FORGESIDE under 9s. under 8s and under 7s travelled the long distance to over to the Rhymney Valley to play New Tredegar on Sunday and all three sides came away empty handed, writes Steve Reed.

First up were the under 9s who played well for long periods, however still ended on the losing side. For Forgeside again it was Ieuan Rowlands who led by example with tackle after tackle and some excellent running as he racked up five tries. Not far behind him with another big tackle count was Harrison Reed who defended excellent throughout. Kai Teal also improves every week with his tackling and another brace of tries to his name. Edward Winterfeld also had a solid game in defence, as did Ben George who was playing his first game after long lay off due to injury. Another player the team are glad to see back is Kian Edwards who put in some good tackles and also got on the scoresheet with a good try. Ben Skyrme had one of his best games to date in both defence and attack as did Dione Kenvin who had a solid game. Callum Kenvin also played well, Will Marshall supported well, however all the good work was not quite enough as a couple of missed tackles cost the youngsters a win. Final score New Tredegar nine tries Forgeside eight tries.

In the second game of the morning Forgeside under 8s also lost to their hosts, however the score line was not as close this time. For the under 8s the stand out player was Alfie McCann who made six tags to earn himself the player of the match award, Evyn Harper also made several good tags as Erin Higgins scored herself a nice little try, however not to be out done her sister Manon ran in a brace of tries. Rhys Richardson, Logan Harris-Redman, Bailey McCloy, Rory Jenkins and Lacey Probert also contributed well as they all made several good tags. Final score New Tredegar seven tries Forgeside three tries.

In the final game of the morning it was the under 7s who were hoping to build on their excellent result last week, however regardless of an excellent performance from every player they just lost out to a much bigger and more experienced New Tredegar team. The players that stared for Forgeside were Jake Thomas, Bray Lewis, Ralphie Radcliffe, Tyler Cheshire, Georgia Osmond, Bleddyn McCann, Jack Marshall and Captain for the day Frazer Redman. Final score New Tredegar seven tries.