It was a tale of two hat-tricks for Cardiff’s under-16 sides as they continued their Regional Age Grade Championship campaigns on Wednesday.
Both sides went into the latest round of action with wins under their belts following a successful trip to North Wales in Round One.
Iestyn Williams’ South side travelled to Ystrad Mynach to take on Dragons Black, while Ian Evans’ North welcome Scarlets East to Merthyr’s The Wern.
Dragons Black 10 Cardiff South 34
Cardiff Rugby South made it two from two with another comprehensive victory at Ystrad Mynach.
Ben Roberts scored the only try of the first half in sensational fashion. The Bro Edern full back gathered Dragons’ clearance and showed an impressive combination of footwork, pace and agility to beat six defenders and touch down for a memorable solo effort.
Dragons replied with a penalty but the boot of Cardiff’s Lloyd Lucas continued to tick the scoreboard in the visitors’ favour, who went into the break with a comfortable 13-3 lead.
It was another attack from deep that paved the way for the Blue and Blacks’ second of the evening. This time it was centre Iestyn Hutchings who sliced through the home defence, before drawing the full back and sending Roberts clear for his second of the match.
The momentum saw Cardiff shifting up a gear, and soon added a third as Hutchings and Roberts this time combined to send Blessing Kilonda over in the corner from the first phase of a midfield scrum.
Roberts completed his hat-trick in the latter stages, with Ysgol Glantaf and Cardiff Schools captain Lucas converting to take his personal tally to 14 for the evening.
There was a late consolation score for the hosts, but Cardiff South now turn their attention to a first home match next week, where they will host Ospreys West at Cardiff Arms Park.
Cardiff North 24 Scarlets East 24
It was honours evens at Merthyr on Wednesday, as Cardiff North and Scarlets East couldn’t be separated in a thrilling contest.
Harrison Nixon opened the scoring for the Blue and Blacks, latching onto a fortuitous bounce of the ball from Kodie Stone’s clearance kick after the hosts had been under pressure in their own 22. The Cardiff wing still had plenty to do, pulling in the covering Ellis Payne before beating the number 10 for pace on the outside to finish expertly in the corner.
Stone and Nixon once again combined to create the opening for the second try, but this time the man out wide found support on his inside from playmaker Tom Hughes, who dotted down unopposed.
Cardiff pounced once again from the restart, with Steffan Emanuel making a dent in the Scarlets defence, bringing play up to the opposition half. An offload from the ground kept the tempo high, with Dylan Scott advancing into the 22 and Ian Evans’ side made the most of the front foot ball. With number to the right they shipped it to dangerman Nixon, who squeezeed in out wide for his brace.
An interception saw Nixon securing his hat-trick try, with no hope of catching the speedster as he raced from his own 22.
Cardiff North face a trip to Ystrad Mynach next Wednesday, where they will face Dragons Black.
20 April 2022
Dragons Black v Cardiff North
Cardiff South v Ospreys West - Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
27 April 2022
Scarlets East v Cardiff South
Cardiff North v Ospreys East - The Wern, Merthyr RFC
4 May 2022
Cardiff North v Cardiff South - The Wern, Merthyr RFC