Wele goelcerth wen yn fflamio
A thafodau tân yn bloeddio
Ar i′r dewrion ddod i daro,
Unwaith eto′n un.

Gan fanllefau’r tywysogion,
Llais gelynion, trwst arfogion,
A charlamiad y marchogion,
Craig ar graig a grŷn

Arfon byth ni orfydd,
Cenir yn dragywydd;
Cymru fydd fel Cymru fu,
Yn glodus ym mysg gwledydd.

‘Ngwyn oleuni′r goelcerth acw,
Tros wefusau Cymro′n marw,
Annibyniaeth sydd yn galw,
Am ei dewraf dyn.

_____________________

Men of Harlech, stop your dreaming
Can’t you see their spearpoints gleaming
See their warrior pennants streaming
To this battle field

Men of Harlech stand ye steady
It can not be ever said ye
For the battle were not ready
Welshmen never yield

From the hills rebounding
Let this war cry sounding
Summon all at Cambria’s call
The mighty foe surrounding

Men of Harlech on to glory
This will every be your story
Keep these burning words before ye
Welshmen will not yield

Yr hyn sy’n drawiadol am Gwyr Harlech, neu ‘Men of Harlech’, yw’r nifer o fersiynnau gwahanol sydd yn bodoli. Er bod bron pawb yng Nghymru yn adnabod y dôn, mae yna amrywiaeth eang yn y geiriau sy’n cael eu canu. Eto, yr un neges sy’n cael ei gyfleu beth bynnag y geiriau, sef penderfyniad ein cenedl i gadw ac amddiffyn ein hunaniaeth. Mae’r gân yn sôn am y gwŷr dewr a wnaeth amddiffyn castell Harlech yn ystod Rhyfel y Rosynnod yn 1460 o dan arweinyddiaeth Dafydd ap Ieuan. Credir eu bod wedi amddiffyn y gastell am saith mlynedd cyn gorfod ildio oherwydd newyn.

Tu hwnt i Gymru mae’r gân wedi dod yn adnabyddus o ganlyniad i’r ffilm Zulu (wedi seilio ar stori go iawn), a oedd yn traethu stori brwydr Rorke’s Drift. Sonia’r ffilm am dîm bach o filwyr, yn cynnwys rhai o Dde Cymru, yn ymdrechu’n frwd i wrthsefyll byddin ‘Zulu’ enfawr yn Ne’r Affrig. Erbyn hyn, mae ‘Gwyr Harlech’ yn enwog dros y byd, ac yn cael ei ddefnyddio mewn sawl cyd-destun; er enghraifft, mae’n gân swyddogol ar Ysgol Dechnegol Sydney yn Awstralia, ac ar Ysgol Uwchradd Rhanbarthol Tantasqua Massachusetts, yr Unol Daleithau!

Zulu Youtube clip

Royal Regiment of Wales’ Band singing “Men of Harlech” (2.68MB MP3) Recorded in the church at Rorke’s Drift, South Africa on the 120th anniversary of the Battle of Rorke’s Drift.

Efallai eich bod wedi gweld rhino pinc yn crwydro o amgylch ardal Ardudwy yn ddiweddar. Ymgyrch Clwb Rygbi Harlech i codi arian yw’r rhino.

“Mae Nain wedi prynu rhino pinc i mi. Dwi eisiau rhoi’r rhino yn y parc i fy ffrindiau gael chwarae arno. Dywedodd Dad ei fod yn syniad dechrau cystadleuaeth peintio’r rhino. Mi fydd yr enillwr yn cael ei gynllun wedi beintio ar y rhino cyn iddo fynd i’r parc. Rydym ni eisiau rhoi’r pres i Ty Gobaith” Lowri 8 oed

Mae’r rhino wedi bod mewn amryw o weithgareddau yn ystod yr Hâ f a mi fydd yn teithio o amgylch yr ardal yn y misoedd nesaf . Yn dilyn cael ei beintio mi fydd yn ymgartrefu yn Ysgol Gynradd Dyffryn Ardudwy

You may have spotted a pink rhino wandering about the Ardudwy area recently? It’s part of a fund raising campaign organised by Harlech Rugby Club.

Grandma bought me a pink rhino. I want to put it in the park so that all my friends can play with it. Dad says I should start a painting competition where the winner gets to have their design painted on the rhino before it goes to the park. We want to give the money to Ty Gobaith.
Lowri, Aged 8

The rhino has been to a number of events over the summer and will continue to travel around the area in an attempt to raise money for a very worthwhile cause.

• Step 1. Print off this Entry Form
• Step 2. Colour in the rhino, stick on a stamp and post it to Elfyn
• Step 3. Click the donate button below to send us your £1

Bennet. Twat of the Match, again!

It had been a few years since Harlech had played Benllech so we didn’t know what to expect. Harlech had a strong forward pack to choose from and Harlech still had a few missing in the backs, Andrew Stone and Martin Perch were still injured and Arfon Pugh was still shearing in Switzerland.
Harlech got off to a high tempo start putting immediate pressure on Benllech in their own 22. Iwan Evans passed in long to the left and it fell kindly to the talented Full Back Elfyn Anwyl to touch down in the corner. Harlech continued to dominate the early part of the game with another try coming from a charge down by the mercurial Anwyl and then a Giggs like dribble led the ball to Tom Pugh to score his first try for Harlech in the corner.

