This third game between Wales and England began in the cold and damp under the grey skies of an early Saturday afternoon at Sardis road, Pontypridd

The difficult conditions were not reflected in the football on the field of play which sparkled for most of the first half, a credit to both teams

During the initial ten minutes, both sides engaged in a mighty battle upfront (a situation which was to continue throughout the game!) with no quarter asked or given. The teams emerged from this first passage of play with honours even but Wales having lost the services of Joe Jones through a pulled muscle, followed shortly thereafter by the departure of Richard Watkins with concussion.

It says much for the strength in depth which is beginning to emerge due to the efforts of Head Coach Richard Davies and Forwards Coach Kevin Jones, that Wales were able to absorb this disruption with a minimum of fuss.

The tough start to the game heralded a twenty minute spell of sparkling open rugby by Wales which was quite startling in the conditions. Wales missed a penalty after ten minutes but this was immediately followed by a good break by scrum half Ioan Jones who was well supported in a passing move that ended with Matthew Campbell (Barry RFC) scoring the try. Mark Withy converted to give Wales a lead of seven points.

This score prompted Wales to continue with open rugby continually moving the ball wide; quick hands and support from both forwards and backs being the key factors in establishing a period of dominance.

As a result, the second try again came from the ball being transferred through many pairs of hands with full back Michael Watkins joining the movement at speed to cross the England line. Watkins missed converting his own try, having taken over kicking duties from Mark Withy who had tweaked his hamstring.

Wales now took the game by the throat and, sensing the opportunity to take the game from England, drove up field immediately after the restart. Superb handling and quick transfer of the football resulted in winger Nigel Francis powering over the line for Michael Watkins to convert.

It is to the credit of Wales that the quality of football in this twenty minutes paid little heed to the extremely difficult conditions. The battle of the game changed, however, after half hour when flanker Luke Blackburn was sin-binned for ten minutes for reacting to an incident during a heated passage of play. What a pity Gareth Thomas wasn't watching!

England sensed the opportunity and immediately attacked through the forwards. The Welsh team now found itself under sustained pressure for the remainder of the first half but showed its qualities as a defensive unit by preventing England from scoring. The efforts by the England pack, ably supported by its backs, could only point to a missed penalty in front of the posts; a meagre return for a fine response to the earlier scores by Wales.

Conditions in the second half worsened with rain adding to the difficult conditions underfoot. England continued to press hard reflecting the same effort that was applied at the end of the first half but mistakes started to creep into the play of both sides as the heavy conditions began to take their toll. The absence of scoring for most of this half reflected both the conditions and the refusal of England to allow Wales to dominate.

Wales, however, continued to create chances which were not consummated. Prop Andrew Lloyds crossed the England line only to lose possession in the act of touching down and a delicate cross-field kick by Mark Withy was not gathered with the line beckoning!

A final period of Welsh pressure resulted in a score just before the end of the game with Matthew Campbell being driven over the line. The conversion was missed giving a final score of 24-0 to Wales.

It would be invidious to select any individuals from the Welsh team which played as a unit throughout but mention must be made of scrum half Ioan Jones whose continued testing of England by his darting moves was a feature of the game and number eight Matthew Campbell who was always in support and scored two tries as a result.

Throughout the games, the England back row worked hard to stem the tide of Welsh attacking with flanker Ian Collins always being in the forefront of the action.

A great victory for Wales but England proved that it must be respected as a team in the forthcoming Deaf Rugby World Championships in South Wales in August. Wales now looks forward to Four Nations games against France and Scotland and hopes for a successful conclusion to the campaign.

WDRU face the usual challenges of bringing sponsors onboard and fund-raising, which is essential for the operation and growth of the union. WDRU continue to make players aware that they do not need to be profoundly deaf to be eligible to play for a deaf team. Any player with an average hearing loss of 25 decibels across both ears can play.

Richard Davies (Head Coach) said, "The challenge after we won the World Championships 2002, was to keep the momentum going and we have attracted new players, but there are still a lot of people who don't know we exist or think there's a stigma attached to being in this team, but that's not the case at all. Many of our players play club rugby throughout Wales with some in England". The players in the squad all have varying levels of hearing loss and use a combination of signing, lip-reading and speech to communicate.

Players or sponsors wishing to find out more can log onto www.wdru.com or contact the communications officer, David Blackburn via email communications (at) wdru dot com

Notes to editors:

1. Wales Deaf Rugby Union was officially set up in October 1996 after two deaf clubs (Swansea and Newport) enjoyed a series of matches throughout 1995.
2. WDRU is a registered charity, and an associate member of the WRU.
3. Wales won the bid to host the 2nd Deaf Rugby Championships in Cardiff after the bid received support from many groups and organisations including the National Assembly for Wales; Welsh Rugby Union, and the Wales tourist board.
4. WDRU has incorporated a company called DRWC 2005 Ltd to deliver the infrastructure for the championships, which is taking place during Saturday 27th August to Saturday 10th September. For further details contact the Chief Executive, David Blackburn on david dot blackburn (at) drwc2005 dot com
5. History - Swansea Deaf and Newport Deaf rugby teams played each other for the first time in October 1995 in Tredegar Park, Newport with Swansea winning 52-0 and the return match was played in Loughor RFC in March 1996 and the result was 26-0 to Swansea. More matches followed and deaf rugby players and spectators alike enjoyed the game. As the Deaf club rugby continued to grow it was agreed by both clubs to establish a formal Wales Committee structure in October 1996 to attempt to further enhance the game of Rugby in the Deaf community and promote development and awareness of deaf rugby teams. From this Committee, The Constitution and Rules of Welsh Deaf Rugby were developed, including a Membership scheme. Wales Deaf Rugby Union was born and has been granted charitable status, which have allowed them to increase the scope of their fund-raising. They have also developed links with the Welsh Rugby Union.

Final score: Wales Deaf 24 - England Deaf 0.