The Griffiths Under 18s Cup Final was played at the traditional venue Neyland RFC, last Friday, the finalists being Whitland and Haverforwest.

It was a hard fought game and a credit to both teams who gave their all, keeping the large crowd enthralled until the final whistle.

Playing against the elements in the first half, Whitland found they had little choice but to run everything in an effort to gain ground, and on a couple of occasions were unlucky not to break through. Ryan Davies broke the defensive line, only to be called back for a marginal forward pass.

Steffan James also had an exciting run down the left wing, but with the Haverfordwest cover defence closing in and pushing him towards the touchline, he chipped the ball back in field.

The ball bounced away from the supporting attackers into the arms of the Haverfordwest fullback Dan Rawlings, who, with the help of the wind, put in a huge kick to clear the danger.

Haverfordwest then made good use of the elements to keep Whitland pegged back deep into their own half.

The tactic paid off after 23 minutes when the stronger Haverforwest scrum allowed number eight Cole Barry to pick up and go blind.

He fed his scrum-half and with the overlap made, it allowed the right winger, Geraint Powell, to score in the corner. The conversion was missed and the score stood at 5 -0.

For the remainder of the half, Whitland appeared to cope well defensively, while restricting Haverfordwest to a couple of long-range penalty attempts.

It was during injury time of the first period, though, that luck went against them. A charge down of an attempted chip over their defensive line seemed to have foiled the danger, only for the ball to bounce into the arms of Haverfordwest centre Gavin Jenkins to score under the posts. With the conversion successful, it took the half-time score to 12-0.

In the second half, Whitland had the elements in their favour and with all their forwards, captain Dewi Davies, well supported by Richie Waters, Jack Hirst, Steffan Nicholas and Rhys Thomas dominating the tackle area and holding their own in the lineout, it laid the platform for the talented backs to attack from all areas of the field.

Haverforwest's defence was resolute and did not give an inch, working hard to stop players getting over the gain line.

Steffan James was eventually forced to start kicking penalties to try and get some points on the board.

He was accurate with two attempts and brought Whitland back to within a converted try with 10 minutes to go.

Gino Setaro and Aron Ebsworth, playing fullback and scrum-half, respectively, both had clean breaks, only to be brought down by covering fullback Dan Rawlings.

Whitland centres Scott Lloyd and Ryan Davies both tried a more direct route, but again found their paths blocked by exceptional defensive work from the Haverfordwest team.

Such was the effort and organisation put into the defensive effort by Haverfordwest that Whitland were restricted to only one clear-cut overlap during the half.

Having stretched the defence one way and quickly switching direction of the attack, the ball came back to Ryan Davies. He could possibly have cut back inside and scored himself, but with Jevan Mumberson free on the wing, he took the correct option to get the ball to him, but his floated pass was caught by the wind and taken just out of the winger's reach.

The score remained 12-6 at the final whistle and Haverfordwest were deservedly crowned Griffiths Cup champions for the 2014/15 season.

Two players deserve a special mention for their fortitude and courage to take part in the match. Richie Waters, Whitland, and Cole Barry, Haverfordwest, had both endured the tragic bereavement of close family members in the weeks leading up to the final.

The committee, players and supporters of Whitland RFC wish to send their condolences to both families.