Cowbridge find Wright way to help youth shine

IF youth players are given a chance to shine then they can flourish and Cowbridge are currently proving that.

It’s been a difficult few years for Cowbridge following their relegation to Three East Central B in the summer of 2015.

A second consecutive drop was never in doubt as Cowbridge finished fifth in 2016, before narrowly missing out on promotion with a third-placed finish the following year.

But last season they won 18 of their 22 league games, which saw them clinch promotion as runnersup to Tylorstown.

And they’ve made an excellent start to the new campaign with five wins from six, including Saturday’s tense 6-5 top-of-the-table victory over Fairwater, which saw them climb to the summit.

“It was an incredible win really,” said secretary Rob Price.

“It was hell of a tough game and I don’t think there will be many teams that beat Fairwater this season.

“They are very physical, but the boys stuck to it. We just stuck to our task.

“They missed two kickable penalties, which probably would have taken them away from us but miss them they did and then our lad Ben Wright kicked one over from about 40 yards to clinch it.”

Zac Summerhayes had earlier given Cowbridge the lead with a well-taken penalty before Fairwater hit back with a try. And that looked set to separate the sides until Wright’s late heroics after coming off the bench.

Price admits the club are in a good place after a barren few years and credits the club’s youth system for getting them out of a difficult situation.

“The last two games have given them [the squad] a huge boost,” he continued.

“We lost to Penygraig at home in the cup [National Bowl] and then went up there last week and beat them 10-6 and really there were probably two tries that went begging.

“So that was a big confidence booster for the boys having lost to them the week before.

“One of the big things was we played at Penygraig and out of a squad of 19-20 there were only two boys that never featured for the youth or the junior sides at Cowbridge.

“The youth won the Youth Cup about three years ago, they were a very talented bunch of boys and they stuck together.

“That is what has kept us going, if that youth team hadn’t come through I don’t think Cowbridge would be here if I’m honest.

“We were struggling three years ago but Dan Williams, team manager, and his assistant coaches have done a tremendous job.

“It’s onwards and upwards and it’s the first time in two to three years that we’ve got a second team.”

Things are certainly on an upward trajectory for Cowbridge, although they won’t be taking Porthcawl’s Bowl title off them this season.

“We lost to Penygraig so it means we are out of the cup,” he said.

“And that means there is not going to be a backlog of fixtures because if you survive in the cup and keep playing on, they take preference over the league fixtures.

“Fixtures could mount up at the end of the year if you have a good run.

“We’re going to get bad weather, we’re going to get games called off, then you’ve got the Autumn Internationals, Six Nations, and weekends you can’t play so if you do have a good cup run you are looking at arranging another four fixtures on top of what has been abandoned weather-wise.”

Their Bowl exit means they can focus on their league schedule and the club is aiming high.

“It’s very early in the season but you’ve got to be looking at going for promotion,” continued Price.

“We’ll be up the top that’s for sure, there is a long way to go obviously and we’ve got tough fixtures coming up.

“It’s the old saying, you take one game at a time.”