Stanwell 1St XV Rugby - Principality Stadium

Stanwell 1stXV Rugby in Principality Plate Final

On Tuesday 26^th April, Stanwell’s Senior Rugby Team played in the final of the Welsh Schools Plate competition at the home of welsh rugby, The Principality Stadium, Cardiff.

After an extremely close run semi-final, the team made up of pupils from Years 11 - 13 were invited to play against Ysgol Penweddig, Aberystwyth in what was being tipped as a highly competitive encounter, the match did not disappoint!

After a period of pressure from a dogged Penweddig side Stanwell’s resilient defence from Evan Jones, number 8 and flanker George Jones began to pay off giving Stanwell an early 3 point lead from the boot of Rhys Mottram. The score remained close at 6-0 to Stanwell during the first half of a very exciting match. The start of second half saw prop Liam Brooks run a hard line from 10 metres out to score the first try of the match which, expertly converted by Fly-half Rhys Mottram, 11-0 to Stanwell

Realising that they needed to increase the pressure to come back into the match, Penweddig pinned Stanwell into the corner of the pitch and forced them to play out. At this point the 1100 strong crowd of Stanwell supporters witnessed in the glorious sunshine what has been now been dubbed “one of the best tries ever seen at the Principality Stadium” by the media and pundits alike as Rhys Mottram ran 101 metres from Stanwell’s own try line, evading numerous defenders to score an absolutely sensational try. And the crowd went wild as Rhys’ awe-inspiring try was met with rapturous applause and “Stanwell” chants resonated throughout the Stadium. Word soon spread of this amazing achievement as the truly stunning try has so far been viewed on our website an astonishing 57000 times!

At end of such a thrilling match, Captain Evan Jones spoke of how proud he was of the entire squad, including those players that didn’t make the final 23. It has to be said that each and every single team member played their part with their superb performances and thoroughly deserved the 18-7 victory. The team were so thankful for the constant support the ardent Stanwell supporters had shown them throughout the whole match.

Since the match, the response from the community has been incredible with good will messages coming from previous 1stXV players, parents, local clubs and even an article by Wales Online. The players are completely overwhelmed and feel truly privileged that they were able to bring a little bit of happiness to so many. The mission of the team has always been “to make Stanwell rugby that little bit better” and it is safe to say that this year it’s definitely a case of “mission accomplished!”   Da iawn boys

Highlights of the match:  

https://twitter.com/welshrugbyunion/status/1518935958779011074?s=21&t=1TBpVQ4qvjjMTaRe0k7nfQ

Media report:

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/schoolboy-scores-one-best-tries-23805131