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 team had suffered a major setback before they even left for London when star player Delun Alcock had to withdraw with a knee ligament injury suffered in a 15-a-side game against Canadian touring team Cobourg. Delun, a stand out player with the Scarlets U18 squad this season, was one of the star performers when the team won the title in 2015.
The girls took their time to warm up and looked a little rusty and tired against St David’s school in the first pool game but they soon got going and by the time that they overcame Bro Myrddin 35-5 in their final pool game they had racked up 181 points whilst only conceding five.
The semi-final proved to be a bruising affair against a strong team from Peter Symonds College and at half time they were only 14-12 ahead but some quality interplay and finishing from Lucy Packer and Caitlin Lewis helped the team run out 26-12 winners.
The depth of the squad was evident as the physical nature of the contests meant that Katie Plimmer, Eloise Battledore and Alanah Walters always made an impact off the bench and added to the team’s second half performances.
Star performer for Ysgol Dyffryn Aman throughout the tournament was Scarlet centre Carly Jones. She led the team by example, overcoming a calf strain to make huge defensive hits and score numerous long range tries. She was ably supported by the three workhorses in the forwards – Jess Jones, Ayesha Fairclough and Megan Williams, who didn’t miss a tackle all day.
Special mention has to go to Year 10 & 11 pupils Celyn Lazenby, Lowri Williams, Emma Landek, Caitlin Lewis and Lucy Packer who were outstanding members of the squad. Lucy Packer played every minute of every game whilst Caitlin Lewis produced the performance of the final with her long range finishing.
A delighted Gareth Potter said, “To win the trophy last year was a magnificent achievement but to retain it this year was something special. The girls’ attitude and desire on a tough day of competition never waned and they thoroughly deserved the victory. Mrs Llewellyn and the other members of the PE staff at YDA have worked tirelessly to achieve moments like this.”
Girls rugby is excelling at the school with strong U13 and U15 teams in the pipeline. Additionally one of the new cluster teams for girls rugby has been located at Ammanford RFC and will encompass the girls from the Amman, Gwendraeth and Tywi valleys. The Valley Vixens or Cadnoid y Cymoedd will start training and playing in April with teams at U9 / U11 / U13 and U 15 level. Anyone interested in playing, coaching or volunteering as a helper please get in touch with the school’s hub officer, Gareth Potter (gwpotter@dyffrynaman.org)
