Big crowd, but big defeat

If there was any doubts remaining that rugby is not big in Welshpool then they were answered by a crowd of more than 250 watching the town square up to local rivals Newtown.

With just a point between them in the Division 2 North East early standings, there was plenty to play for but it was the visitors who ran out comfortable 47-8 victors.

The two sides engaged in a relatively even battle in the first half, and for much of the second half, but five unanswered tries in the final 20 minutes gave Newtown an emphatic victory.

The visitors were the first onto the scoresheet, taking a converted try 0-7 lead after. Welshpool fought back with a penalty from Andrew Thomas, before taking an 8-7 lead through a Rhys Williams try just before the break.

Newtown restored their lead three minutes into the second half to make the score 8-14, and so it remained until the final quarter, when Newtown cut loose in breathtaking fashion, breaching the Welshpool defence a further five times to give them an 8-47 victory.

Pool will look to bounce back next weekend when they host Rhosllanerchrugog in the North Wales Intermediate Cup, and they return to league action on November 12 at Shotton Steel.

Welshpool: Tom Manuel, Ally Evans, Ryan Manuel, Sam Ward, Ryan Goodwin, Tom Davies, Luke Godfrey, Joe Stranks (C), Andrew Thomas, Dylan Walton, Rhys Williams, Jake Best, Justyn Haycock, Joey Haycock, Tom Williams

Replacements: Jamie Evans, Tom Holloway, Lee Richards, Aaron Hobson, Tom Carter

Try: Rhys Williams

Penalty: Andrew Thomas

Meanwhile, Welshpool's Youths earned an impressive 12-8 victory over Rhyl to progress to the third round of the WRU Youth Cup.

Dan Earle opened the Welshpool scoring with a try, which he also converted, with Jacob Williams completing the scoring.

It was another busy weekend of junior rugby this week, with five sides in action over three days. On Friday night, the Welshpool and Llanidloes Girls Under 18s side were away at Bishop’s Castle. Travelling without several regulars, they were up against it from the start, and were defeated by 38-14.

On Saturday, the Under 8s and 10s took on Newtown as part of the pre-match festivities for the First XV fixture. The Under 8s played two matches, winning the first game 35-25, and drawing the second 20-20. The Under 10s showed a huge improvement from their previous match with Newtown, with the scores level at half time, but were eventually beaten 15-25.

On Sunday, the Under 14s and Under 12s were both in action, and both sides found themselves shorn of several important players due to holidays and injuries.

The Under 14s travelled to Newtown and after competing well in the first half, were eventually beaten 34-5. The Under 12s were at home, taking on Llanidloes, Newtown and COBRA. They opened their day with a 15-5 win over Llanidloes, before going down 0-40 against Newtown, and with injuries mounting, 0-20 against COBRA.

On Wednesday night, the Under 13s go to Newtown for a 6.30pm kick-off, and on Sunday the Girls Under 15s and 18s will be in action at Llanidloes.

PICTURE (by Ian Francis): A big crowd watching the action