RGC sent the Eiriascrowd home withan early Christmaspresent with their bestperformance of theseason against a toughBargoed side.

The Gogs defendedwith grit and determina-tion for the opening 20minutes of the second

half including part of itwith 14 men after skip-per Kelvin Davies wasyellow carded but aftersoaking up the attacksthey broke with a superbAfon Bagshaw run fromhis own line to offloadat the timely momentpassing to Tom Black-well to race in. It was atry worthy of winning

any game and soon afterthe bonus point try camewith Afon Bagshawdashing down the lineafter some great set upplay by Harri Evans.

After witnessing thefirst 20 minutes of thegame it was looking likea comfortable after-noon for RGC, as theywere going through thephase play and buildingfrom the pack drivingBargoed back time andtime again. Mike Jonesscored the opening tryand with a conversionand penalty from LewisBarker RGC raced to a10 – Nil lead.

Scrum half Josh Leachwas involved in a lot ofthe good things in theRGC attack, and lookedlike he was relishingthe physical challengeand it wasn’t a surprise

that he got the 2nd trywith a typical scrumhalf touchdown from thescrum.

The game and thereferees whistle beganto turn against RGC asthe visitors got into thegame after 25 minutes.The spent most of theremaining tine off thehalf camped in the Gogsline, with scrum afterscrum testing them. Thetry did come after oneof the scrums to make at10-7 at half time.

With that big secondhalf defence and somegreat line breaks fromAfon Bagshaw andHarri Evans the RGCplayers knew theyhad been in a physi-cal encounter and puta marker down for theremaining games of theseason.

“Gaf i fel Cadeirydd Cyngor Rygbi GogleddCymru ag ar ran y Pwyllgor ddymuno NadoligLlawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Heddychol a iachi chi i gyd.

Diolch o galon am eich cefnogaeth yn ystod2013, edrychwn i gyd ymlaen am 2014 lwyddi-anus a chael digon o fwynhad allan o’r gem.

Cofion Gorau, Dai Davies

As Chairman of North Wales Rugby Counciland on behalf of the Executive Committee canI wish you all a Happy Xmas and a Peacefuland Healthy New Year.

Thank you all so very much for your supportduring 2013, and we all look forward to anenjoyable and successful 2014.

Dai.”

Dai Davies,ChairmanNWRU, picturedright, welcomingRupert Moon toNorth Wales

WRU set to host the firstNorth Wales IOG courseClubs in North Wales have been given the opportu-nity to attend a IOG Course in basic ground mainte-nance funded by the WRU Recruitment Grant. Thecourse which is scheduled to take place on Sunday12th January 2014 at Colwyn Bay RFC will behosted by Len Smith, a leader in the field ofgrounds maintenance following a long career withworking with cricket, football and rugby clubs inboth Wales and England.

Since giving the opportunity to clubs to send up to4 volunteers on the course, the WRU has receiveda fantastic response. At the time of writing, thecourse is at full capacity. One of those clubs tak-ing advantage of the opportunity is Rygbi GogleddCymru. ‘We’re always looking for opportunities totrain our volunteers’ commented Rupert Moon,General Manager for the North Wales Development Region. ‘This is a greatopportunity for us to provide training for the less visible roles of grounds main-tenance whilst also showing our commitment to these important volunteers’.

The WRU are constantly looking for opportunities to provide volunteer train-ing courses. Clubs interested in future IOG courses are encouraged to emailClaire Thomas, Club Operations Advisors – Volunteer Support & Recruitment,to register their interest.

Finally, any club who has any queries or initiaives around volunteer support orrecruitment are encouraged to contact Claire via email cthomas@wru.co.uk.

It is our intention at the end of this season to have a re-union function and, also,to establish some form of a ‘Roll of Honour’.

YN GALW CYN CHWARAEWYR RYGBI TÎMHŶN GOGLEDD CYMRU

CALLING ALL PLAYERS WHO HAVE, OVERTHE PAST DECADES, PLAYED FOR THENORTH WALES RUGBY SENIOR TEAMIF you played in the past, or know of anyone who played for the North WalesRugby Senior team, we’d like to hear from you.

We’re conscious that Kenton Morgan of Ruthin RFC compiled, a few years ago,a database of past players but, unfortunately, his laptop was stolen- and with itdisappeared the contact details of some 500 players. So here goes again!!

