70s. The first one was in Auckland and there were 14 teams.
“In Scotland last year there were 100 teams and over 4,000 people and they made over £6m for the Scottish economy.
“We’re not thinking about making that much, but we have 34 teams, which is more than 1,100 participants from all over Europe.”
This year’s tournament has attracted teams from across Europe, but as well as enhancing the game, Jones is also convinced it will give a massive boost to the local economy.
“As I tell people it’s from Russia to Spain from Italy to Scotland and everywhere in the middle,” Jones added.
“It’s a weekend event, but we’ve been told that some teams are coming for the week!
“There’s a team from St Petersburg in Russia – 49 people are coming over for the whole week.
“Our finance group have told them a conservative figure that it’s £100 per person to stay per night which includes accommodation and spends. Well, that’s 49 people times seven times 100, and that’s a lot of money for a small town, from just one team.”
28.1.10
28.01.10 RGC 1404 U20S V THE BRITISH ARMY
RGC 1404 U20s 21pts The Army U20s 25pts
A close fought game at Aldershot saw the Gogs just lose out despite a thrilling last ten minutes when they besieged the Army line. Late minute cry offs saw a depleted squad of seventeen travel for six hours to play this hastily arranged game and it was the tiredness in their legs that cost them the match.
The game started with just fifteen players but they were soon in front through a fine interception try from makeshift centre Paul Selwood. A conversion from Carwyn Milburn was followed soon after by a penalty and the Gogs were coasting, dominating the set scrums. An Army penalty pulled three points back but Milburn struck again and the half time score was 13 – 3.
Two late arrivals from Swansea enabled the visitors to use substitutes but the Army were able to use eleven and began to win more ball and a further penalty closed the score. Tired legs in the centre and a strange interpretation of the scrum wheeling law meant that the soldiers were able to score under the posts from a scrum that had wheeled over 180 degrees. This fired up the outraged men in red and they were almost immediately ahead again when the outstanding Mike Hall rampaged his way through a plethora of tacklers and unloaded to the supporting Lewis Maxwell who scored wide out. Milburn missed with the kick but struck a fine penalty to enhance the lead. An infusion of fresh legs and some dubious rucking put the Army in a good position but they could not create much themselves. It was an unfortunate interception that allowed them to take the lead again and, despite the battering they took in the last few minutes they ran out relieved winners.
There were four debutantes for the Gogs and all gave great promise for the future. Stand off Tom Gravell had a assured game and Number eight Jimmy Lloyd showed his skills and strength. Young Nick Saunders, usually a 10 but playing at 15, had an impressive game, showing speed and guile in equal measures. Llangefni flanker, Declan Griffiths, was asked to play out of position at second row and showed what an all round footballer he is, earning himself the man of the match.
Coach Jimmy Waring said, “It is disappointing not to have won when we were clearly the better side but there are so many things to build on from today and I can’t wait for the return match in the next few months.”
A close fought game at Aldershot saw the Gogs just lose out despite a thrilling last ten minutes when they besieged the Army line. Late minute cry offs saw a depleted squad of seventeen travel for six hours to play this hastily arranged game and it was the tiredness in their legs that cost them the match.
The game started with just fifteen players but they were soon in front through a fine interception try from makeshift centre Paul Selwood. A conversion from Carwyn Milburn was followed soon after by a penalty and the Gogs were coasting, dominating the set scrums. An Army penalty pulled three points back but Milburn struck again and the half time score was 13 – 3.
Two late arrivals from Swansea enabled the visitors to use substitutes but the Army were able to use eleven and began to win more ball and a further penalty closed the score. Tired legs in the centre and a strange interpretation of the scrum wheeling law meant that the soldiers were able to score under the posts from a scrum that had wheeled over 180 degrees. This fired up the outraged men in red and they were almost immediately ahead again when the outstanding Mike Hall rampaged his way through a plethora of tacklers and unloaded to the supporting Lewis Maxwell who scored wide out. Milburn missed with the kick but struck a fine penalty to enhance the lead. An infusion of fresh legs and some dubious rucking put the Army in a good position but they could not create much themselves. It was an unfortunate interception that allowed them to take the lead again and, despite the battering they took in the last few minutes they ran out relieved winners.
