Twelve years after an Ebbw Vale side played at the Millenium Stadium the Ebbw Fawr Learning Community’s Under 16’s took the famous field against the much favoured Whitchurch High School in the Welsh Schools Under 16s Cup Final. It was a great day for some of Wales’s most promising talents who had earned their final place after tough games against the cream of Welsh Schools rugby.
The Ebbw Fawr Learning Community is relatively new and it says much for the coaches, under Jason Strange and his Assistant Coaches Ashley Sweet and Jeremy McCarthy that their boys had made such progress that led them to the showdown at the Millenium. Many Ebbw Vale RFC supporters were there as well of course families to cheer their youngsters on and they were encouraged by a stout first half performance which clearly showed that the Under 16s pack was just as effective as the Ebbw seniors.
Two early tries in the second half sealed the victory of the Whitchurch side but Ebbw had the last word with a try by Rhys Bayliss which was converted by Ethan Phillips. The scoreline was 29-7 to the local side but it did not reflect the effort put in by the Ebbw Fawr side who faced their biggest test and came out of it with pride.
The sun shone, the famous stadium was populated by supporters of both sides and pupils of both schools. It was great to see the army of Ebbw Fawr pupils in their blazers and setting a good example of representing their school. The future is bright for schools rugby in our community and already a place in next year’s final is being targeted.
[prettyfilelink size=”8 MB” src=”https://www.ebbwfawr.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/IMG_0341.jpg” type=”img”]Download Image[/prettyfilelink]