It is our intention at the end of this season to have a re-union function and, also,to establish some form of a ‘Roll of Honour’.

We see these events as the initial activities in what, we hope, will be an ongoing series of events in order to ensure that the rich history of North WalesSenior Rugby is not allowed to disappear. It is imperative that the history of aregion which played against international touring countries and also won theWales Inter Counties Cup on a number of occasions should be recorded andcelebrated.

Thus, if you have played on one or more occasions for the North Wales Seniorteam, please would you forward the details below to RGC@wru.co.uk

We look forward to hearing from youRupert Moon and all at RGC and NWRC

ENW/NAME

CLWB/CLUB

CYFNOD CHWARAE I OGLEDD CYMRU/ PLAYING ERA FOR N WALES

CYFEIRIAD/ADDRESS

CYFEIRIAD Ebost/Email ADDRESS

If you’re looking for somewhere to get some fresh air after the Christmas Dayfestivities, you don’t need to look any further than Menai Bridge as their Under30’s take on the Over 30’s. Kick off is at 2pm

Games to be played on 11th January - kick off 2pm

Mold v Shotton SteelLlandudno v Menai BridgeSt Clears v LampeterTregaron v LaugharneBurry Port v CwmgorsYstrydgynlais v AbercravePyle v Bridgend SportsCowbridge v NantyfyllonNantymoel v TreherbertLlantwit Major v GlyncochClwb Rygbi Cymry Caerdydd v LlandaffTaff’s Well v Old IlltydiansAbertysswg Falcons v NantygloOakdale v HartridgeBeaufort v CaerleonYnysddu v Tredegar Ironsides

Games to be played on 11th January - kick off 2pm

Caernarfon v DenbighNant Conwy v Newcastle EmlynWhitland v KidwellyFelinfoel v LlangennechCwmllynfell v WaunarlwyddAmman Utd v LoughorGlynneath v TaibachKenfig Hill v TrebanosMaesteg Quins v LlantristantLlantwit Fardre v Heol y CywYstrad Rhondda v MerthyrGlamorgan Wanderers v BuilthSenghenydd v RhiwbinaNelson v RumneyAbergavenny v GarndiffaithRisca v Talywain

The RGC v Barfgoed pictures in this issue kindly supplied by Alan Skeates

The sessions will follow a holistic approach toplayer development and focus on Nutrition, condi-tioning, self-assessment and profiling, individualskills and team play.

I would like to invite all U14s players within theNorth East to attend a 14 week series of develop-ment sessions following the WRU national guide-lines.

The sessions will follow a holistic approach toplayer development and focus on Nutrition, condi-tioning, self-assessment and profiling, individualskills and team play.

The sessions begin on Wednesday February 19thbetween 6:00pm and 7:00pm at the Barn in EiriasPark. The programme is free of charge.

Please remember this opportunity is open to allU14s within the North East.

To book onto the program and for further detailsplease click here

If you have any further questions please contact medirectly at jferrari@wru.co.uk

Kind regards

Julian FerrariWelsh Rugby UnionPlayer Development Officer RGC EastMob.Tel: 07584 285991Email: jferrari@wru.co.uk

Wales Women’s head coach Rhys Edwards hasnamed six uncapped players in an exciting squadfor the 2014 Six Nations championship.

Blues second row Jade Newman is the only newface among the forwards while Edwards has turnedto youth in the backline with teenagers HannahJones (Ospreys), Eli Norkett (Ospreys) and RobynWilkins (Blues) being handed their big chancealongside speedsters Ffion Bowen (Ospreys) andLaurie Harries (Blues).

There is also a welcome return for Scarlets full backMared Evans who missed last season due to injury.

“We’ve chosen the squad on form at both club andregional level,” explained Edwards. “It might beconsidered that we are gambling with two or threeof them but all those who have been selected arepicked on merit because of their form, attitude andcommitment,” he added.

Jones and Norkett are just 17 while Wilkins is onlya year older but Edwards has no qualms aboutthrowing them in at the deep end.

“It’s all about giving some of the promising playersexperience at the top level. As an example Robyn isthe most promising player in her age group and shecan play at either 10 or 12 so that gives us extra op-tions. We want to put her in a big game environmentduring the Six Nations as we also look ahead to theWorld Cup as well.”

