Ystalyfera win Welsh Year 7 finals day

Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera are Wales Rugby League’s Year 7 champions for the second year in a row following a triple-header finals day in Caerphilly on Wednesday afternoon.

Three schools faced off against each other in three half-hour games with the drama over who would win the trophy and qualify for the national rounds going right down to the day’s final moments.

All three schools were Welsh speaking, as was referee Idris Evans, so the English language wasn’t heard at all on the field of play over the exciting hour and half of play.

Game one saw a unique event where father faced up against son on the sidelines with Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf’s year 9 pupil Gwylim Evans, a Wembley winner two years ago with the Cardiff-based school, coaching the year 7 side for the first time and his dad, Jeremy Evans being head of PE for Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni.

And it was Evans junior who prevailed despite a tight first half which only saw the deadlock broken in the last play before the break, Ioan Cole going in the corner for an unconverted try.

However Glantaf quickly increased their lead to 20-0 with three quick. Tomos Dafis and Tom Wheatley both scored under the sticks with Wheatley improving both, then Tom Meak scoring an unconverted effort in the corner. Elis Carpenter was next over the line with Wheatley converting before Meak’s second and Glantaf’s fifth in the 15 minute period, made the final score 30-0.

Ystalyfera deservedly struck first against Glantaf in game two of the day through a long range Morgan Morse try which was converted by Cellan Carter-Jones.

The score remained 6-0 at the break but Glantaf were back in the game early in the second half through an unconverted Madoc Kitchener try in the corner.

Ystalyfera struck back straight away as Morse went over for his second before the strong Steffan Gibson added a further try that Carter-Jones improved to make the score 16-4.

Owen Lloyd-Jones did get a consolation effort for Glantaf but the Swansea valley school ran out 16-8 winners to set up a titanic final game when a draw or a win over Cwm Rhymni would see them through. Cwm Rhymni needed a fairly impossible 53-point victory whilst anything else would see Glantaf through.

And it initially looked like that Cwm Rhymni would do their capital cousins a favour as Jake Williams and Reuben Lynch went over for two early unconverted tries.

But Ystalyfera levelled things before the break through tries from Matthew Lloyd and Steffan Gibson with their kicker again failing with the boot.

Just like in their first game, Cwm Rhymni collapsed in the second half. Man of the match(es) award winner Morse put Ystalyfera into the lead, with Joel Colwill and Gibson quickly following him over. Carter-Jones converted all three to give them an 18-point lead.

A Ioan Duggan try and conversion brought the scores back to 26-14 and Cwm Rhymni were pressing for more, but Ystalyfera held out for a place in the national rounds and continue on the road to a national final in Wembley Stadium in August.

CYMRAEG

Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera yw pencampwyr blwyddyn 7 Rygbi XIII Cymru am yr ail flwyddyn yn olynol yn dilyn rowndiau terfynol a gynhaliwyd yng Nghaerffili brynhawn dydd Mercher.

Tair ysgol wnaeth wynebu ei gilydd mewn tair gem hanner awr, felly nid oedd yn bosib cael buddugwyr tan ornest ddiwethaf y prynhawn.

Roedd y dair ysgol yn gyfrwng Cymraeg, yn ogystal a’r dyfarnwr Idris Evans, felly ni glywyd yr iaith Saesneg o gwbl ar y cae dros yr awr a hanner o chwarae.

Gwelwyd digwyddiad anarferol yng Nghem 1 wrth i dad a mab wrthwynebu yn erbyn ei gilydd, gyda Gwilym Evans, disgybl blwyddyn 9 yn Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf (buddugwr yn Stadiwm Wembley ddwy flynedd yn ol gyda’r ysgol o Gaerdydd), yn hyfforddi tim blwyddyn 7 am y tro cyntaf; a’i dad Jeremy Evans yn bennaeth Addysg Gorfforol yn Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni.

Gwilym oedd yn fuddugol er gem agos yn yr hanner cyntaf, a welodd Ioan Cole yn croesi’r linell cyn yr egwyl am gais di-drosiad.

Fodd bynnag, cynyddodd mantais Glantaf  i 20-0 gyda tri chais cyflym gan Tomos Dafis a Tom Wheatley yn sgorio o dan y pyst; Tom Meak yn croesi’r linell yn y gornel. Wheatly yn trosi dau o’r tri.  Elis Carpenter oedd y nesaf cyn i Meak sgorio ei ail.  Wheatly yn llwyddiannus eto, a Glantaf yn ennill 30-0.

Yn ail gem y prynhawn, Ystalyfera wnaeth sgorio gyntaf yn erbyn Glantaf, a hynny’n haeddiannol gyda chais gan Morgan Morse, trosiad gan Cellan Carter-Jones.

Arhosodd y sgor yn 6-0 ar yr egwyl ond daeth Glantaf yn ol yn y gem yn gynnar yn yr ail hanner, ond methwyd trosiad i gais Madoc Kitchener yn y gornel.

Tarodd Ystalyfera yn ol yn syth wrth i Morse fynd dros y linell am ei ail gais cyn i Steffan Gibson ychwanegu cais arall, gyda Carter-Jones yn trosi i gynyddu’r mantais 16-4.

Fe gafodd Glantaf gais ar y diwedd i Owain Lloyd-Jones ond Ystalyfera oedd yr enillwyr gyda’r sgor terfynol 16-8 i baratoi rownd derfynol arbennig lle’r oedd gem cyfartal neu buddugoliaeth yn ddigon i fynd trwyddo i’r rownd nesaf.  Roedd angen i Gwm Rhymni sgorio 53 o bwyntiau a byddai Glantaf yn mynd trwyddo gydag unrhyw sgor arall.

Ymddangosodd y byddai Cwm Rhymni o gymorth i Lantaf wrth i Jake Williams a Reuben Lynch sgorio ceisiau cynnar.  Methwyd trosiad.

Aeth pethau’n gyfartal ar yr egwyl gyda Matthew Lloyd a Steffan Gibson.

Aeth pethau o ddrwg i waeth i Gwm Rhymni yn yr ail hanner.  Aeth Ystalyfera’n bellach ar y blaen trwy Morse, gyda Gibson a Joel Colwill yn dilyn.  Troswyd y tri chais gan Carter-Jones i roi mantais o 18 pwynt.

Daeth y sgor i 26-14 gyda chais gan Ioan Duggan gyda Cwm Rhymni yn ysu am fwy, ond llwyddodd Ystalyfera i ddal ymlaen ac ennill lle yn y rowndiau cenedlaethol, ar y ffordd i rownd derfynol cenedlaethol yn Stadiwm Wembley ym mis Awst.

Photos above:

Glantaf – light blue,

Ystalyfera – dark blue,

Cwm Rhymni – black.