RHYL and District RFC’s youth team made the long journey to Swansea to play Vardre RFC youth on Saturday (January 8) in the WRU (Welsh Rugby Union) Bowl, ending in an admirable defeat.

Rhyl RFC youth were without some key players due to RGC (Rygbi Gogledd Cymru / North Wales Rugby) commitments, but were strong from the start, piling the pressure on Vardre, and got the first points on the board after a well-placed penalty from Tom Jones.

After some back-and-forth rugby, Vardre scored with a well-earned try from their number 14 which was converted, putting the scoreline at 7-3.

Rhyl quickly replied with a well-worked try on the wing; unfortunately, it wasn't converted, but put the score at 8-7.

Vardre worked hard then against the Rhyl defence and managed to get two more tries before the half-time whistle; one of which was converted, so put the half time score at 19-8.

The second half started well for Rhyl, with a well-placed kick and chase by Matt Ousey, which opened up the door for another try for Rhyl.

After this, it was a battle of attack and defence, though with a fair number of injury stoppages, neither team was able to build much in the way of momentum.

Vardre managed to score one more try before the final whistle was called, with the score ending 24-13 to Vardre.

Meanwhile, on a great night for rugby on Friday (January 7) on a cold, wet evening in Blaenau Ffestiniog, a mix of Rhyl's under-14s and under-15s sides bravely travelled all that way to face Bro Ffestiniog's same age mix.

Rhyl played out of their skins against a well-drilled, aggressive Bro side, recording a 25-0 win; forwards were creating good, clean balls for the backs to produce some great runs.

Bro were relentless in attack but were pinned back by the unbelievable Rhyl defence, who performed heroically on a wet, horrible night.