The recently completed Women’s Regional Cham-pionship has also unearthed some hidden gemsaccording to Edwards.

“We didn’t even know Ffion Bowen three weeksago but she has proved in a relatively short spaceof time she can finish - and finish well on the wing.She is a young and exciting prospect and a playerwe hope to nurture through the Six Nations.”

Wales Women’s Six Nations Squad 2014ForwardsMegan York (Blaenau/Gwent Dragons)Caryl Thomas (Bath Ladies/Dragons)Catrin Edwards (Bristol Ladies/Scarlets)Jenny Davies (Waterloo/Blues)Lowri Harries (Neath Athletic/Scarlets)Carys Phillips (Neath Athletic/Ospreys)Nia Davies (Cardiff Met/Blues)*Jade Newman (Llandaff North/Blues)Catrina Nicholas (Llandaff North/Blues)Sian Williams (Worcester/Dragons)Sioned Harries (Llandaff North/Scarlets)Rachel Taylor (Bristol Ladies/Dragons)Shona Powell-Hughes (Neath Athletic/Ospreys)

BacksSian Moore (Bristol Ladies/Ospreys)Amy Day (Llandaff North/Dragons)Laura Prosser (Pontyclun/Blues)Elinor Snowsill (Bristol Ladies/Dragons)*Hannah Jones (Neath Athletic/Ospreys)*Robyn Wilkins (Llandaff North/Blues)Rebecca de Fillippo (Bristol Ladies/Dragons)Elen Evans (Waterloo/Scarlets)Philippa Tuttiett (Llandaff North/Blues)*Elli Norkett (Neath Athletic/Ospreys)*Ffion Bowen (Maesteg Celtic/Ospreys)*Laurie Harries (Llandaff North/Blues)Dyddgu Hywel (Bristol Ladies/Scarlets)Mared Evans (Llandaff North/Scarlets)*Uncapped

Who saidrugby wasa seriousgame?Another great picturefrom Mike Wood ofShotton Steel RFC.

This picture was tak-en during the Shottonv Welshpool SwalecBowl tie last week.

Gatland extends Walescontract until 2019

The Welsh Rugby Unionis pleased to announcethat Wales Head CoachWarren Gatland is to re-main in post for an extrafour years until after theconclusion of the 2019Rugby World Cup.

This is the second ex-tension of the contractbetween the WRU andthe New Zealander whowas originally appointedas Head Coach of Walesin 2007.

That initial contractcovering 2007 until2011 was extended in2010 until after the2015 Rugby World Cup.Today’s further renewalwill ensure Gatland willbe the first coach to takeWales to three WorldCup competitions.

The announcement isbeing made as WarrenGatland is celebratinghis success in receivinga clutch of major ac-colades about his worldclass prowess as a HeadCoach.

On Sunday he was madethe BBC Sports Person-ality Coach of the Yearjust a week after beingnamed the Wales SportAwards Coach of theYear while days beforethat he was named UKCoach of the Year atthe Sports Coach UKnational Awards.

Warren Gatland willnow continue to coachthe senior Wales squadfor the next six yearsworking alongside theWRU Performance and

Development teams toensure a robust playersuccession plan con-tinues to identify andnurture the internationalstars of the future.

The announcement hasbeen timed to ensure theWales coach can focuscompletely on prepar-ing his squads for theintense international fix-ture schedule which liesahead of RWC 2015 andthe planning through to2019.

It also ensures long termcontinuity at the high-est level of the game inWales to build on War-ren Gatland’s six years’experience at the helmof the Welsh interna-tional game.

WRU Group ChiefExecutive, Roger Lewis,declared: “I am pleasedand honoured to be ableto announce that War-ren Gatland will remainHead Coach of Walesuntil after the RugbyWorld Cup in 2019.

“He has undoubtedlyproved that he has therugby expertise, thepassion and the com-mitment to prepare andinspire our teams to playwith the utmost skill andpride for the jersey.

“We now have a meticu-lous and professionalcoaching structure inplace which Warrenmust take credit forcreating.

“By signing him for afurther four years we

have ensured that thesystems now in placewill continue to developfor the future of theinternational game inWales.

