Last Sunday, the boys of Tenby Swifts Under 12s made the trip east to play their first fixture of the season against Carmarthen Quins.

In recent seasons, this has always been a good test for the Tenby boys, but with some good pre-season training behind them, they were keen to get off to a fast start. And so they did, as from the kick-off they camped inside the opposition half, which led to a brace of tries by Iori B after excellent continuity with the ball in hand by both forwards and backs.

A further try followed by Iori B, making the score 19-0 midway through the half.

Playing expansive rugby to keep the ball away from the big Quins pack, further tries followed by Josh and Fletcher, making the half-time score 29-0.

The break gave the home side a chance to regroup and they came out throwing all they could against the young Seasiders. However, they pride themselves on their excellent defence, with all 14 players putting their bodies on the line (quite literally as knocks were picked up by Max, Duane-Lee, Miller, Kyle and Fletcher), but their line held firm.

As the half wore on, they began to win more ball and a sweeping move saw the ball reach Ollie out wide and he showed great pace to beat the defence and score under the posts. The try was converted and soon after the referee blew the final whistle to make the final score a well-deserved win to Tenby Swifts by 36 points to nil.

A super start to the season, and a fine game by Max on his debut for the Seasiders. Unfortunately, Miller picked up a nasty knock to his shoulder and, despite playing through the pain, will be out of action for a few weeks. Players and supporters alike wish him a speedy recovery.

Team made up of Kyle, Iorri R, Cameron, Jake, Josh, Miller, Fletcher, Duane-Lee, Dylan, Iori B, Max, Cairan, Alex and Ollie.

The photo above shows the boys at training earlier in the week, with coach Jamie being presented with new team shorts for the season, sponsored by Ian Badham, partner of Ashmole accountants (based in Haverfordwest and Tenby).

Under 11s

The first match of the season for the Under 11s (seen below) involved a bit of a trek up to St. David’s, and after all the recent rain, we were thankfully spoiled with glorious sunshine!

With a 13-strong squad and 11 players on the pitch, the boys were all eager for the whistle to blow and to get stuck into some action. This is precisely what they did; with possession from the outset, a couple of quick passes out along the line and in excellent support, the pack were able to get spearhead Rhydian over the try line in just moments! First blood to Tenby.

The Seasiders continued to take advantage of St. David’s mistakes and some of the tackling by the Tenby players was especially good. Ollie B put in some proper ‘crunchers’ and Keaton and Eddie made it near enough impossible for St. David’s to run the ball wide as they were very well-placed to smother any attacks along the sidelines.

Cody, Rhydian and Iwan proved their power by repeatedly running strongly into (and often through!) the opposition, while Rhys S, Rhys E and Derri excelled in supporting at the ruck, recycling the ball time and time again. Dan and Tom took control of the centre of the field with some great quick passes and running with ball in hand at an angle, making it harder for the opposition to get in a decent tackle.

Ieuan was very quick to pounce on any loose balls and pressured the St. David’s players whenever they had possession, while Jacob had a great debut match, carrying and passing the ball nicely, as well as going into tackles with no qualms.

With Keaton and Eddie having laced up their fast boots, they showed they hadn’t lost any speed over the summer holidays and had a good few blistering runs to (and over!) the try line!

Scorers were Eddie (5), Keaton (2), Iwan, Derri, Rhydian, Ollie and Rhys E.

To conclude, a very promising first game of the season. Well done boys!

Squad: Iwan Duffy, Rhys Schwarbrooke, Rhys Emanuel, Eddie Waring, Tom Young, Derri, Dan Izzard, Ollie Broadhurst, Ieuan Toome, Rhydian Bain, Jacob Thomas, Cody Davies and Keaton Smith.

