We asked the players and staff the big question…which member of the squad would make the best James Bond.

Cam Davies: Rhys Williams

Billy McBryde: Will Sanderson.

Evan Yardley: Davide (S&C Coach)

Tim Grey: Harri Evans

Rhys Williams: Harri or Dion Jones

 Andrew Williams: Joe Simpson

Jim Coy: Robin Williams- never misses the target!!!

Sam Roger: Aron Evans

Afon Bagshaw: Jim Coy

RGC 16s went down 38-5 against Cardiff Blues South last weekend, and forwards coach Gwyndaf Davies gave his reflection on the game: “Whilst we are all disappointed, both with the loss and the margin we lost by, there are still a lot of positives to take from the game. The Blues presented a far greater physical challenge than we have faced thus far, and it would have been easy for heads to drop given the amount of territory and possession that they had. That they did not says much for the character of the team, and we are already looking forward to Sunday’s game against the Dragons North at Stadiwm Zip World.”

Sunday 16th September

RGC U16s v Dragons North 2.30pm Stadiwm Zip World

The U18s lost 34-17 to the Ospreys, in a game where they found themselves 24-nil down.  Performance Manager Josh Leach knows his side can take positives out of the performance: “It was a more confident performance, and we dominated the ball and territory.  We gave them a 24-nil start through turnover and intercepted tries.  We got back in the game with a try before halftime, and 2 after the break, but it was another turnover for Ospreys that took them away with the game.  We will need to be on point from the kick off against Dragons on Sunday if we are to compete.”

Sunday 16th September

RGC U18s v Dragons (Away)

RGC will have two new additions in the next couple of weeks with Beau Williams and Karl Martin joining. Head Coach Mark Jones believes the new additions will benefit the squad for a number of reasons.

“We have maximised the talent from North Wales at the moment in these areas, and with all signings they have to offer more than we have currently in North Wales. Beau is Welsh Qualified and he will come over to give us something extra. We have Robin Williams and Bryn Jones who have done well for us, along with the more experienced Andrew Williams, so Beau will add to that mix.

With Afon Bagshaw gaining his Wales 7s contract it means he won’t be as readily available to us, so we needed support for Dion Jones, and Karl will give us that.  He is a specialist goal kicker and has that tactical kick base to his game, so offers a foil to Dion’s more running game.

As we have always stated, when we bring players in they must add to what we have, and as we saw with Tiaan helping to develop Danny Cross, and Jacob with Sam Rogers, then these recruits will help the next line of North Wales players to come through.”

We caught up with both players to find out more about them.

The coach collected those lucky supporters who managed to reserve a seat on the coach down to Swansea at different points along the North Wales coast and Wrexham.

It made its journey South through the beautiful countryside of North and Mid-Wales; one RGC supporter commented, “I don’t know how those poor South Wales teams manage such a journey every other week!”. Seriously though, the trip South seems very quick, the banter on the coach and the rest stop makes for a very enjoyable journey. Committee members were on-hand to sign up any new Supporters Club members, to answer any questions about future trips to the South of the principality and to sell the raffle tickets. Speaking of which, we’re pretty sure that we set some kind of record when we drew the raffle on top of the Brecon Beacons.  We were also somewhat surprised, but pleased, that the winner of our high-altitude raffle for an RGC baseball cap was Kamarl, one of the drivers for the trip.

After a quick ‘passport check’ at Builth Wells, we made our way to Swansea and were soon at the St Helens ground. The coach dropped its cargo of eager and thirsty RGC Supporters at the door, where those of us that had taken advantage of the pre-match hospitality that we had arranged, were shown to a lounge overlooking the pitch. And, we got to enjoy a roast turkey dinner and chocolate fudge cake!

The BBC film crew (Dan the camera man and co.) took advantage and completed their segment on the RGC travelling support for BBC Scrum V, airing later this month!

Those who have travelled to Swansea before, know the best standing spots -the clubhouse is some way from the pitch as the ground doubles as a cricket pitch. The ‘RGC Massive’ made its way to the opposite side of the pitch to position themselves in and around the halfway line in readiness for kick off. They were joined by those loyal away-day travellers who made the journey by car, and those who are based in the South.

As the RGC team made its way onto the pitch, they were met by the deafening chorus of ‘RGC, RGC, RGC’ and the supporters were met by the new RGC kit. It’s certain to be popular as merchandise over the coming weeks; well done XBlades. The RGC chants silenced the home crowd who made every effort to cheer their team on.

The game ebbed and flowed as it usually does against a dogged Swansea team; RGC out of the blocks early but Swansea made a fight of it. Half-time saw RGC just ahead with 21 points to 14 and during the break our own Chairman, Russell Everett stepped up to represent North Wales in Swansea’s version of pass the ball through Brian Moore's mouth.  Despite Swansea drawing level early in the second half, when the final whistle blew, RGC had proven themselves the better team but they will know where the improvements are needed.

With the game won, our second bonus point victory of the season (two from two!), the coach waited for the jubilant supporters to return to their seats in readiness for the journey home.

As with the trip down, the journey back was straightforward, made easier by the victory and the conversations of the next away trip! Another stop as we headed north, for chips and a leg stretch before dropping those happy fans home. Those dropped off in Colwyn Bay were serenaded by Katherine Jenkins as she brought the curtains down on The Proms at Stadiwm Zip World; coincidence, or did she secretly know the result?! RGC My Lord, RGC…Katherine may have whispered as she left the stage!

A successful away-day for the fans and team alike; for those who were not fortunate to get a coach seat, book early to enjoy the travelling experience of an RGC away day. C’MON GOGS!

Andy Taylor

Vice Chairman

RGC Supporter Club

Billy McBryde struck 14 points in RGC’s BP win against Swansea, with tries coming from Efan Jones, Tom Hughes, Sam Jones and Cam Davies. The RGC Fly-half was delighted to pick up all the points: “It was a hard fought win. Credit to Swansea, I thought they deserved the 4 try bonus point. As a group we felt we took the foot off the gas after our quick start and played in the wrong areas, but with the wind second half and the impact off the bench it was a good 5 points away from home. Special mention to Phil John for running the tee on with blister!”

Pontypridd and RGC are the only teams with full points after 2 games.  Ponty ran in 7 tries in a 43 – nil win against Llanelli. Rhys Shallard opened the scoring after 5 minutes before Number 8 Sieniawski went over. The visitors had prop Adam Thomas yellow carded and Ponty took full advantage with 2 Stuckley tries and Knott also touching down. Webber picked up a brace of tries to set the emphatic victory.

Llandovery made it 18 home wins in a row with a 20-3 victory against Cardiff.

Today’s visitors Ebbw Vale came from 17-nil down to beat Aberavon in front of the Scrum V cameras.  Steffan Thomas scored after the break before Ronnie Keynes went over for the try. The winning points came from Ashley Sweet with a 72nd minute try before Jones kicked the conversion.

Merthyr picked up another win with a 27-7 result against Merthyr, Winger Lewis Williams grabbed a 1^st half hatrick in the process.

It was another home win when Carmarthen Quins ran in 41-28 winners against Cross Keys. Aled Thomas opened the scoring before Ellis Lloyd and Dale Ford ran in tries. The bonus point try came before half-time with Liam Davies grabbing it.

During the season we will be asking the players for their 5 favourite box sets

Rhys Williams selects his:

Friends

Power

Game of Thrones

Lord of the Rings trilogy

The Punisher (series)

Referee: Wayne Davies
AR: Ceirion Parry
AR: Craig Roberts