“It is so important thatwe achieve continuity atthe highest level whichis why we have negoti-ated our Wales interna-tional touring fixtureschedule right throughuntil 2019.

“The contract we havenegotiated containsa significant elementwhich is based onsuccess and we are allworking towards thesame goal.

“The continuity of ex-cellence is a supremelyimportant factor in thepreparation and devel-opment of elite, inter-national sports teams inthis day and age.

“Of course we consid-ered all the scenariosavailable, but it becameincreasingly and abun-dantly clear that the bestoption for Wales is War-ren Gatland.

“The process which ledto this moment beganin earnest more than ayear ago and it has takenan incredible amount ofhard work and negotia-tion to make sure we gotthis right for Wales andfor Warren.

“We operate in anextremely hard nosedenvironment and therewas never any doubtthat we had to achieve a

renegotiation which wasworkable, meaningfuland ambitious in termsof our expectations.

“I have great respect forWarren and I know howhe lives and breathesrugby and is totally de-voted to achieving suc-cess for a nation he nowcalls home from home.

“He makes a lot ofsacrifices to ensure heknows everything thereis to know about the tal-ent available to him andthe other selectors andwe can rest assured thatthe future of the Welshteam will now remain insafe hands.

“In recent years we havecreated one of the bestelite training facili-ties in the world at theWRU National Centreof Excellence with someof the finest strength,conditioning and medi-cal experts in the game.

“We will never stop de-veloping and improvingour systems and struc-tures and I know Warrenwill continue to play acentral part in that proc-ess over the years ahead.

“My respect for War-ren’s ability as a coachis unquestioned andover the years of get-ting to know him I havecome to look uponhim as a genuine andhonourable man who Iam proud to count as afriend.”

He has put in place acoaching and backroomstructure which is seenas a template for thefuture and his continuedcontrol of its develop-ment is a massive bonusfor Wales.

The Wales team is nowrenowned worldwidefor its compelling andengaging rugby with allopponents fully awarethat Wales pose a potentthreat in any game.

During the RBS 6 Na-tions tournament WarrenGatland will become thelongest serving coachof Wales. His first newchallenge after this an-nouncement will be theRBS 6 Nations tourna-ment which kicks off

against Italy at the Mil-lennium Stadium on thefirst of February 2014.

Warren Gatland said: “Iam proud and delightedto have been chosen bythe Welsh Rugby Unionto take charge of Walesteams for the next twoRugby World Cup tour-naments.

“I have chosen to stayin Wales because of myconfidence in the play-ers we have, the coach-ing structures we havedeveloped and the suc-cession plan of talent wenow constantly update.

“I know the other majorrugby nations take usseriously as opponentswho can play excellentrugby and that inspiresme to take this group ofplayers even further.

“There is an incredibleamount of hard workahead but, with thebacking of the WelshRugby Union, the na-tional squad now has themeans to deliver whatthe Welsh public want.

“We have strong supportsystems, the interna-tional player pathwaystructure and the WRUNational Centre ofExcellence is a fantasticfacility.

“Our best players nowget developed withina totally professionalstructure and the back-room team we have inplace boasts some of thebest people around intheir areas of expertise.

“I want to personallythank the WRU and theWelsh rugby public forthe fantastic support thenational squad enjoysand I aim to return thecompliment by devot-ing all my professionalenergy to the success ofour national team in theyears ahead.

“I am looking forwardto the challenge and Iam extremely proud ofthe honour I have intaking Wales into thenext two Rugby WorldCups.”

Lewis and Gatland fur-thered their negotiationsfor a contract extension

while they were both inAustralia for the Brit-ish and Irish Lions tourlast summer and todaythe contract extensionwas unanimously agreedby the full board of theWRU.

WRU Chairman, DavidPickering, added:“Throughout a formi-dable coaching careerWarren Gatland hasachieved the staturewhich we want andexpect every coach ofWales to possess.

“He has made a hugeand positive differ-ence to the Wales teamthroughout his tenure sofar and we know he willendeavour to build onthat improvement in theyears ahead.

“I know Warren as aclear and concise stu-dent of the game whoconstantly seeks to beinnovative and forwardlooking in his approach.

“He operates in one ofthe toughest sportingenvironment and has thestrength of will to acceptand relish the challengeto meet the high stand-ards the Welsh rugbypublic demands.

