Welwyn Warriors took a tour party of 56 to South Wales over Easter and found the very warmest of welcomes in the valleys!!
Warriors played Newport H.S.O.B. on a Good Friday that saw 4 seasons in one match! Warm sunshine, hail, snow & rain! Warriors U15s played the first match and beat Newport 49-5. Most of that match was played in sunshine but by the time of the U18s match, the rain and sleet was pouring down!! In a titanic tussle Warriors ran into a 19-0 lead only to see Newport claw back the points in the heavy conditions. With a minute left on the watch, Newport ran in a breakaway try to make the score 22-19. From the kick off Warriors poured forward, gained possession and scored a converted try to make the final score 22-26. There were some very relieved Warriors as the final whistle blew!
On Saturday the whole party went to the EDF semi finals at the fantastic Millenium stadium and saw Leicester beat Wasps and Ospreys beat Saracens.
Back to business on Easter Sunday with a trip to Ebbw Vale to take on the East Wales regional sides. First thing in the morning the pitch had a 2 inch covering of snow but that had cleared by kick off. Warriors U15s found the Welsh regional girls a tough prospect and although they battled hard the final score was 66-7 to Wales with only Captain Courtney Arberry scoring a try.
Warriors U18s then kicked off and clearly wanted to put the stuttering Newport performance behind them. The Welwyn girls played some delightful rugby and flew into a 17-0 lead at half time.Centre Alex Robertson scoring 2 superb tries. The scums were dominated by a Welwyn pack in full flow. No matter what they tried, The Welsh girls faced a wall of maroon hoops with no way past. The game finished 17-0 a few minutes early after scrum half Casey Shults was injured.
Team Manager Dave Marques was delighted! 'We have had a fantsatic tour! Everybody in Wales, from the moment we checked into our hotel, has been so friendly and welcoming! The post match hospitality is as good, if not better than anything we've ever had before! At the post match presentations in Ebbw Vale, Welsh RFUW officer Nicola Smith, thanked the Welwyn touring party for the visit and went onto say that the Welsh age groups will move into line with England next season and urged all at Welwyn to encourage other teams to visit the principality as the Welsh teams would love to host them! Head Coach Clive Cramphorn urged any English sides looking for a touring venue, to go to Wales, 'Fantastic Rugby, fantastic people, fantastic hospitality, definitely go to Wales!'
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