UNDER 10s

Last Sunday, Tenby United Under 10s (seen above right) finally took to the field for their much-anticipated first game of the season, away to St. David’s. Conditions were perfect, and after the hard work they had put in in pre-season training, Tenby were ready to go and put their efforts into practice. From the first whistle, it was clear to see the Seasiders were up for it. A strong run from Lewis and a well-timed pass saw Jaiden cross the line in the first minute of the game. Tenby were looking composed with all players comfortable in the roles that had been given. Hard work and strength by the forwards on the floor saw Jaiden steal the ball off St. David’s and pass to Carter who hit the middle of the line at pace and proceed to run the length of the field to score. St. David’s replied with some big tackles which had them also gaining opportunities to steal possession on the floor and turn over the ball. But Tenby, when presented with an opportunity, were looking strong and confident which were causing gaps in the St. David’s defence and allowed Carter to score in the corner. Tenby were building momentum and this with some clever passing saw Tenby run in their fourth soon after with a try for Alfie. A lovely run from the restart by Rowen saw him pass to Rhys who cut in field and popped a lovely ball to team mate Louie who showed strength to push forward before getting the ball to Carter who crossed for his third of the morning. St. David’s hit back at this point. A penalty awarded to them allowed possession to be regained and some strong running allowed St. David’s to cross for their first well earned try of the game. The Seasiders replied with a period of strong pressure up front and this resulted in Carter going over for the team’s sixth of the day. Next came the turn of the forwards to show what they had. A superbly strong run by Morgan had Tenby find themselves in try scoring territory. A second phase saw Lewis push forward and cross over for the last try of the half. Half-time score stood at 35-5 to the Seasiders. For the second half, Tenby came out just as determined. Some continued pressure and the ability to control play saw Carter presented with the opportunity to go over for the first try of the second half. The Seasiders next showed what their backs do best. A loop pass followed by a perfectly timed side step saw Rhys go over in the corner to scored Tenby’s ninth of the day. St. David’s heads refused to go down though and they followed this with great determination to apply pressure to the Seasiders and keep them pinned in their own half. They were rewarded with a well-earned second try of the day. With minutes left, Tenby from the restart pushed forward and finished the game with a try which saw Connor cut through St. David’s line and score. As the final whistle blew, the score finished with a 50-10 win to the Seasiders. Captain for the day was Rowen.

Under 9s

Tenby Swifts Under 9s (seen below) travelled to St. Davids last weekend for their first full contact game of the season. The boys were led by captain George McDonald.

The squad looked well-drilled and ready for the upcoming season. Nerves were soon gone as the boys quickly found their groove, and the tries began to flow.

However, the defence was the outstanding part of the game, with every player putting in a solid shift. Rhys Barnes, Madoc Evans and Alex Stock stood out by tackling non-stop. Special mention goes to Jack Henson, who when faced with tackling the biggest St. Davids player, didn’t back down and came out on top.

Miles Marsh switched on in the second half and put in some good tackles. The new scrum front row of Ollie Tucker, Rhys Barnes and Iestyn Barrellie were solid throughout.

Thomas Prince scored what could be the try of the season by running well over half the pitch to score in the corner.

Scorers were: Ethan Wright, Ethan Lewis and Thomas Prince with one each, George McDonald and Will Hilling with two apiece, and Ollie Tucker with the first hat-trick of the season.

Man-of-the-match went to an excellent Rhys Barnes, whose line breaks in attack and never-quit-attitude in defence really helped Tenby with their first win of the season 10 tries to one.

Under 8s

On Sunday, the Under 8s (seen at the bottom of the page) kicked-off the season in St. David’s. They all played well after a long summer break!

There was some great tagging and passes, that helped with the seven tries scored by Harry (4), Toby (1), Ollie (1) and Calum (1).

The team this week was captained by Jake Jenkins and consisted of, Ollie, Jenson, Harry, Ryan, Calum, Iori, Toby and Aidan (scorekeeper!) and coach Nick Guymer.

After such a great effort the boys lost 7-8 to St. David’s! But they all had so much fun and loved being back on the pitch. Well done boys!

If you are interested in joining our team, please contact Emma (tea