Tycroes Titans women's rugby team secure league status
The Tycroes Titans women's rugby team marked their achievement at their annual awards night.
The team completed the necessary 10 games to secure league status, travelling long distances for matches in places like Ebbw Vale, Pembroke, and Penygraig.
The management team started the night by giving individual awards to every player, highlighting the progress made since their first contact game earlier in the season.
Main awards included Forward of the Year for Jodie Thomas, Back of the Year for Tammie Court, Most Improved Player for Tanya Isaac, Players' Player for Sam Lewis, and Player of the Year for Emma Williams.
The night reached a high point with an announcement from the coaching staff, confirming the Titans' league status for the upcoming season via a recent email from the Welsh Rugby Union.
The evening wrapped up with music from Danielle Lowri, marking the end of a memorable night.
This achievement is a proud moment for the team and Tycroes community, indicating a promising future for women's rugby in the area.
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South Wales Guardian
18 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Tycroes Titans women's rugby team secure league status
The Tycroes Titans women's rugby team marked their achievement at their annual awards night. The team completed the necessary 10 games to secure league status, travelling long distances for matches in places like Ebbw Vale, Pembroke, and Penygraig. The management team started the night by giving individual awards to every player, highlighting the progress made since their first contact game earlier in the season. Main awards included Forward of the Year for Jodie Thomas, Back of the Year for Tammie Court, Most Improved Player for Tanya Isaac, Players' Player for Sam Lewis, and Player of the Year for Emma Williams. The night reached a high point with an announcement from the coaching staff, confirming the Titans' league status for the upcoming season via a recent email from the Welsh Rugby Union. The evening wrapped up with music from Danielle Lowri, marking the end of a memorable night. This achievement is a proud moment for the team and Tycroes community, indicating a promising future for women's rugby in the area.
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Chelsea files: ‘Kevin de Bruyne 2.0' fears about new signing as £44m Geovany Quenda shines at Euro U21 Championship
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) COLE PALMER is a man of few words but underneath his withdrawn demeanour lies a cheeky sense of humour. Football fans were surprised to see Chelsea's most gifted player arrive in the US for the Club World Cup sporting a face mask. 5 Chelsea superstar Cole Palmer made headlines ahead of the Club World Cup 5 Chelsea Boss Enzo Maresca suggested Palmer has a cheeky sense of humour beneath his withdrawn demeanour One of those disposable, blue mouth and nose covers that so many of us remember from the height of the Covid pandemic. Of course, pictures of the England star covering his face triggered rumours that he was ill, the rest of the team were ill, or that he had extremely bad plane breath. Thankfully for Chelsea fans and head coach Enzo Maresca, it seems all is well with his prized player. The Italian explained: 'To be honest, I saw him in the flight with the mask, but I didn't ask. I think probably because he was not even a little bit ill. To be honest, I don't know if it was even for a joke. He's okay.' Read More on Chelsea IN GOOD NICK Chelsea 'in talks to sign 6ft6in Germany star', 23, to resolve striker woes For those who witnessed Palmer's mono syllabic responses live on TV at the height of celebrations following the Conference League win last month, it's refreshing and reassuring to learn that beneath his stone cold outward persona lies a wicked sense of humour. Chelsea's media officials might not agree so wholeheartedly though as the photo of Palmer standing aside from his team-mates as they 'de-planed' in Philadelphia last week, caused them a busy day answering umpteen phone calls as to why? ******************************************************* FOOTBALL in the United States is a wholly different experience to back home. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS For starters, mention "football" and they think you are referring to large men in padded shirts lobbing a rugby shaped ball around. So "soccer" it is. Additionally, there is no such thing as "Man of the Match" as Chelsea winger Estevao Willian found out. Kevin De Bruyne given emotional Etihad send off as Man City take huge leap towards return to Champions League The teenager is poised to join the Blues from Palmeiras later this summer but for now is representing the Brazilian giants at the Club World Cup. Despite missing a good opportunity to score in the 0-0 draw with Porto, he was considered the best on the pitch. Even though Porto keeper Claudio Ramos made a stunning triple save during the game. Nonetheless, Estevao got the nod but instead of being named as "Man of the Match" he was elected "Superior Player". Another American-ese term we are going to have to get used to. But the 18-year-old's euphoria didn't last long after his personal achievement. When asked about the performance of his imminent arrival who cost £34million, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca seemed less than giddy at the prospect. Maresca said; 'I'm not thinking about it. I just answered the question that probably we need to do something in the wide area. Now if Estevao is doing well, we are happy. But in this moment he's doing well for another team. Hopefully he can do well for us when he joins us.' Hardly gushing praise is it? ******************************************************* BLUE is the colour, unless you are part of the Chelsea team in the USA that is. New for the Club World Cup is the "mint" green outfit that looks more like cold pea soup. Everyone is sporting it, no doubt to drive sales over here and back home in the UK. And while on some of the younger members of staff it doesn't look half bad, for people of a certain age it's hardly flattering. Seeing the whole Chelsea entourage rock up at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Atlanta in identical garb was some sight. And it's coming to a Chelsea superstore near you very soon. The colour is officially labelled "Jade Horizon" - yes, I kid you not. All together now : 'Jade Horizon is the colour, football is the game…' Tut tut. When will it stop? 5 Chelsea signing Geovany Quenda is shining at the Under-21 Euros WITH all eyes on the Club World Cup for Chelsea at the moment, it's easy to forget that the Under-21 Euros are also ongoing - and the Blues have plenty of talent taking part. Wanted centre-backs Ismael Doukoure and Jorrel Hato are both in action in the tournament, but the man stealing the show has already penned a deal in South West London - Geovany Quenda. After a good showing in Portugal's tournament debut that ended in a draw, the talented winger stole the show in a 5-0 thrashing of Poland in which he scored twice and got an assist before being replaced at half-time. He's the youngest player at the tournament, and his performance has already got fans drawing comparisons between him and Estevao Willian. The 18-year-old can play on the right, left or as a wing-back as he showcased for Sporting Lisbon last season, and was desired by Ruben Amorim's Manchester United before Chelsea stole in and secured the deal. Quenda will join in 12 months time and could cost the Blues up to £44million, which may just turn out to be great value for money if he can work his way into the first team. 5 Chelsea are at risk of repeating the same mistake they made with Kevin De Bruyne 5 Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly needs to be careful with wonderkid Kendry Paez SUCH is the story of Chelsea at the moment that they announced the signing of Ecuadorean midfielder Kendry Paez in 2023 from Independiente Del Valle and he is yet to play a minute for the Blues. The wonderkid has been touted as a future Ballon D'or winner, but fans are concerned about how things may play out for him at Stamford Bridge. Paez' situation at Chelsea has become somewhat complicated as he expected to be playing at the Club World Cup before being left out of the squad, but travelling with the players to train in America. He is expected to go on loan to Strasbourg next season, following in the footsteps of Andrey Santos before being given a chance to shine in the Premier League. The worry is, that with Chelsea's abundance of talent, particularly in his position where in future he could be competing with Cole Palmer, Estevao Willian, Geovany Quenda, Noni Madueke and more, that he will be a victim of the Blues' system - or won't see a clear pathway and force a move elsewhere. This may well be Kevin De Bruyne 2.0 if the Chelsea hierarchy are not careful… ********************************************************** A HAT TRICK of former Chelsea academy graduates could well be paying a visit back to Stamford Bridge this summer as part of an international tournament. Fikayo Tomori, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham all play for Italians AC Milan, who join Germans Bayer Leverkusen and the Blues a week before the Premier League season kicks off. The trio form the spine of a team with defender Tomori, midfielder Loftus-Cheek and striker Abraham all enjoying strong connections with each other and with their former club. The VisitMalta Weekender takes place from August 8-10.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Sand dunes and sumo - Wales' brutal pre-season
