Firefighter team blaze to victory (From Barry And District News)

Firefighter team blaze to victory

WHILE the senior Welsh side might not be doing too well at the moment, Penarth firefighter Christian Ferris scored a try in a memorable win over the English last week.

The Welsh Fire Services Rugby Section has continued its winning streak, beating their English counterparts by 28 points to 11 at their annual international match, played in Caerphilly's Virginia Park last night (Wednesday, November 16).

This is the 13th time that the Welsh team, featuring players from South Wales, and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Services, has won since 1991. The team has lost once and drawn once to England in the last 20 years.

Divisional Officer Gareth Lloyd, secretary of the rugby section, said it was a thoroughly entertaining game, and closer than the final score suggests.

"Wales were well on top with the forwards, providing the Welsh backs with a good platform to play good open running rugby," he said.

"This culminated in a superb second try by Leighton Williams, following a very slick handling movement, which saw the ball pass through the hands of ten players.

"Midway through the first half, England had a good spell, which saw them recover to a half-time score of 10-8. During the second half, the Welsh forwards closed the game down, which resulted in three further tries and a final score of 28-11."

Before kick-off, Excelerate Technology, which is moving to St Mellons early next year, presented a 2,000 sponsorship cheque to Doug Mackay, Chief Fire Officer of Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and chairman of the rugby section.

Martin Saunders, sales director for Excelerate Technology, said:

"We at Excelerate Technology have worked alongside the UK Fire Services for a number of years now and have built up strong working relationships, so it is with great honour that we are able to return some of that support by sponsoring this match.