BACK in 2018, Llangollen RFC had to make a difficult decision to pull out of the league due to the lack of players able to commit to a season of playing in the North Wales League.

There were several reasons behind this, including players going to different clubs, some retiring or others moving away.

Through these tough times, the club continued to prosper with the ladies' team going from strength to strength and ensuring there was rugby coming to the town at a weekend.

Last weekend saw the re-emergence of the men’s team, who once again ran out at Tower Fields to play against Abergele 2nds.

Some of the senior players at Llangollen worked hard over the previous few weeks to ensure players turned out to train, as well as being registered for the club.

On game day, there were over 28 players kitted up and ready to play for the club.

The game itself was competitive from the off, with both teams trying to spread the ball.

Llangollen started with a very youthful backline, who have all come through the youth system at Glyn Ceiriog.

They certainly weren’t out of their depth against an Abergele team with far more experience and size behind them.

With Abergele starting to pick up some injuries towards the end of the first half, Llangollen were happy to lend a hand and give them players to ensure the game was played in a competitive manor and contested scrums remained.

With the final score being 59-5, winning the game wasn’t what mattered - it was getting on the field and playing.

Hopefully, this will give the younger team members the appetite to continue to play for the team to ensure the club can continue to have a men’s team.

Special mention goes out to new captain Ewan Jones, who made his first appearance in senior rugby and put in a great performance alongside man of the match Owen Martin-Jones who ran the show in the back line.

Coach Richard Jasper said: “It was great to see men’s rugby being played in the town once again and having the support on the sidelines cheering the lads on.

"We have now been able to schedule further games throughout the season to ensure that local lads can indeed play for their home club team."