“Welsh rugby is fit forpurpose both on andoff the field to meet thechallenges which lieahead and I am delight-ed we have been able tosecure the services ofWarren Gatland to helpus achieve our ambi-tions.”

This report firstappeared on the WRUweb-site atwww.wru.co.uk

In the week where his club were find £60,000, the star winger reinforces hisdesire to play for his country

George North intends to continue playing in every Test he can for Wales despitehis appearance against Australia last month landing his club Northampton witha £60,000 fine.

Northampton were handed the hefty punishment from Premiership Rugby onWednesday after allowing North to feature in Wales’ 30-26 defeat to the Wal-labies on November 30 – an appearance that took place outside the InternationalRugby Board’s international window.

Premiership clubs have an agreement that only England players can be releasedfor matches or training camps outside the IRB window.

However, wing North ensured he would be available for all Wales fixtures whenhe negotiated his move from the Scarlets to Franklin’s Gardens in the summer,and the 21-year-old is determined to represent his country at every opportunity.

North said before the Premiership Rugby decision was released: “WheneverI get the chance to pull the jersey on it is a massive honour and if they say,’George, we want you to play’, then obviously I’m going to play.

“Thank goodness the Saints are so understanding with me and allow me to pur-sue my international career.

“I have the utmost respect for the club and I back them 100 per cent for givingme this opportunity to pursue my Welsh career but also to play top rugby weekto week.

“I came to the club because I wanted to improve myself as a player and I’veenjoyed every second of it.”

George North wants toplay for Wales wheneverpossible

RGC celebrating the win against Bargoed at the final whistle

New RGC assistant coach Josh Leach insists theNorth Wales outfit must continue to climb theleague pyramid structure or risk losing their bright-est players to bigger clubs in the south.

RGC are currently sitting in third place in theChampionship – the second tier of the Welsh do-mestic system – after a bright opening to the cam-paign following promotion from Division One Eastlast term as champions.

And what is even more impressive for the NorthWales outfit is the fact that they are only midwaythrough their second campaign in competitiverugby union.

However, despite the giant strides the region hastaken in such a short space of time, Leach believesit is vital they continue to move forward and chal-lenge their players.

Scrum-half Leach was appointed player-assistantcoach to RGC chief Chris Horsman following thedeparture of Damian McGrath, the head of rugbytaking a role with the RFU and the England Sevensset up.

Already Leach, who is also director of rugby at Co-leg Llandrillo, has set big targets for the side, andfeels blessed to be in such a trusted position at thetender age of just 25.

“A career in professional coaching is definitelywhat I am looking for,” said the number nine.

“I was fortunate to get in early, while still playingat the age of 21, and that has put in a good position.

“And being up here with RGC has also put me inan accelerated position and given me the chancethat I wouldn’t have had with the other regions.

“I definitely wouldn’t get the opportunity to coacha Championship side if I was down there in SouthWales, and that speaks volumes for what is hap-pening at RGC in terms of being a developmentregion.

“It gives players and also coaches the opportunityto step up and develop themselves in a competitiveenvironment.

“I think I am just one of the examples of peoplethat have come through the system here.

“Obviously the likes of Harri (Evans) and Afon(Bagshaw) are starting to shine as players as theywork their way through the pathway, and as longas we can keep hold of them for as long as requiredand then we can watch them flourish if they haveto move on.

“But our role as coaches is to make sure we de-velop the team in a manner that offers competitiverugby for those players who are excelling.

“We have got to challenge them to make sure theykeep improving and the only way we can do that isby working our way up the leagues.”

RGC clinched their first home win of the season,getting the better of Newbridge RGC clinched theirfirst home win of the season, getting the better ofNewbridge

Leach will fill the void left by McGrath’s departurewhile also featuring as a player.

He is not coming in blind and has a great knowl-edge of a number of the youngsters within theset up having previously coached them either forLlandrillo or with the age grade sections at ParcEirias.

However, he is relishing the chance to step up andwork with the senior set up, but admits he feelshe must earn the respect of a number of the oldercharges.

He added: “I was asked (to be involved), I’ve beenworking with RGC this is my fourth year.

“It started out working with Coleg Llandrillo, wasinvolved with the age grade under-16s and workedmy way up to be involved with the U18s and thento go on and become the head coach of the U18slast year.