From sand dunes to shark bait sumo, Wales head coach Sean Lynn is delivering on his promise of a brutal a disappointing first campaign in the 2025 Women's Six Nations the former Gloucester-Hartpury boss made no secret of the fact he thought Wales lacked the fitness to play the brand of rugby that won him three successive league with a two-Test tour of Australia and the Rugby World Cup in England fast approaching, Lynn is intent on pushing players to their extended training squad reported for testing at the Welsh Rugby Union's (WRU) National Centre of Excellence at the start of June, the first task being the dreaded bronco runs. True grit For those fortunate enough never to have partaken, it is a fitness test that involves timed shuttle runs over increasing distances."We came in on day one looking at the bronco testing, it's what our lead S&C [strength and conditioning coach] wanted to measure us on," said Lynn."It's really exciting because one of our young pathway players absolutely smashed it, and came top of the forwards league table which is really pleasing to see."Testing has not just been confined to sweltering indoor training barns - the squad headed to Merthyr Mawr on Friday where they endured the energy-zapping 'big dipper' - the largest sand dune in Wales."When you're in these tough situations, it's about making sure that we're all in it together," said Lynn."It's a combination of making sure that we are digging in deep and working hard for each other."We want to be a hard team to beat." As well as welcoming back prop powerhouse Sisilia Tuipulotu, Lynn has stayed true to his word by including a handful of pathway players in his 45-player they are not just there to make up the numbers with Lynn saying they are "very much in the mix" for selection this summer."It's lovely to see the PDCs [player development centres] at the moment and you can see their fruition."We're seeing a real big emphasis on these girls. They are not drowning, they are swimming very nicely in these waters." Back-row Chiara Pearce and scrum-half Seren Lockwood have both come from Wales Under-18s."It's been challenging physically and mentally, but it's a great feeling training with all the big guns, because you see them on telly," Pearce said."I feel confident in everything I'm doing, just because he [Lynn] is on my back saying 'you can do it, just believe in yourself, we're all here together and we're all helping you'."Lockwood added: "We are here for a reason, so it's up to us to prove ourselves now."It's crazy to think about it, I'm 18 years-old, it [selection] would be a dream, but it is in reach, I've just got to fight for it now and see what happens."It is also a first camp for loose-head prop Katherine Baverstock who said it is certainly a "step-up" from under-20s, but they "want to train well and put our names out there". Baby sharks While impressing the coaches, Pearce, Lockwood and Baverstock admit to being daunted by some of the senior players, especially when they do the 'shark bait' contact drill."Basically we fight each other, it's like sumo wrestling and you've got to get each other out of the circle. It gets pretty intense," explained Baverstock."I had Abbie Fleming, I got in the ring and I was shaking, I was like 'oh no'," said at the same time the young trio are more than ready to fight for shirts."I'll have no problem putting myself in the mix and fighting for that position because I know how bad I want it," said Pearce."They've already represented and I haven't yet." That is just the sort of healthy competition Lynn wants before he whittles the squad down to 30 players before heading down under to take on the Wallaroos in Brisbane on 26 July and then in Sydney on 1 beat Australia for the first time in their history at Rodney Parade in a warm-up last September before succumbing to a heavy defeat at WXV2 a week their return to the UK, Wales will have just over three weeks to shake-off the jet lag and get ready for what promises to be the biggest ever Women's Rugby World Cup, with the 10th edition being held across eight different venues in opening game is against Six Nations rivals Scotland on Saturday, 23 August. Wales' World Cup Pool B fixtures Scotland v Wales: Saturday, 23 August, Salford Community Stadium,14:45 BSTCanada v Wales: 30 August, Salford Community Stadium, Saturday, 12:00 BSTWales v Fiji: Saturday, 6 September, Sandy Park, 14:45 BST
