Dragons Women Under-18s played out an competitive and entertaining 5-5 encounter with RGC in the latest rounds of fixtures in the Regional Age Grade Championships.
Due to the recent adverse weather affecting pitches, the planned double-header at Llandovery was split meaning the West Wales derby between Scarlets and Ospreys was held at Maes y Gwendraeth while the second match of the day was held at the Centre for Sporting Excellence, Ystrad Mynach, both in front of considerable crowds.
The second match of the day was evenly matched in attack and defence and both Dragons and RGC showed a huge amount of intent to play running rugby with ball in hand.
RGC travelled south on the back of an impressive 29-8 win over Ospreys last weekend while Dragons were keen to get some match points after going down 20-0 to Cardiff in Round 1.
The skill level of both teams was extremely high and with very few handling errors in the first-half, RGC took the first points of the match with a try for prop Ela Basinger.
Dragons came closest to the try line through lock Angel Band and right wing Molly Mae-Powell who dashed past the RGC defence only to lose possession over the line.
The half-backs impressed along with both full-backs and Dragons forwards Eleri Davies, Chiara Pearce and Molly Owen carried the ball particularly strongly.
It was flanker Pearce who finally claimed a try for the Gwent side 10 mins before the final whistle.
Despite end-to-end rugby for the remaining minutes and a continued commitment to claim the elusive win, the scores remained tied at 5-5.
Liza Burgess, WRU Lead Female Age Grade Coach, said: “The standard has gone up so much since last year. We watched two very exciting games and over the first two regional rounds so far we’ve seen an impressive level of consistency.
“We’ve seen some great skills especially in the line-out and all the teams today showed an encouraging intent to spread the ball. RGC set their stall last week with an impressive win, Dragons were determined to improve this week.
“Both teams this evening were keen to get the win, but their defences were up to the mark too.”
Wales U18 head coach Catrina Nicholas-McLaughlin added, “I’m very impressed by the standard.
“We’ve seen a vast improvement this season already. We are seeing the advantages of having the pathway in place. We are seeing a lot more girls playing rugby at this level and their athletic ability has improved too.
“Nine tries altogether in round two and there was a clear desire to win until the bitter end while the quality of the sides’ defences have also gone up a notch.”