“And then this year the focus was on Llandrillocollege, being in the Welsh colleges league andto do as well as I could with them and to focus onplaying as well, but this role came up and Damianand Horse asked me if I would be interested if itcame about and they put it to Rupert (Moon) and heagreed for me to take it on.

“It is a big challenge for myself, it is a big step upto be working with adults, which is something I’veonly done once before.

“It is a challenge in what I want to put in placeand I have to be able to back that up and workingwith some great boys who have got a lot of rugbyknowledge themselves, so I know it will be a chal-lenge, but so far so good.

“It is difficult, a lot of people try to shy away fromplayer-coach roles for that reason (earning playersrespect).

“I have known a lot of the boys a long time andthey are friends as much as colleagues.

“I’ve coached some of them previously, and I’veplayed alongside most of them through the agegrade.

“But I think as long as I can justify what I amputting in place and it works I hope I can earn theirrespect in many aspects.

RGC clinched their first home win of the season,getting the better of Newbridge RGC clinched theirfirst home win of the season, getting the better ofNewbridge

“I’m 25, so I am a fair bit older than the lads thathave come through the academy, but the likes ofthe captain Kelvin (Davies) and Bryno (Bryn Wil-liams) are just two I’m a similar age to a few and alittle younger than a few others, and it comes downthen more to the technical stuff, that’s more my role,and my input.”

But should Leach find himself needing a helpfuland trusted advisor to turn toward, he knows heneed look no further than his brother, Pat, who iscurrently plying his trade with the Newport GwentDragons.

Pat, a centre, who is formerly a Colwyn Bay player,took time off his own schedule to lend his supportto RGC at a recent away match at Tata Steel.

“I think he was more interested in the footballmatch that was going on behind to be honest,”joked the younger of the pair.

“It was nice, I don’t get to see a huge amount ofhim because he is away playing with the Dragons,but it was good to see him and catch up, and we arestill close.

“And him coming over to show his support for theboys was great because he is someone who movedon before he had the opportunity with RGC, it wasnever there when he was around and younger.

“He’s a touch older than the likes of Kelvin andRhodri (Carlton Jones), and he was on his way be-fore RGC really formed. He played in the age gradeand with the U23s but soon found his way downsouth.”

Report by Rob Griffiths, Daily Post and pictures by Tony Bale

Llanelli is one of the most famous rugby towns inthe world. It is the focal point for one of the mostpassionately supported rugby clubs in the world, theScarlets - with a rich and unrivalled rugby heritage.

Llanelli’s first recorded game occurred in 1876 atPeoples Park. The home side played in blue. How-ever, it is thought that the club had been formed afew years earlier. As a result members, players andsupporters of Llanelli RFC celebrated the club’scentenary in 1972.

The 1904/05 season was a historic one as it saw theclub move to their “new” pitch at Stradey which iswhere the Scarlets played until October 2008 whenthey moved to their new stadium Parc y Scarlets.The first game on this pitch was on 15/10/1904when Llanelli played Swansea, a game which theylost.

The famous Scarlets shirt was worn for the firsttime in 1884 against an Irish XV who had stoppedoff in Llanelli having played Wales in Cardiff a fewdays earlier. It has been worn ever since, givingrise to nickname The Scarlets, which became theregion’s official name in September 2008 after theLlanelli was dropped from the name in recognitionof its wide geography as a rugby region.

Llanelli first came to prominence when they beatan Australian touring side in 1908. Since then theyhave lowered the colours of many internationalsides, including the mighty All Blacks in 1972 andbeating the world champions Australia, 13 - 9, some20 years later in November 1992.

Llanelli remained the undisputed cup kings ofWales, lifting the Welsh Cup 12 times in 17 finalappearances. In the 1992-93 season they won a BestTeam in Britain trophy after achieving the uniquetreble of winning the league, capturing the cup andbeating the Wallabies.

Since the onset of professionalism, the Scarletstriumphed as Celtic League champions and assemi-finalists in Europe’s premier tournament, theHeineken Cup.

They reached the last eight of the 2003-04 HeinekenCup and finished the Celtic League season as cham-pions by four points over Ulster.

In 2004/2005, the Scarlets reached the final of theCeltic Cup where they lost 26-17 to Munster.

