Ruthin Youth sewed up the North Wales double with a comfortable Youth Cup final win at Denbigh.
The young Blues, already North Wales League champions, were always just too good for a big and dogged Rhyl side who competed well but lacked the cutting edge to cause Ruthin real problems.
This wasn’t one of Ruthin’s vintage displays but they did enough and they were ruthless in taking their chances – when they got into the scoring zone they always came away with something.
They demonstrated that ruthlessness in the very first minute, outside-half Jac Williams’s timed pass sending centre Mike Jones blasting through an enormous gap and he drew the full back to put fellow centre Lewis Isaac under the posts.
Full back Shay Tudor converted but Ruthin failed to gather the restart and were under heavy pressure, conceding a penalty which Rhyl full back Callum Bennett landed to make it 7-3.
Tudor and Bennett exchanged further penalties before Ruthin scored their second try, Bennett dawdling over a bouncing kick through and caught five yards out. From the penalty for holding on Ruthin moved it swiftly left and Tudor crashed over.
He missed the conversion and Rhyl began battering away again with their forwards, forcing a succession of penalties which Ruthin were lucky to survive without a yellow card.
Bennett missed one kick but landed another only for Rhyl to immediately let the restart bounce into touch five metres from their line and when lock Arwyn Roberts claimed the ball for Ruthin Jac Williams forced his way ovcer for a try which Tudfor converted.
That made it 22-9 at half time and Tudor quickly added another penalty before Rhyl flanker Callum Morris was sin-binned for foul play and Ruthin took advantage.
They camped in the Rhyl 22 and though a knock-on gave Rhyl a scrum Ruthin number nine Will Mitchelmore robbed opposite number Will Morecambe and more slick hands sent the predatory Isaac clear on the left.
Tudor missed the conversion but Ruthin were home and hosed at 30-9 and the match rather petered out in a welter of penalties as Rhyl tried to rescue something from the game.
Ruthin lost centre Mike Jones and flanker Ben Taylor to the sin bin, Jones harshly for a spear tackle, and deep into injury time Rhyl centre Lewis Weaver squeezed over in the corner for a consolation score.
Afterwards Ruthin manager Tony Lloyd hailed his side: “They’ve had a tremendous season,” he said: “They’ve done the league and cup double in North Wales and they reached the Welsh Youth Championship final.
“They’ve done it playing really good rugby too and this is a fitting way for their season to end and a tribute to them and their coach, Jim Salisbury.”
It was a club double on the day as well as Ruthin Seconds battered Colwyn Bay 64-15 in the second of the afternoon’s Denbigh double-header to lift the Clwyd Cup.
Ruthin went behind in the opening minute to an interception try under the post but by midway through the half they were 22-7 up and cruising as Grant Mann and a marauding back row led by Duane Speakman-Jones dominated and half-backs Steffan Parry and Owain Dafydd orchestrated things behind.
Tries came from Parry, Mike Sharples 2, Gareth Gower Hughes, Bryn Bolton 2, Pat Carroll, Lee Jones 2, and Steffan Tudor with Sharples adding seven conversions.
