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Carmarthen Quins Under 9s have started their new season with a bang. Following the successes of the 2017/2018 season the squad have left behind tag rugby and are now competing in games that involve contact.

Following an extremely short period of rest due to taking part in the WRU pilot of summer rugby the young guns opened their season with a fine performance at a home to Burry Port outscoring the visitors 9 tries to 5.

The squad then took to the road on 16th September and visited Llantwit Major to take part in their annual Sinclair Festival that pulls together some of the best sides in the Cardiff Blues region. 

The Quins had the honour of being one of the first teams to kick off the festival where they played Old Penarthians second team. Against a quick witted side the Quins made their mark early and through calm play and great communication between team mates the Quins emerged victors by 5 tries to 3.

With the weather looking like it turn and spoil the quins preferred running style the action was quick to return as the Quins next faced Cowbridge second team. From the warmup it was plain to see that Cowbridge were a very well drilled and well coached side and this would be another stern test for Quins 10. With a maturity beyond their years the Quins did the basics well and not only kept Cowbridge away from the try line they managed to score three brilliant tries.

Next up was Old Penarthians first team who had a very distinct size advantage over the Quins  but the confidence of the squad yet again saw them through where they kept the ball away from contact to make their bigger opponents run more and  tire sooner. The game to the credit of both sides went from end to end with the Quins emerging victors 3 tries to 2.

In an effort to get the rugby done as quickly as possible due to Incoming poorer weather the Quins quickly took the field against Cowbridge First team and in hindsight it was a game too soon. Again it was obvious from the outset that Cowbridge are a well coached unit and they will be a very difficult team to beat but the Quins stuck at it and never let their heads down but try as they might they just couldn’t get past the tackling of Cowbridge and turned the ball over. Through some silky skills and great team work how ever the Quins did manage to cross the line twice but it was not enough to see off the Cowbridge team (who incidentally finished the day unbeaten) who emerged victorious by 6 tries to 2.

In the last game parents and coaches would have been forgiven for thinking that following the previous game this game against Llantwit Major would have been a game too far. Whatever thoughts coaches and parents had the squad went out and played as if it was their first game of the festival. It was proof that an extended break gave this side the impetus it needed to get back to winning ways. The Quins side finished their festival with a fine 3 tries to 1 victory.

Throughout the festival it wouldn’t be right plus very difficult to pinpoint one player as they all contributed individually to a successful trip to the Blues Region. The try scorers for the day were the lightning quick Macs Hastings, fast footed Ioan James and cool as a cucumber Celt Evans. Whilst some of the tries were beautiful individual efforts that left the crowd in awe the work was done as a collective group with Lloyd and Louie Thomas bamboozling the opposition with their silky running and perfectly timed off loads, Kian Williams and Callum Scott either bulldozing their way through defender or chopping them down round the ankles, Sion Jones who had only joined the team the week before showed himself to be a great recruit who tackled everything that moved in front of him, Rhys Evans returning to his previous club grew in confidence with every game and made breaks and offloaded into space, Elliw Williams defied her size and seemed focussed on tackling any player bigger than her with near perfect results, Jack Harris was consistent and passed the ball to hand allowing strike runners to attack the space and last but by no means least Fin Robison was like a silent assassin, throwing dummy passes to confuse the opposition before hitting the gap and making hard yards.

The coaches, players and supporters alike were extremely satisfied with the outcome of the day and in the words of one of the players they went and showed that “West is Best”. However, the main goal had been achieved and all players had played their part in the festival and the successes and this is the ethos behind the Quins mini and juniors and the reason we have signed up to the half a game initiative from the Welsh Rugby Union.

If anyone would like to join this exciting group or would like to try rugby then training is on a Friday night at 6pm in Abergwilli with games played on a Sunday morning. The contact details are on the teams website or Facebook. You can be guaranteed a warm welcome.