John Dimond sends out his Barry RFC Youth team for the final time on Bank Holiday Monday, when they face Gorseinon in the WRU Youth Plate final.
Dimond, who has spent more than 20 years at the Reservoir Field, is leaving the Bombers, bringing down the curtain on his outstandingly successful spell as youth head coach.
Gorseinon are an unknown quantity, but Dimond has done his homework, gleaning what information he can about the opposition ahead of the Rodney Parade showpiece in Newport.
“From what I’ve been able to find out, Gorseinon have a fairly decent sized pack,” he said. “If we can nullify that, and get them on the back foot, we’ll make it as difficult as possible for them to play. We want to suffocate them as much as we can.”
One of the pre-final training sessions saw the youth forwards scrummaging against the first team pack.
“This year we’ve been dominating in the scrum area, but going up against grown men who have played at substantial levels of rugby was good for them,” said Dimond. “If they can hold a scrum of grown men, hopefully there shouldn’t be a huge amount of problems for them.”
Barry have reached the final the hard way, playing all their matches in the competition away from home, against teams they would not normally meet. They have beaten Whiteheads 25-3, Beddau 20-13, Cowbridge 22-17 and Haverfordwest 34-19 in the semis.
Gorseinon had an easier path - after a walkover against Briton Ferry, they beat St Peter’s 41-10 at home and Crymych 19-8 in the semi-final.
“Beddau was a massive test for us in the quarter-final. It was a dog fight and a smash and grab. Before the semi-final draw everyone was saying avoid Haverfordwest, the favourites, but if you are going to win anything you’ve got to beat the best teams,” said Dimond.
“But of course it’s all on the day, knockout rugby. On the day we turned up, and if we can turn up again at that level, who knows? "
“The boys are up for it. They’re all revved up. They’ll probably go up another level when they get to Rodney Parade and come out of the dressing room and on to the pitch. It’s a wide pitch that suits us because we love throwing the ball about,” he said.
“We are going there to win it, but whatever happens, these boys can stand proud because of what they’ve achieved. My last competitive match at the club. It would be great to end on a winning note.”
Dimond will not name his squad until nearer the date. He had hoped to include Ruben Cummings, who started his career with Barry and is now registered in England with Gloucester. It would have needed international clearance for him to play, but time constraints have ruled it out.
The WRU are streaming the match, which kicks off at 3.30pm, on YouTube.
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