By David Parsons
Joey Williams had a sleepless night after leading Coleg Y Cymoedd to an amazing 49-46 semi-final win over Ysgol Glantaf to reach Thursday evening’s WSC U18 Rugby final against reigning champions Llandovery College at the Principality Stadium.
Now, the scrum-half is hoping to have a peaceful night on the eve of the big day out in the Welsh capital without the nerves getting the better of his slumber.
“I’ve never played in a game like that before with 14 tries and 93 points. I don’t think I slept after the win over Glantaf,” admitted Williams.
“That feeling died down a bit, but we are all excited and very focused on the final. It is going to be another great occasion for us.
“The semi-final was an amazing game and in that period of 20 minutes at the start of the second half we managed to run away with it a bit and turn a nine-point half-time deficit into a healthy lead.
“Fair play to Glantaf, they were able to rally, and the final 10 minutes of the game showed how good our character is and how well we can defend. I hope we can take that into the final.
“There is a title to be won and the important thing for us is to focus on ourselves. We know our potential and we know how good Llandovery can be.”
Your @CYCRugbyUnion Captains for the 24/25 season ahead ⬛️ pic.twitter.com/JEWh328quI
— CYC Rugby Union (@CYCRugbyUnion) September 18, 2024
Williams is one of a number of players in the Cymoedd side who played in the Cardiff Rugby Regional Age Grade U18 team last season and is hoping to get a call to play in this season’s rebranded Academy U18 tournament in January.
As the bridge between forwards and backs at scrum half he has been tactical crucial all season in his side’s march to a first final in five years.
Cymoedd have an amazing pedigree in the competition which features the top 16 rugby playing schools and colleges in Wales split into two Conferences, but they haven’t won the title since the 2018-19 season.
That year they beat arch-rivals Coleg Sir Gar 28-19 to take the title for the fifth time. This will be their ninth final in the 14 years of the competition.
Williams leads a side that boasts one senior academy member at Cardiff, prop Dylan Barrett, and five junior academy members in Lucca Alexander-White (lock), Ioan Dacey (No 8), Calen Edwards (wing), Ioan Leyshon (centre) and Ben Coomer (outside-half).
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a special mention to Joey Williams – player of the tournament #Sardis7s2024 ☀️ pic.twitter.com/YGMrLw33Uu
— Pontypridd RFC (@PontypriddRFC) July 26, 2024
Coomer was the talk of the town after his 19-point contribution in the semi-final win and Williams is hoping to provide him with all the ammunition he needs to allow Cymoedd to explode in the final against a team that beat them 47-27 in their regular league clash.
“Ben is unbelievable. I’ve played with him for a number of years now and what he is capable of is staggering,” said Williams.
“He’s very impressive, has a great kicking game and he’s always great to have around in the team, so it will be interesting to see how he performs in the final. He always seems so calm and laid back – I don’t know how he does it.
“I’ve never played a game at the Principality Stadium before and while it has been a bit disappointing watching the senior Wales team lose so many games, it still remains every kid’s dream to pull on that jersey and play there.
“Among my many ambitions is definitely to become a professional rugby player and I’m working hard towards that.”
Well said. Great experience for everyone involved https://t.co/skex7p07DI
— LlandoveryCollege PE (@LlandoveryColPE) October 19, 2024
As well as his highly influential half-backs, Cymoedd head coach Geraint Lewis has a few other gems in his ranks.
Wing Calen Edwards ran in two tries in the semi-final and No 8 Ioan Dacey carried hard.
“Joey and Ben are very influential for us, but Dylan Barrett has been outstanding at prop and contributes in all areas of the game. Logan Lloyd is a player we converted from centre to hooker, and he has become very influential as well,” said Lewis.
“He makes things that a lot of players find difficult, look very easy. Then, there is Logan Jones making things tick in the midfield outside Ben.
“The great thing is that most of our team are first years, so they will be back for more next year. We had a disappointing set of results last year, but that was a bit of an anomaly.
“We were third in the table the year before and now we are back in the final. But the simple fact is that it is getting harder and harder because there are more and more good teams and players in the league.
“You have to turn up and perform for each of your nine matches, which is easier said than done.”
Super Rygbi Cymru round-up: Latest from our Academy boys playing in the SRC
Will Evans and Jac Davies cross for tries for Drovers
Bois yr Academi yn serennu yng nghynghrair Super Rygbi Cymru
https://t.co/R6KI1pCqao#nextgeneration #ygenhedlaethnesaf pic.twitter.com/o6Afk8MV41
— Scarlets Academy (@ScarletsAcademy) October 7, 2024
