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	Rhigos Ravens Results
Match Report Gwernyfed v Rhigos 16th March, 2007 Gwernyfed 12 – 24 Rhigos  Tries – Cari Bowen-Davies, Emma Carter, Jessica Thomas, Helen Davies Conv: Jessica Thomas (2)  Forward of the Match – Tracey Wright Back of the Match – Chelsea  What a difference a game makes! Rhigos were a class above in this match. Our game had improved so much – all our hard work and training is obviously paying off.  The Friday night fixture under flood lights seemed to suit Rhigos. From kick off, the Rhigos forwards seemed hungry for the ball and ready for anything Gwernyfed threw at them. Early on in the game, Rhigos captain Cari led by example and powered through a few tackles to make it over the line for a try. Jess converted the try and it gave Rhigos a real boost.   The rugby Rhigos played was of a really good standard. The communication and handling in the backs was excellent and it wasn’t long before Emma Carter crossed the line for a well deserved try.  The forward worked extremely well in the rucks and mauls and Chelsea had a stormer at scrum half, with good decision making and precise passing.   Rhigos line outs triumphed with Steph throwing some cracking ball and Tracey being thrown high in to the air by Emma and Tricia. The amount of ball Tracey stole in the air is nobody’s business. You go girl! Jamie and Louisa did well at the back of the line out clearing any lose ball and making good strong runs. Jess had a strong game as outside half, kicked the ball well and had a break through run from a little chip kick from the full back just inside their half which ended in a great try…… slightly better than the try she attempted to score in Welshpool!!!!! The conversion as also kicked buy Jess. There was some brilliant rugby and everyone had upped their game. The rucking and mauling was excellent, the backs did some great moves and the forwards looked strong going into contact. The tackling was good from full back Louise and winger Helen and it was a joy to see Helen go over for a try after a sprint down the wing.   Gwernyfed’s frustration was obvious and tempers were very short with a couple of bitchy comments flying about, couple of bouts of pushing and shoving and Leanne Williams even giving a girlie slap to someone who dared tackle her! Classic.  After the linesman’s constant commentary and someone pointing a few rules out to the ref, it was a relief when the final whistle went. Gwernyfed did well to score their two tries but Rhigos played out of their skins and thoroughly deserved the win!!!! Gwernyfed gave a us a great welcome and lovely food back in the club.  Onwards and upwards for the Ravens me thinks!
21/01/07 Waunarlwyd 17 - 5 Rhigos Forward of the Match – Tricia Back of the Match – Jess  Where to begin!! Couldn’t get a mini bus and the only one we could get couldn’t leave Rhigos until 1pm! There goes our nice long warm up!!! We only had 13 going down to Waunarlwyd and we were quite nervous. What a difference a phone call makes, we had reinforcements coming from Tylorstown! Everything was super rushed and stressful. The Tylorstown girls were on their way but wouldn’t be there until 2.45, Ian was in Resolven and had to go back to Rhigos because we had the wrong shirts, and Steph and Chelsea were lost someplace! The ref was not a happy bunny about the delays but we finally managed to kick off albeit at 2.55pm! Oops!  Rhigos gave their all in the match. The rucking had improved and the rolling mauls were back. The drive and determination shown by all players was outstanding. Players old, players new, players borrowed and one player in particular turned the air blue with her language – you know who you are (Rhiannydd)!!! We held our own in the scrums and the line outs were strong. Emma Smith as the first casualty going off with a bad shoulder. Emma Carter struggled on with a groin injury but finally went off after giving it her all and playing well as always.  The Waunarlwyd forward’s are huge and although Rhigos fumbled with the big beasty ones at first, we soon started tackling as we knew we could do. We played some great rugby and Rhian, Aimme and Rhiannydd, the honorary Ravens, gave it their all.  Great hands and communication meant a well deserved try for Rhigos which went from the back of the scrum all the way down the back line for Rhian Adams to cross for a try. Jess was suffering with her legs so fair play to Rhiannydd who attempted the conversion. You go girl! The score was 7-5 to Waunarlwyd but their try was a long time coming and they had to work hard for it. The game was hard, tempers were flaring and Tracey had a girlie slanging match with their beefy number 8! Classic! Everyone worked their socks off and did really well. Waunarlwyd's 10 got bent and broken a bit and they threw all of their big ‘uns at us and went over for another try. Their last try was a fluke and not deserved but hey, that’s rugby!  Final score 17 – 5 but Rhigos played well and kept their heads up. It was a tough game but we played well. We picked up a couple of injures and we had lots to do before the next game. Thank you to our honorary Ravens and cheers to Ian and Susan as always.
