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This weekend, the Mini Pitmen travelled to Rhymney Rfc to take part in their U9’s rugby festival.

The Mini Pitmen had been grouped with teams from RTB Ebbw Vale, Dowlais and Deri. Teams which have all been difficult opponents this season.

Game 1 was against RTB Ebbw Vale. This was the third time this season we had played RTB. On the two previous occasions they’ve taken the win. Despite, some very lovely play by the Mini Pitmen, RTB were too strong for us and won the first match.

Final score: RTB Ebbw Vale 3-0 Penallta

Game 2 was against Dowlais. We have both beaten and lost against Dowlais this season. The Mini Pitmen picked themselves up after game 1 and again played some superb rugby. Our defence was brilliant, closing down any space that Dowlais had and earned several turnovers in the process. In attack we looked sharp and were eager to break through the Dowlais defence. By the end of the game, the Mini Pitmen had completely dominated and scored 4 wonderful tries.

Final Score: Dowlais 0-4 Penallta

Tries: Kaide Paget, Cameron Foreman, Cai Wardman, Efan Betts.

Game 3 was against Deri. We’ve had our fair share of losses to Deri through the TAG rugby period, but during this first season of tackling, we’ve won every game. Today was no exception. The Mini Pitmen were on fire, controlling the game well and causing Deri all sorts of issues. The Mini Pitmen were disappointed to have allowed Deri to score two tries, but overall they comfortably took the win.

Final Score: Deri 2-3 Penallta

Tries: Cameron Foreman, Ioan Miles, Cai Wardman

At this point, the Mini Pitmen had finished 2^nd in their group (out of 4). We then went on to play a 3^rd/4^th position play-off match against Cefn Coed.

In the last game of the day and the season, the Mini Pitmen battled it out with Cefn Coed. Our opponents were a very tough team to play against, with some very good ball carriers and some fearless tacklers. The Mini Pitmen however, were right up for the game. With some silky handling skills and strong running and a brick wall defence, the Mini Pitmen soon took control of the game, scoring 3 tries to Cefn Coeds 1. What a game and what a finish by the Mini Pitmen.

Final Score: Cefn Coed 1-3 Penallta

Tries: Cameron Foreman, Jacob Jenkins, Evan Burridge.

As the WRU have changed the format of tournaments to festivals, whereby there are no winners, there was officially no finishing position for any team. However, if the old tournament rules were applied, the Mini Pitmen would have finished 3^rd overall out of 8 teams.

At the end of the day, the Mini Pitmen were also awarded the ‘Team of the day’ for the U9’s category.

As a team, we had a fantastic day. Well done to all the players, coaches and parents from the U9’s. Thank you also to Rhymney Rfc for your hospitality and to Dowlais Rfc, Deri Rfc, Cefn Coed Rfc and RTB Ebbw Vale Rfc for some brilliant games of rugby.