Good Friday Rugby returns to Penarth Athletic Club with Penarth RFC Youth taking on Pontypridd RFC Youth

Penarth RFC are hoping for a bumper holiday crowd when they play host to a famous name from the history of Welsh Rugby, Pontypridd RFC, at the Athletic Ground on Good Friday.

It has been 37 years since the Barbarians played their last game at the Athletic field on the Easter Bank holiday and unfortunately the fixture was abandoned due to the introduction of professionalism to the game.

On Good Friday, 7 April, the annual fixture is going to be fulfilled by the extremely talented Penarth Youth side who this year take on the youth team from Pontypridd RFC.

Before regional rugby, Pontypridd RFC were one of the strongest and highly regarded teams in Welsh Rugby. Many will remember their robust brand of rugby that not only earned them respect in Wales but also in Europe where they were involved in such epic rugby matches such as the 'Battle of Brive'. The club produced players such as Neil Jenkins, Martyn Williams, Gethin Jenkins and Dale 'Chief' Mackintosh who would go on to become household names.

Pontypridd RFC 1st team currently play in the Welsh Premiership which they won on four consecutive seasons between 2011 and 2015.

Their youth team also compete in the Cardiff Premiership Blue Division and are one of the only teams from the old Merit Table or top tier of Welsh rugby in the Cardiff region that still run a youth team, along with Penarth RFC.

The Penarth RFC youth team has taken up the mantle of the Easter game with great vigour, and have achieved some outstanding victories over the past 5 years, winning against the Crawshays RFC Youth team, a Spanish Select XV, Cardiff and District Youth and last season Canterbury RFC Colts.

This year has been a successful season for the Penarth Youth team. Despite having a very young team they have won qualification from the localised leagues into the Admiral Premier Division of youth rugby in the Cardiff region, playing 17 matches along the way with notable victories against the Old Penarthians and Pentyrch.

The Good Friday match has always captured the interest of the people of Penarth and the youth committee, coaches and club are hoping that this year will be no different, preparing for a large crowd at the Athletic Field for the match.

Penarth RFC Youth v Pontypridd RFC Youth will kick off on the Athletic Field at 2.30pm on Friday 7th April. Entry to the game will be £3 (Cash) on the gates, which will open from 12pm.