21/01/07   Pontyclun 63 - 0 Rhigos  Player of the Match – Emma Carter Minge of the Match – Jess Thomas  For the first time in Ravens history, we managed to get to the venue a whole hour before kick off and we had a proper warm up and run through of all the moves. Everyone seemed quite nervous as it was our first game after the Christmas binge and we’d had a rugby drought with our last match being in October!  We knew Pontyclun were going to be a good side, they were well drilled, organized and experienced. Rhigos put up a good fight but we were simply beaten by a better side. Their forwards were quick and strong and their backs were fast and tackled well.   The Rhigos line outs were excellent. Tricia did a brilliant job of throwing in to jumpers Kate and Tracey, and we even managed to pinch some of theirs line out balls too, oh the cheek of it!!! Emma Smith had a cracking run off a line out but we just couldn’t seem to get over their try line. The Scrums were uncontested and in an attempt to play every position on the field, Kate stepped up the play hooker. You go girl! Jaime and Tracey were in as second rows and Cari (capt) was number 8. Good to see Gemma back in Wales and playing scrum half and outside half Jess did really well under a lot of pressure from the Pontyclun forwards. The strong partnership of Leanne and Emma in the centre continued with them both tackling like demons and having some good runs. Emma Carter was everywhere on the field and very much deserved Player of the Match. Emma at one point even looked like she was going to tackle the ref after the following exchange:  Emma: Oh come on ref! Knock on! Ref: I saw that knock on, thank you 13 Emma: Ah but you f*****g missed the rest!!!!   Maria did well on the wing as did rugby virgin Tanya and Chelsea showed a lot of potential and determination. Steph did really well in the difficult position of full back.  It wasn’t our best performance but we did play some rugby when we had the ball but it was a tough old game. Our mistakes were capitalized on by Pontyclun and Rhigos finished the game very frustrated. With next week’s fixture against Waunarlwyd, we had a long list of things to work on!  Great to see the injured Buff and crippled Louise on the sideline showing their support and also Zoe who’s taking a breather from rugby at the mo. As always, big thank you's go out to our Coach, Ian and to our Physio, Susan. We couldn’t do it without you guys. Thanks again.
19/03/2006 Rhigos v Birchgrove 33 – 26 Tries: Emma Carter, Cari Bowen-Davies, Lynne Jones, Adrianne Conv: Jess Thomas (3)  Birchgrove arrived with only 13 players so the Ravens dropped a winger and a flanker. Leanne Cobley and Leanne Williams were formidable props alongside Michelle who made her debut as a hooker.  Lynne and Louisa were second rows with Cari at number 8. A huge gold star has to go to Gemma however for not only being brave enough to go from a scrum half to a flanker but to put 110% into it and have a fantastic game.  Kate, Jess, Maria, Emma, Helen and Leah were a great back line and we also had the luxury of calling on Hannah, Emma Smith, Karianne, Jenna and Adrianne as replacements. Great line up girls.   This was without doubt the best game that we’d played. The rucking and mauling was aggressive, the tackling was strong and we really did step up to their challenge. We played out of our skins and we left Mark speechless (in the sense that he shouted so much at us, he lost his voice!).  Emma Carter had an excellent run from one end of the field to another whilst skillfully kicking the ball and her try was very well deserved. Lynne Jones scored her first try and was so shocked she had to go off! Replacement Adrianne scored a great try and Cari powered her way past a couple of people to put one under the posts.  A great game girls!
