The day didn’t get off the the best of starts with a few key players dropping out and most of the team getting lost on the way to game. Fortunately the legendary veteran prop, Phil from Rhyl, stepped in at the last minute to bolster up the Bala scrum.

Bala started strongly, with number eight Dafydd Strutt crashing the ball up from the kick off and the pack making ground to earn a converted penalty.

What Rhyl lacked up front, they more than made up for in the backs. An aggressive Bala defence, led by flanker Ifan Hughes and winger Sion Davies, repelled attack after attack. However, Rhyl found a way through when Bala lost Phil from Rhyl to the sin bin for ten minutes for some old school rucking. Two more tries followed in quick succession to bring the half time score to 17-3 to Rhyl.

The second half started very competitively, with each team bagging a try. True to form, Rhyl’s backs found an overlap to score on the wing and Bala’s heavy pack took prop Lee Cefmeirch close enough to power over at short range.

However, Bala began to tire without any substitutes and the flood gates opened when Rhyl brought on a number of fresh legs in the middle of the second half to score four more tries in the space of a fifteen minutes.

With all the odds stacked against them, Bala made a spirited come back in the dying minutes of the game. Front row forwards Lee Cefnmeirch, Tomos Traws and Phil increased the intensity in the scrum and made good ground. Back rowers Dafydd Strut and Ifan Hughes combined well to carry the ball up the pitch and Dei Bach danced his way over the line.

Led by captain Dewi Pugh, Bala forwards worked their way straight back up the pitch from the kick off. Following a number of pick and go’s, Dewi Simpson Davies found a gap on the wing to bring the final score to 47-20.

Come and support Bala seconds at home against Shotton on Saturday 30th September.