There were four debutantes for the Gogs and all gave great promise for the future. Stand off Tom Gravell had a assured game and Number eight Jimmy Lloyd showed his skills and strength. Young Nick Saunders, usually a 10 but playing at 15, had an impressive game, showing speed and guile in equal measures. Llangefni flanker, Declan Griffiths, was asked to play out of position at second row and showed what an all round footballer he is, earning himself the man of the match.
Coach Jimmy Waring said, “It is disappointing not to have won when we were clearly the better side but there are so many things to build on from today and I can’t wait for the return match in the next few months.”
27.1.10
27.01.10 Return Match Young GOGS v Young DRAGONS
RGC 1404 Under 16s will be looking to achieve their second win over the Newport-Gwent Dragons in 7 days as they travel down to South Wales for this weekends re-scheduled game.
Last Sundays 29-24 victory by the young North Walians means that if they were to repeat their win this Sunday they will ensure that i is the Dragons rather than they who end up propping up this seasons regional age-grade table. As well as seeking to gain their second successive win,the game will also provide an opportunity for individual players to impress watching national selectors,and after last weekend's impressive performance there must be a number of the RGC 1404 squad who are close to being given the final nod.'
Best wishes
Will Morcombe
Last Sundays 29-24 victory by the young North Walians means that if they were to repeat their win this Sunday they will ensure that i is the Dragons rather than they who end up propping up this seasons regional age-grade table. As well as seeking to gain their second successive win,the game will also provide an opportunity for individual players to impress watching national selectors,and after last weekend's impressive performance there must be a number of the RGC 1404 squad who are close to being given the final nod.'
Best wishes
Will Morcombe
25.1.10
25.1.10 COBRA back in top 3 position-- James Watkin reporting
WRU Div 2 North (South Section)
23 January 2010
Llanidloes 12 – 17 COBRA
Cobra produced a strong committed performance in their crunch encounter against Llanidloes. The visitors outscored the hosts by 3 tries to nil displaying defensive grit and cutting edge in attack to regain a top 3 position in the League with 1 game remaining for both teams.
Llanidloes held the upper hand in the first quarter with outside half Dan Short kicking 3 Penalties to give his side a 9-0 lead. Cobra held their nerve and replied on the half hour mark as a long miss pass found space for full back Geraint Williams to free wing Matthew Jones who beat his man and fed an inside pass to his opposite wing Ifan Evans to crash over. Williams’ conversion attempt narrowly went wide. Cobra now in the ascendancy took the lead as prop Andy Evans broke through the defensive line and found flanker Alun Jones who sprinted clear and powered through the full back to score under the posts. Williams converted to give Cobra a 9-12 lead at halftime.
Cobra now brimming with confidence kept Llanidloes pegged back deep in their own half with strong tackling and astute tactical kicking. With 15 minutes of the half gone Cobra took forced a turnover and moved the ball wide to centre Sion Wyn Williams who scythed through the defence and outstripped the fullback to score. The conversion narrowly went wide leaving Cobra with a 9-17 lead. Cobra continued to pile on the pressure but weren’t able to pull away as 2 clear try scoring chances and 2 Penalty attempts were squandered. With 5 minutes remaining Short reduced the Llanodloes' arrears to 5 points with his fourth penalty. Cobra held on comfortably through the dying minutes for a deserved win which places them in a strong position to qualify over Llanidloes for a top 3 finish.
COBRA
1 A Roberts 2 C Davies 3 A Evans 4 R Vaughan 5 H Evans 6 A Davies 7 A Jones 8 B Jones
9 I Vaughan 10 R Davies 11 I Evans 12 A Pryce 13 S Williams 14 M Jones 15 G Williams
16 C Oakley 17 G Evans 18 M Griffiths 19 F Roberts
23 January 2010
Llanidloes 12 – 17 COBRA
Cobra produced a strong committed performance in their crunch encounter against Llanidloes. The visitors outscored the hosts by 3 tries to nil displaying defensive grit and cutting edge in attack to regain a top 3 position in the League with 1 game remaining for both teams.
Llanidloes held the upper hand in the first quarter with outside half Dan Short kicking 3 Penalties to give his side a 9-0 lead. Cobra held their nerve and replied on the half hour mark as a long miss pass found space for full back Geraint Williams to free wing Matthew Jones who beat his man and fed an inside pass to his opposite wing Ifan Evans to crash over. Williams’ conversion attempt narrowly went wide. Cobra now in the ascendancy took the lead as prop Andy Evans broke through the defensive line and found flanker Alun Jones who sprinted clear and powered through the full back to score under the posts. Williams converted to give Cobra a 9-12 lead at halftime.