20/02/2006 Rhigos v Tredegar Ironsides/Cardiff Harlequins/Welsh Development (Home) 7 - 39 After their defeat at the hands of a confident Rhigos squad, Tredegar went away and got some big tough friends to play for them. Not knowing whether to call themselves the Cardiff Ironsides or the Tredegar Harlequins, they brought along five girls from the Development Squad just to complicate matters.  Rhigos weren’t at their strongest having lost Gemma because she was in Canada, Donna James had a knee injury, Helen had mumps and Emma Carter went one better and had malaria! We did however have lots of new players, Maria played her second game and had a stormer at outside centre. Jenna, Jo and Buff all did brilliantly on the wings, Hannah lived up to the name Rhino as a prop and Emma Smith was welcomed back after injury. Little Elfin Louise also had a very strong match as scrum half. Who knew that dwarfs were so talented!  Michelle and Louisa did well at second row, with Lynne and Tracey as the flying flankers. Kate was amazing at number 8, replacing Cari who was playing inside centre. Interesting!!!  Jess, as always, had a strong game at outside half and Leah Carter played full back which wasn’t an easy job against a team that were so good with a lots of excellent players.  A couple of tries scored against us were really difficult to defend against. Paula Mullen came on for the other team but we had no worries because we had our own international, Jess Thomas, against her!  Rhigos heads did go down because it was our biggest defeat but it was against a strong team. Chin up girls, there’s a cold lager and curry and chips waiting for you in the club!  Player of the Match – Kate Hopkins – tackled anything and everything! Minge of the Match – Zoe Williams for blubbing!
22/01/2006 Rhigos v Llandaff North 2nds – The Rematch (Away) 0 - 20  The Ravens who traveled down to Cardiff for a second time were for want of a better term, well up for it! We had a strong team with new players such a Maria Barnard and Leanne Cobley. We had people in different positions to try and match their strengths and it was all set to be 80 minutes of hard rugby. There were some thundering tackles with Kate Hopkins and Leanne Williams tackling like demons. Liz put in some great tackled, unfortunately, one was against Jess! Liz – it’s the other team you’re supposed to tackle!!!! Cari was on a personal mission to munch the winger and at one point in the match, we even had a musical front row, signing ‘Lean on Me’! You go girls!!  After the huge effort that the entire team put in, it was no surprise that we lost players due to injury. Kate and Emma both suffered shoulder injuries and Leah Carter had a cheek injury. Mark Rees (Coach) also stormed onto the pitch to give the Ref a piece of his mind after his ‘trouble and strife’ Buff, got injured after the Ref failed to notice some nasty play. Llandaff North were a well drilled team and knew their stuff but Rhigos played some brilliant rugby. The tries scored against us were disheartening but our heads were held high. Rhigos had every reason to be proud of themselves. Player of the Match – Cari Minge of the Match – Liz for tackling one for tackling one of her own teammates Sunday 22nd Jan Rhigos Ravens in quarters of the National Plate Rhigos Ravens are through to the Quarter Finals of the National Plate this week after losing out in the cup to Llandaff North 2nds. They will now play away to Welshpool on the 2nd of April. This is a great achievement for the Ravens, as this is only their first year. With experienced and in-experienced girls joining the squad all the time, the girls are sure to go from strength to strength.
Rhigos v Waunarlwydd (Away) 0 – 20 No match report.
11/12/2005 Rhigos v Llandaff North 2nds (Away) 7 – 10 Try: Cari Bowen-Davies, Conv: Jess Thomas  After a bi through to the next round of the National Cup, the Ravens came up against their toughest opposition yet. Not only did we have to travel all the way down to Cardiff, we had the mini bus driver from hell who had no clue where we were going.   With new recruit s (Lisa and Liz) and a couple of players out of position, we made a bit of a nervous start to the game. The opposition had a strong pack and Rhigos were driven back on the scrums. They also had a couple of young, fast backs but a few munching tackles by the Rhigos forwards led to them thinking twice about running in their direction again!   A good scrum led to number 8 and captain Cari Bowen-Davies scoring under the post with the conversion being scored by outside half Jessica Thomas. Rhigos heads were lifted and the supporters found their voices.  A scrum on the 25 meter line meant Rhigos scrum was under pressure and although a huge tackle went in from Kate Hopkins on the wing, Llandaff scored a try in the corner.  Kate suffered a shoulder injury after her monumental tackle and following the big drive on the scrum Zoe was complaining of a neck injury and promptly fainted. With cries of ‘Please don’t tell my mother’, Zoe was taken to hospital with a neck injury….anything to not go home on that mini bus with the crazy ass driver!!!! After 18 minutes, the match was abandoned and it was agreed it would be replayed. The rematch was set to be very interesting!
