The Lilywhites showed great resolve and commitment to earn a richly deserved win against their old friends and foes from Crawshays, writes Huw S Thomas.

Despite missing many of the players who had starred in their Welsh Schools and Colleges Cup final win over Coleg Y Cymoedd, they fought like tigers from the outset to beat a side that looked the stronger on paper.

The invitation club has been playing the College ever since Captain Geoffrey Crawshay brought up a side to Llandovery in 1929, led by the star player of his generation in Rowe Harding.

Harding had led Cambridge University and Wales from the wing and in 1924 had played in three tests against South Africa on the Lions tour to the Republic.

Many a famous Welsh international – including Wales’s greatest ever hooker, the now 95-year-old Bryn Meredith - regularly wore the Crawshays shirt in battle against the College boys, until regulations in the 1980s stopped adults playing against age group players.

Regulations or not, the game on Tredegar Close was fiercely fought, with tackling and covering of the highest order in a first half which ended in a stalemate 0-0.

The invitation side - drawn from a multitude of schools and clubs from all over Wales - opened strongly with lock Arun Templeton (Gwyr), hooker Ian Gould (Coleg Gwent) and No 8 Codey Rees (Bargoed) leading the charge up front and fly half Dan Morgan (Coleg Sir Gar) and centre Rhys Conquer (Christ College) threatening behind the scrum.

Only heroic home defence in the image of No 8 Gavin Bissell, lock Connor Moriarty - son of the watching ex-Wales skipper Richard Moriarty - and centre Brychan Hopkins, prevented at least three tries, but as the game wore on, Llandovery’s superior teamwork began to swing the game their way.

Noah Harries ran hard to make a lot of ground on the wing and when Crawshays lost replacement Tristan Williams (Glynneath) to a yellow card, the home forwards rumbled up to and over the line for a try by prop Cameron Stewart, converted by fly half Kai Kinsey.

Back and fore went play but the decisive score came from the College when scrum half Tomos Williams dummied in from close range.

Kinsey made it 14-0 but the visitors stuck to their task to eventually work in Conquer for a late consolation score to bring the curtain down on a game far more flowing than the final score might suggest.