Cobra now brimming with confidence kept Llanidloes pegged back deep in their own half with strong tackling and astute tactical kicking. With 15 minutes of the half gone Cobra took forced a turnover and moved the ball wide to centre Sion Wyn Williams who scythed through the defence and outstripped the fullback to score. The conversion narrowly went wide leaving Cobra with a 9-17 lead. Cobra continued to pile on the pressure but weren’t able to pull away as 2 clear try scoring chances and 2 Penalty attempts were squandered. With 5 minutes remaining Short reduced the Llanodloes' arrears to 5 points with his fourth penalty. Cobra held on comfortably through the dying minutes for a deserved win which places them in a strong position to qualify over Llanidloes for a top 3 finish.
COBRA
1 A Roberts 2 C Davies 3 A Evans 4 R Vaughan 5 H Evans 6 A Davies 7 A Jones 8 B Jones
9 I Vaughan 10 R Davies 11 I Evans 12 A Pryce 13 S Williams 14 M Jones 15 G Williams
16 C Oakley 17 G Evans 18 M Griffiths 19 F Roberts
24.1.10
24.01.10 Young GOGS triumph over Young Dragons
24 January at 20:41
RGC 1404 U16’s 29 – 24 Newport Gwent Dragons U16’s
Sunday 24th January 2010 at Colwyn Bay RFC
Colwyn Bay bore witness to an action-packed, end-to-end encounter as the Gogs faced the Dragons in the first of their back-to-back encounters.
The Gogs opened the scoring after a miss-kicked penalty found it’s way into the hands of centre Mike Jones (Ruthin) who drove through and left Dion Jones (Nant Conwy) an easy conversion. A few minutes later however, an excellent interception by Dragons centre Hallam Amos gave him a score under the posts and and Niall Martin’s conversion made the scores level.
Penalties form Niall Martin and Dion Jones, followed by a further converted Dragons Try from Hooker Elliot Dee and then another converted Gogledd Try from Rob Jones (Llandudno) moved the score along to 17-17 but just before the break after the Dragons had a man sin-binned, Dion Jones slotted over a penalty to give Gogledd a 20-17 Half-Time lead.
A bad-tempered second half provided more end-to-end play and action, with Dion Jones’ boot providing the points for the Gogs as he put away a two further early penalties to extend the Gogledd lead to 26-17. Dragons had a man sent off and both sides had one man yellow-carded following a physical exchange between the players after a ruck. Dion Jones put another penalty through to make the score 29-17.
For fifteen minutes the game entertained, as both teams battled for supremacy, but as time ran out it was the Dragons who broke through with replacement Ethan Davies scoring and converting his own Try to make the final score 29-24.
Thank you to both the Gogledd boys and the Dragons boys for making this an entertaining match, and congratulations to the Gogledd boys for coming away with a valuable result.
Bryden Lloyd
U16’s Manager
RGC 1404 U16’s 29 – 24 Newport Gwent Dragons U16’s
Sunday 24th January 2010 at Colwyn Bay RFC
Colwyn Bay bore witness to an action-packed, end-to-end encounter as the Gogs faced the Dragons in the first of their back-to-back encounters.
The Gogs opened the scoring after a miss-kicked penalty found it’s way into the hands of centre Mike Jones (Ruthin) who drove through and left Dion Jones (Nant Conwy) an easy conversion. A few minutes later however, an excellent interception by Dragons centre Hallam Amos gave him a score under the posts and and Niall Martin’s conversion made the scores level.
Penalties form Niall Martin and Dion Jones, followed by a further converted Dragons Try from Hooker Elliot Dee and then another converted Gogledd Try from Rob Jones (Llandudno) moved the score along to 17-17 but just before the break after the Dragons had a man sin-binned, Dion Jones slotted over a penalty to give Gogledd a 20-17 Half-Time lead.
A bad-tempered second half provided more end-to-end play and action, with Dion Jones’ boot providing the points for the Gogs as he put away a two further early penalties to extend the Gogledd lead to 26-17. Dragons had a man sent off and both sides had one man yellow-carded following a physical exchange between the players after a ruck. Dion Jones put another penalty through to make the score 29-17.
For fifteen minutes the game entertained, as both teams battled for supremacy, but as time ran out it was the Dragons who broke through with replacement Ethan Davies scoring and converting his own Try to make the final score 29-24.