20/11/2005 Rhigos v Tredegar Ironsides (Home) 39 – 0  Tries: Cari Bowen-Davies (3), Emma Carter (2), Zoë Williams (1), Helen Thomas (1), Conv: Jessica Thomas (2) As it was such a close game in the first time the clubs met, many thought it was going to be the same again. WRONG! The Rhigos players who missed the last game were back and eager to make an impression.  Rhigos dominated the game and the more possession we had, the more confident we became and the rugby on show was very high quality. Our rucking and mauling had improved and Rhigos were constantly challenging the opposition who quite frankly, didn’t know what had hit them!  Hooker Zoe Williams had a spectacular try where she gracefully dived over a few Tredegar players to get over the line. Emma Carter again proved that she was the fastest thing on earth with a couple of great runs, Helen showed excellent determination to score a try and Captain Cari had the first Ravens hat trick.  Rhigos were on a high until forward Michelle screamed that she’s hurt her fingers, only for everyone to crowd around to see the most deformed and broken fingers we’ve ever seen! Her dad Dai Davies was on hand (pardon the pun) to wipe away the tears before clicking her fingers back in!! Ouch. Rhigos put together some great back moves and the rugby was flowing and great to watch. All of the supporters commented on how far the team had come and the girls left the field feeling rather chuffed with themselves and rightly so. Player of the Match – Emma Carter Minge of the Match – Michelle for the crazy broken fingers
Sunday 20th of November. Rhigos Ravens v Tredegar Ironsides. The Rhigos Ravens held their heads high on Sunday Nov 20th as they recorded their third win out of four games. The visiting team the Tredegar Ironsides came out playing hard but the Rhigos girls came out harder. They won possession from kick off and carried ball, scoring three tries within the first ten minutes, two by the no.8 Cari Bowen-Davies and one by winger Helen Davies. The Ironsides had a more experienced pack, but this didn’t daunt the ravens.  With the forwards fighting for the ball, and excellent work by the scrum half Gemma Nichols and the fly half, Jess Thomas, and once the backs had the ball there was no catching them.  Their back row showed excellent skill and pace and there was no one from the ironsides who could keep up with them. With ten minutes to go in the first half the ironsides came back strong and camped on the Rhigos try line, but the Rhigos defence held them well.  The second half of the game was just as exciting, a storming run by the two props Donna James and Zoë Williams saw another try,  and the outside centre Emma carter showing fantastic pace and agility just run rings around the ironsides back line. And by this time there was no stopping them.  Final score Rhigos Ravens 39  -  Tredegar Ironsides 0 Try scorers  - Zoë Williams (1).  Cari Bowen - Davies (3).  Emma Carter (2).  Helen Davies (1) Conversions  - Jess Thomas(2) Next game Rhigos Ravens  v  Llandaff North 2nds  in the second round of the national cup @ Llandaff.  Sunday December 11th 2.30 kick off.
19/11/2005 Luvly jubbly, Rhigos Ravens get a mention in the official match programme for Wales v South Africa in the Millennium Stadium. Onwards and upwards girls!
