BAE Ceredigion Dolphins Under 16s welcomed Llandrindod-based Mid Wales Kites to Plascrug on Thursday and the crowd were not disappointed as they won the game 47-44.

Due to smaller squad sizes the game was played as a 12-a-side match, with the Dolphins being loaned a player by the Kites to bolster their numbers.

Both teams have struggled to play fixtures this season, and this would be only their second game, but the skill and ability on show from both sides made that hard to believe.

The Dolphins took an early lead with some excellent running tries out wide, but the Kites weren’t long in responding in kind

Due to the high quality of tackling from both sides, neither team was able to break the line in the centre of the field, allowing the outside backs to get a lot of ball and give the crowd an excellent spectacle of end to end running.

The Dolphins were perhaps marginally better at identifying where the space on the field was which meant they went into half time 32-12 ahead, with two of the Dolphins tries coming from Meg, a player they were kindly loaned by the Kites, who scored five tries in total during the evening in an impressive performance in both shirts.

The second half continued the quick open rugby, but with fatigue starting to set in, and an epidemic of calf cramps, it wasn’t long before some gaps started to open in the defences.

The girls gave it everything for the entire game, with the final play of the match having the Dolphins pressuring the Kites line only to have the ball turned over.

The Kites kicked upfield and the resulting chase for the ball by players from both sides led to a fine individual try for the Kites to close out the game.