Penybanc Panthers 0 Caernarfon 19

Super Cup - Round One

The WWRU's Supercup competition kicked off at the weekend with Division Two champions Penybanc Panthers facing a huge task having been placed in a pool containing establish Division One and Premiership sides.

The experienced Caernarfon side proved a tough opener for the young Panthers, who performed admirably and were unfortunate not to get themselves on the scoresheet.

From the first kick Caernarfon showed why they are considered the best team in the North, but a series of big hits did nothing to dampened the Panthers' enthusiasm as the hosts looked to play their usual running game.

When Caernarfon were awarded a scrum in the home 22, scrum-half Jess Kavanagh was able to open the visitors account with a converted touchdown.

The Panthers managed to restrict the visitors and could have scored themselves on three occasions only for the last pass to evade the waiting hands as the first half came to an end with the visitors 7-0 ahead.

With the homesters set piece working particularly well, they managed to create further opportunities in the second half but again their inexperience let them down at the final moment.

With the Panthers having given everything to the cause, Kavanagh was again able to show her class with two fine individual tries late on.

Coach Hywel Thomas said: "I’m extremely proud of the team today.

"We are without a few players due to international and regional U18s duty so it was an opportunity for less experienced girls to step in and they did a fantastic job.

"The Supercup is going to be a valuable experience in preparation for life in Division One next year so we can take a lot of heart from today’s experience."