30/10/2005 Rhigos v Gwernyfed (Away) 7 – 10  Try – Emma Carter, con Jess Tomas  After a nightmare of a trip over to Brecon, we finally got to the club and had to dodge the traffic to get to the pitch. Cari and Gemma were particularly looking forward to this clash because one of the girls playing for the opposition used to play on the same team as them in University. However, she was too scared to turn up!! Only joking Kooga! Gwernyfed were a good strong team and had some cracking players. The two teams were quite evenly matched but the frustration got to one of the Gwernyfed girls and she got sin binned for a stamping incident in which she used Jess Thomas’s back as a running machine!!  Strong play from Rhigos saw Emma Carter go over for a try and Jess got the conversion. It was a good display of rugby against a mature and well drilled team. It was also the first game for Michelle and Louisa and they both did really well. Gwernyfed’s rucking and mauling was very good and Rhigos came away having lost the game but having gained valuable playing experience.  A big thanks to our supporters, especially Simon Grindle who argues that he is our biggest supporter because even though the bar was calling, he still watched us play…even if it was out of the club house window!!! Back of the Match – Emma Carter Forward of the Match – Kate Hopkins Minge of the Match – Donna James for admitting to everyone she’d been wearing her sports bra back to front for the last four matches!!!!!! How that’s done I don’t know!
23/10/2005 Rhigos/Tylorstown v Blaenau Gwent (Home) Score 15 – 5 Scorers – Zoe Williams, Gemma Nichols and Rhian Adams. A fast paced and exciting game. A huge thanks goes out to the Tylorstown girls who came over to play for us. They said afterwards that they couldn’t believe we’d only just set up and we were definitely a team to look out for in the future. Damn right!  The Blaenau girls were good. They had a strong pack and at times Rhigos struggled. However, the Tylorstown girls were on hand to give us a good talking to and to sort us out and we soon started attacking their defensive lines and challenging them in rucks and mauls.  A well deserved try for hooker Zoe (it is suspected that she might have used fart gas to propel herself over the line, the WWRU are investigating) and also an excellent try for scrum half Gemma Nichols who was determined to score because she’d traveled all the way from Weston Super Mare to play!! A brilliant try by Rhian from Tylorstown, who beat a couple of Blaenau players to score under the posts.  Even though we had help from the Tylorstown girls, the Ravens proved that they were a class act and definitely a team that we’re going places.  Player of the Match – Zoe Williams Minge of the Match – Helen (for running the length of the field to score a try after the ref had blown his whistle, oops!)
09/10/2005 Rhigos v Tredegar Ironsides (Away) Score 5 - 0  Try: Helen Thomas  The Rhigos supporters were treated to an excellent game. With quite a few of the Rhigos players out injured, we had a lot of people out of position or playing their first game and everyone gave their all. The two wingers Karen and Emma Burke were virgins in the rugby sense and did really well and also Helen found herself playing scrum half and did herself proud with a display of crunching tackling, strong ball carrying and crossing the line for the first Rhigos try of the season.  Rhigos and Tredegar were quite evenly matched and the game was a thriller to watch. Tredegar had a couple of strong ball carriers but Rhigos tackled well and managed to keep Tredegar well away form the try line. Jess Thomas controlled the game with excellent kicks, good decision making and strong tackling. Leanne Williams made ground left, right and centre with lots of determined runs and Lynne Jones did well in the rucks and mauls, although she did have a panic attack when the Tredegar coach brought on a brand new pack! Even with Tredegar fresh legs, Rhigos shone and their first win was truly deserved.   The whole team did fantastically. Well Done Girls.  Players of the Match – Jess Thomas and Helen  Minge of the Match – Lynne Jones for being a stress head
04/09/2005 Rhigos, Waunarlwyd and Pontyclun got together for a small demonstration tournament. All of the teams played each other for twenty minutes. A good crowd turned up to support but I think they were secretly hoping we’d swap shirts at the end of the games!!!!! Rhigos v Waunarlwyd  0 - 5 Wanarlwyd v Pontyclun Pontyclun v Rhigos 0 – 7 Whilst Rhigos lost both of their matches, it was important to acknowledge that it was our first game experience. The score reflected the tight defense that Rhigos had and whilst we also had strong attacking play, we failed to get over the try line. It was a really worthwhile experience and the Ravens came away from the day feeling very confident and very drunk!!! We came away with respectable scores against Pontyclun (Division 1) and Waunarlwyd (Division 2) and we were looking good for our games in the Friendly league. Player of the Match – Cari Bowen-Davies Minge of the Match – Emma Smith (she was the first to come off)