In the 2005/06 season, the Scarlets were success-ful in the newly-restructured Powergen Cup. Afterfinishing at the top of their pool, they defeated Bathby one point in the semi-finals, setting up a dreamfinal against Wasps which the Scarlets lost 26 pointsto 10.

In the 2006/07 Heineken Cup, the Scarlets wontheir first three games of the competition and thenrecorded one of the most famous victories in theirhistory as a region, defeating Toulouse 34-41 awaydespite twice trailing by 21 points. They best Mun-ster 24-15 at a memorable game at Stradey Park inthe quarter-finals but were beaten 33-17 in the semisby a strong Leicester.

The Llanelli Scarlets region was founded in July2003 from the original Llanelli RFC when Welshelite rugby was restructured by the WRU; with theScarlets victorious in their battle to ‘stand-alone’where others were merged to create the five whichlater become four, top flight rugby regions.

The Scarlets officially represent the whole of Westand North Wales.

It’s not just famous victories that have given Llanel-li such a great rugby tradition - the town and regionhas produced an almost endless list of talented andworld-renowned players. They range from AlbertJenkins in the early 1900s to legends such as KenJones, Delme Thomas, Phil Bennett, Derek Quin-nell and Ray Gravell. In more recent eras there havebeen heroes like Ieuan Evans, Jonathan Davies andScott Quinnell. And today’s world-class Scarletsstars include Stephen Jones.

In total around 178 Wales internationals and 24British Lions - as well as Lions coaches such asthe legendary Carwyn James (New Zealand 1971)- have been bred from Llanelli rugby.

In November 2007, Stradey Park hosted the funeralof one of the Scarlets’ most famous and much-lovedsons, Ray Gravell.

The last ever rugby game at Stradey Park was heldon October 24th 2008 against Bristol. A game theScarlets fitting won 27 - 0. Stradey played host toLlanelli RFC and Scarlets matches for nearly 130years. During this time, it has hosted 2577 matches,winning 2029 drawing 162, losing 385 with 2matches abandoned, which represents a 79% suc-cess rate.

The Scarlets moved from Stradey Park at the endof November 2008 to their current home, the £23m15,000 capacity Parc y Scarlets.

The historic first game at the new facility was heldon the 15th November 2008 and was fittingly be-tween Llanelli RFC v Cardiff RFC, a game whichsaw Llanelli triumph with a 32 - 3 win over theirrivals, and which will live on in the history books.

Rhys Priestland was the first to score at the newground with his boot, the fly-half scoring 22 points.And rising Wales star centre Jonathan Davies, hadthe honour of the first try at the stadium. The Scar-lets’ first match at their new home was a MagnersLeague fixture on 28 November against Munster.The Scarlets lost this match 16-18. Their firstHeineken Cup match at Parc y Scarlets was held on12 December against Ulster which ended in a drawof 16 all.

The official opening ceremony was conducted byWales’ First Minister, Rhodri Morgan on 31 January2009 followed by the Scarlets V Barbarians in frontof a full house at Parc y Scarlets. The home sidesecured a convincing victory 40 -24.

With such strong rugby roots and some of the mostloyal and passionate supporters in world rugby,the Scarlets and Llanelli are a remarkable story ofhistory, success, pride and passion in the world ofsport.

Pictures above by Alan Skeates shows action from lastweekend’s RGC U15 Regional Selection games at ParcEirias.

THE OVAL ZONEis published by Gary WilliamsEmail: gwcymru1@aol.comTelephone 07713 514 375

Many thanks once again to all who have sentin reports, pictures etc for this issue, it is verymuch appreciated.

The fixtures and tables section will be back inthe next issue (going to spend the Christmasbreak checking through them).

I would like to take this opportunity to thankyou for your kind words since the Oval Zonewas first published and to wish all readers avery Merry Christmas and a Happy, Prosperousand Successful 2014.

If you would like to view the previous 27 issuesof The Oval Zone, they can be found on theNorth Wales web-site - www.nwru.co.uk

If you have games over the Christmas period,please don’t forget to take your camera andsend some pics in for the next issue.

A brief history of theScarlets - reproducedfrom the Scarlets web-site - www.scarlets.co.uk

MENAI BRIDGE v BANGOR Pictures kindly supplied by Tom Last