Fixture

Result: Oakdale: 6  Bargoed: 6

After the clouds had cleared, it was time for the rugby to shine. With a double header approaching, the crowd gathered in anticipation of what was to be an exciting couple of games for Oakdale Under 8's.

First up, was the local derby with Bargoed. Like us, their will to play an expansive, passing game was evident in the opening stages with some lovely passages of play. Bargoed deservedly took the lead after some excellent defence from Oakdale, most notably Ollie and Ruben but we were unable to stem the overlap on the lefthand side with an excellant offload. But what was to be a familiar pattern to the game, Oakdale struck back with their first try of the game coming from 'whippet William'. In what proved to be a close game there were only another 2 tries in the first half with Oakdale again coming from behind to even the match at 2-2, with the speedster Ollie putting his after burners on to carry him over the line.

The second half was a similar pattern with Bargoed going ahead on a few occasions with some dodgy calls by the ref, but the impressive Tyler was too hot to handle and twice hauled his team back into contention. With the game heading into the final stages there was a flurry of tries from both sides. Gethin was on hand to pop up outside Joe, whose lovely pass ensured he could finish a fine flowing move. But as the game looked to be heading for a draw Bargoed snatched a try with minutes remaining. Surely there wasnt time for a reply... From the restart Joseph took the ball and made some yards only to find a sea of blue in front of him. With some quick thinking, he drew players in, got tagged then whipped it out to Joe, who rang down the line and into the corner in waht was the last move of the game levelling it at 6 a piece.

Result: Oakdale: 5  Pontypool: 6

After an absorbing first game, the second didnt disappoint with some excellant play co-ordinated by Oakdale's influential coach, Lee. Tyler started the second game as he finished the first with an explosive try from left to right sending the Pontypool players into a daze. But the try of the day had to go to Joseph who despite having seen some earlier runs halted, made the most the space as he side stepped 2 players and burst through another gap to score in the corner with a memorable try. With Oakdale leading, the super subs on the side were on hand to give them some vocal support and a man of the match performance from Tyler saw him notch his second of the game and 4th of the day saving his best til last with his trade mark burst of speed. With our back against the walls at the end of the first half it was down to Pacey and Gethin to galvanise the players with some excellant tagging in defense.

The second half began brightly with the boys having a good amount of posession and some encouraging signs of passing from Charlie who led the line well. With the game in the balance it took some wonderful tagging from Ruben who put a good shift in, as he was in inspired form roaming the field looking for his next tag. With a few of the boys missing the energy levels started to drop but they dug in and were rewarded with a wonderful solo effort from Ollie who ran almost the length of the field leaving a trail of players bedazzled. Unable to hold on to the ball proved costly as Pontypool were very quick offloading to seal the win in the final few minutes.

With a sporting tunnel at the end and some raptuous applause from the crowd, Oakdale came off with plenty of smiles and were looking forward to thier weekly hotdog! 

Man of the Match: Tyler Symons

Well done boys. Thanks again to the coaches Adam and Lee.