Thank you to both the Gogledd boys and the Dragons boys for making this an entertaining match, and congratulations to the Gogledd boys for coming away with a valuable result.
Bryden Lloyd
U16’s Manager
24.1.10 Llandudno 13 Ruthin 13 John Palmer match report
Match Report
23/01/2010 Ruthin 13 - 13 Llandudno (A)
Report
With Ruthin midway and Llandudno third from bottom of the table both sides were looking for a win to raise themselves up the table. First points went to Ruthin with a penalty goal from fly half Jamie Morris five minutes from the start. Ruthin were applying some pressure but were frequently conceding penalties and after a further five minutes Llandudno equalised with a penalty goal. The game continues in scrappy fashion in the middle of the field and after 35 minutes Llandudno went ahead with a further penalty goal. Although Ruthin showed sparks of good attacking play it was not consistent and the score was 6-3 to Llandudno at half time. After the break Ruthin came out with some purpose and had most of the territory but it was not until about 15 minutes into the second half that the pressure paid off and Ruthin equalised with a further Morris penalty goal. Five minutes later following a Llandudno free kick scrum half Wil Davies and winger Huw Parry combined well to offload to centre Jim Lyle who went over for a try, converted by Morris and putting Ruthin 13-6 in the lead. The seasiders missed an opportunity to reduce the arrears when a penalty goal attempt went wide but within two minutes were back level after Ruthin lowered their guard, fell for a couple of dummies and conceded a fine converted try. Ruthin spent the last 15 minutes of the game camped on Llandudnos 22 but despite good work by replacements Gethin Hughes and Marc Lloyd failed to get over the line and the whistle for full time after a series of 5 scrums yards from the seasiders try line.
23/01/2010 Ruthin 13 - 13 Llandudno (A)
Report
With Ruthin midway and Llandudno third from bottom of the table both sides were looking for a win to raise themselves up the table. First points went to Ruthin with a penalty goal from fly half Jamie Morris five minutes from the start. Ruthin were applying some pressure but were frequently conceding penalties and after a further five minutes Llandudno equalised with a penalty goal. The game continues in scrappy fashion in the middle of the field and after 35 minutes Llandudno went ahead with a further penalty goal. Although Ruthin showed sparks of good attacking play it was not consistent and the score was 6-3 to Llandudno at half time. After the break Ruthin came out with some purpose and had most of the territory but it was not until about 15 minutes into the second half that the pressure paid off and Ruthin equalised with a further Morris penalty goal. Five minutes later following a Llandudno free kick scrum half Wil Davies and winger Huw Parry combined well to offload to centre Jim Lyle who went over for a try, converted by Morris and putting Ruthin 13-6 in the lead. The seasiders missed an opportunity to reduce the arrears when a penalty goal attempt went wide but within two minutes were back level after Ruthin lowered their guard, fell for a couple of dummies and conceded a fine converted try. Ruthin spent the last 15 minutes of the game camped on Llandudnos 22 but despite good work by replacements Gethin Hughes and Marc Lloyd failed to get over the line and the whistle for full time after a series of 5 scrums yards from the seasiders try line.
24.1.10 Ruthin progress to 4th Round Swalec Plate -John Palmer reporting
Match Report
20/01/2010 Ruthin 14 - 5 Denbigh (H)
Report
This was a typical derby match between two sides keen to progress to the 4th round of the Swalec Plate. From the start it was obvious that a dour struggle between the packs would be a dominant feature of the game. Denbighs performance suffered from indiscipline with 16 of the 20 penalties awarded in the match and two yellow cards going to Denbigh. Fly half Jamie Morris kicked three penalties for the home side and scrum half Wil Davies completed Ruthins points with an unconverted try. Denbigh got one try back in the second half. Ruthin will now travel to South Wales to play either Pentyrch or Llantwit Fardre in the next round.
20/01/2010 Ruthin 14 - 5 Denbigh (H)
Report
This was a typical derby match between two sides keen to progress to the 4th round of the Swalec Plate. From the start it was obvious that a dour struggle between the packs would be a dominant feature of the game. Denbighs performance suffered from indiscipline with 16 of the 20 penalties awarded in the match and two yellow cards going to Denbigh. Fly half Jamie Morris kicked three penalties for the home side and scrum half Wil Davies completed Ruthins points with an unconverted try. Denbigh got one try back in the second half. Ruthin will now travel to South Wales to play either Pentyrch or Llantwit Fardre in the next round.
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