On Sunday May 25th a Welsh Touring side, Kenfig Hill RFC "Mules", visited Ottawa to play the Ottawa Irish Rugby Club. To see game report click read more...

Kenfig Hill RFC vs Ottawa Irish RC, May 25th @ Twin Elm Rugby Park 

Written By: John Jerome, Chris Seyler

Kenfig Hill RFC “Mules” having arrived in Canada on Friday, May 23^rd came to Ottawa to face the Ottawa Irish Rugby Club (OIRC) for their first Canadian Rugby encounter on the Sunday afternoon.

Both teams had a moment of silence prior to kicking off for the Mother of James Phillips who died while the Welsh team was in Canada.

Immediately after the game started the Ottawa Irish were able to get onto the score board early on by capitalizing on the Welsh mistakes with Martin Herde #10 slotting a penalty kick to make the game: OIRC 3 –KHRFC 0. Soon after, off of a scrum the Welsh backline were able to break through the Ottawa Irish defense with Alex Pearce #13 touching down in the corner. Conversion was hit by Mark Jones #10.  KHRFC  7 – OIRC 3.

The Ottawa Irish restarted the game after conceding the try. The Ottawa Irish defense put the Welsh team under extreme pressure causing some errors leading to penalties. Martin Herde #10 slotted 2 penalties to finish off the half with the Ottawa Irish ahead by two. Score was OIRC 9 - KHRFC 7 heading into the second half.

The second half began with Martin Bator #8 touching down after a quick burst up the middle.  Soon after Thomas Maund #6 touched down for two tries both conversion missed. The Ottawa Irish continued to fight back but in the end the final score was KHRFC 22 – OIRC 9

After the match both teams enjoyed some pints and a meal. Thomas Maund had some words to say about the game. “Very physical game played with great spirit and passion by both teams. Excellent skill levels with both teams commitment outstanding. Great pleasure to play against a team like the Ottawa Irish who are similar to us.”

Kenfig Hill RFC Scorers: 

Tries: Alex Pearce (1), Martin Bator (1), Thomas Maund (2)

Conversion: Mark Jones (1)

Ottawa Irish RC Scorers:

Penalties: Martin Herde (3)

 Ottawa Irish:

1 – James Moran, 2 – Will Thompson, 3 – Chris Seyler, 4 – Peter Barreiro (C), 5 – Jack Bisson, 6 - Graham Stevens, 7 – Tehran Carroll, 8 – Ryan Ellement, 9 – Brian Kelly-Mor, 10 – Martin Herde,  11 – Simon Gillet, 12 – Lance Miller, 13 – Jason Oates, 14 – Loyd Smith, 15 – Jason Mohns, 16 – Nick Perehenic, 17 – Andrew McMaster

Kenfig Hill:

 1 – Lewis David, 2 – Gavin Reffell, 3 – Steven Smith, 4 – Owen Davies, 5 – Chris Phillips, 6 – Thomas Maund, 7 – Gavin Ansen, 8 – Matthew Bater (C), 9 - Geraint Jenkins, 10 -  Mark Jones, 11 – David Williams, 12 – Alan Brace, 13 – Alex Pearce, 14 – Chris Jenkins, 15 – Gregg Cull, 16 – Ian Williams, 17 – Craig Williams, 18 – Lloyd Smith, 19 – Lloyd Giles, 20 – Gareth Stevens, 21 – Jason Howe, 22 – Mike Tiffin, 23 – Steve Gillard.