By David Parsons
Llandovery College made history by becoming the first school side to win the WRU’s elite WSC Rugby Cup with a 28-13 win over 14-man Ysgol Glantaf.
The win at Principality Stadium ensured Joe Denman’s side completed an unbeaten season in the tournament and went one better than two years ago when they fell at the final hurdle to Cardiff & Vale College.
Llandovery College made the most of Ysgol Glantaf going down to 14 and then 13 men in the first all-schools cup final in WSC Rugby.
Llandovery outside-half Carwyn Leggatt-Jones picked up the player of the match award for his mature display, selected by Wales captain Jac Morgan.
What a day. What a team…..Iori and his team mates at Llandovery College winning the Welsh Schools and Colleges Cup at the Principality Stadium. Going unbeaten in league and becoming the best u18 team in Wales!! pic.twitter.com/jEgD3KuL25
— Ian Badham (@IanBadham) December 7, 2023
Nathan Thomas, director of rugby at Llandovery College, said: “We are ecstatic at how things went. To win the first competition of the new format in WSC Rugby is fantastic for this group.
“We made hard work of it in the second half when we had a one-man advantage. We didn’t really capitalize on that, but we stuck in there and there was a key moment on our own try line when we won a turnover, drove it out and got to the half-way line.
“Their second yellow card gave us a real opportunity. It was difficult for Glantaf to hold us out with only 13-men.
“The red card came out of nowhere. It looked like an innocuous incident, and it gave us the advantage. But it frightened us a bit as well because Glantaf are so good with ball in hand and we thought they would have to have a go at us.
“Luckily, the weather held them back and the tries for us at the end were the icing on the cake. This shows that Glantaf and Llandovery, as school teams, can match the big colleges with a good set of coaches, people and players.”
Congratulations to WRU WSC Rugby National Boys U18s Champions Llandovery College @LlandoveryColl who emerged victorious with a 28-13 win over Ysgol Glantaf @Ysgol_Glantaf pic.twitter.com/X9tsbciQoK
— Principality Stadium (@principalitysta) December 6, 2023
Llywach ap Myrddin, head coach of Ysgol Glantaf, said: “We spoke about playing the Glantaf style, but I don’t think we came out and did that.
“We offloaded less than 10 times and that’s not us. There were opportunities to play, and we didn’t.
“Fair play to Llandovery, they managed the middle third very well and their game management was better.
“Their line out also put us under pressure. We talked about not leaving anything out there and I don’t think we did. Our character and energy were brilliant.
“When we went down to 14-men I think it was harsh on a 17-year-old kid. We showed a bit more fight and speeded up the game in the second half. We had opportunities, we got over their line and knocked it on. We just weren’t clinical enough.”
Congratulations @LlandoveryColPE fantastic well deserved. https://t.co/Z6wJoUOVKo
— Huw (@HuwConquer) December 7, 2023
Leggatt-Jones said: “It’s all a bit surreal going nine from nine in the league and then beating Glantaf in the final.
“They never stopped, even with the red card. They gave their all, but I’m so proud of our boys.
“It’s class to get the player of the match award, but it wasn’t only me. Without the boys backing me up then I couldn’t have played my game to get the rewards.
“There was a big following from Llandovery, and I’d like to thank them all for coming. It’s brilliant that they were prepared to come a long way to support us.
“When they came out with 14 men for the second half we knew they would come harder at us. We were still a bit shocked at just how hard they came – they gave us a hall of a game.”
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