Harlech soon scored a third try and it again came from Tom Pugh after a good move through the backs and a flick inside from Bennet Richards for Pugh to touch down in the corner. Harlech now led 15-0 after the first 7 or 8 minutes. Harlech then seemed to lose the plot somewhat. They tried to overcomplicate moves, making unforced errors and for some reason didn’t put the game to bed. Benllech converted a penalty and it was 15-3 to Harlech at half time.

Harlech kept the pressure on in the second half but as soon as the game went to uncontested scrums Harlech seemed unsure of which tactics to use. Benllech’s fly half ran straight through the back line to score a try and it was converted and they were back in the game at 15-10.

Harlech later got a penalty and Gwion Llwyd who was captain due to Iwan Evans going off injured opted to go for the posts and went against a popular decision of taking a scrum at the penalty. Aeron converted the penalty and the score was 18-10. That was the turning point of the match. Gwion decision took the pressure off his team and then followed it up with a try under the sticks to put the game beyond Benllech.

Harlech dominated the last 20 minutes with Aeron Griffiths scoring a fine try under the posts this time converting it to make the score 30-10. Not the greatest display ever produced from Harlech but they were under the cosh for a while but showed character to come through it and come away with a bonus point victory.

Next game is Harlech v Llangollen on the 2nd of October.

Author : Anonymus!

1. Lee Evans
2. Richard Foulkes
3. Jack Brooks
4. Sion Rees
5. Gerallt Hughes
6. Llion Kerry
7. Mark Stone Williams
8. Gwion Llwyd
9. Iwan Evans
10. Aeron Griffith
11. Bennet Richards
12. Eilir Hughes
13. Ben Bailey
14. Tom Pugh
15. Elfyn Anwyl

Subs:
Gorwel Rogers
Gethin Evans
Richard Williamd
Steffan Owen
Wayne Humphries

(The above report was copied from the official Clwb Rygbi Harlech website. Thanks to Elfyn Anwyl for writing it)

With only 12 players leaving Harlech it was alwats going to be tough.

It felt like the good old days when we left again for Anglesey with only 12 players. With people busy with weddings (Baileys & Bennet), holidays (JB), injuries (Stone Snr & Perchy) & hoovering Gwion we were strugling to fulfil the fixture.
We eventually got 15 players on the pitch with Gerallt phoning his brother at 1.30pm and Arfon Jones putting his kit on at 2.20pm & Owain Hedd arriving at 2.29pm.

We thought it might be a difficult game but decided to make it as difficult for them as possible and make them earn every point they got. This indeed was the case as we pinned them back in there half at every opportunity. They seem to have got it tactily wrong as they kept kicking possession away and giving penalties away. By half time we were winning 6-5.

Things changed in the second half as they ran with the ball a bit more and gave away less penalties. We lost three close range forward tries and were struggling after the first 20 minutes of the second half. We kept on in their and finished the game with the best try of the match.

Lee Evans went on a charging run up the wing as passed it inside to Gerallt who then passed on to Rich Foulkes who ghosted through their 22 to score the try.

It was a game where we could leave the field with the respect of the other team as we never gave up and made it very hard for them to get that win.

N.B.

As ever the facts in this report are loosely based on true events!!
Elfyn Annwyl

September 4th – Harlech v Holyhead

September 11th – Menai Bridge v Harlech

September 18th – Harlech v Benllech

September 25th – Harlech Spare Saturday (Friendly ??)

October 2nd – Harlech v Llangollen

October 9th -Swalec Bowl Round 1 (Harlech have a Bye in the First Round)

October 16th – Shotton Steel v Harlech

October 23rd – Harlech v Rhosllanerchrugog

October 30th – Swalec Bowl Round 2

November 6th – Wales v Australia (2.30pm)

November 13th – Wales v South Africa (2.30pm)

November 19th – Wales v Fiji (7.30pm)

November 27th – Wales v New Zealand (5.15pm)

Decmeber 4th – Llangoed v Harlech   (Christmas Dinner – Venue : TBC)

December 11th – Swalec Bowl Round 3 ??

December 18th – Flint v Harlech

January 8th – Holyhead v Harlech

January 15th – Harlech v Menai Bridge

January 22nd – Benllech v Harlech

January 29th – Swalec Bowl Rnd 4?

February 5th – Harlech Spare Saturday

February 12th – Scotland v Wales (5pm)

February 19th – Llangollen v Harlech

February 26th – Italy v Wales (3.30pm)

March 5th – Harlech v Shotton Steel

March 12th – Wales v Ireland (5pm)

March 19th – France v Wales (8.45pm)

March 26th – Rhosllanerchrugog v Harlech

April 2nd – Harlech v Llangoed

April 9th – Harlech v Flint

Download Fixtures Here – Division 3 North

Preparations are being made for this year’s Demolition Derby. Click on the picture above, print it off and stick it in some windows.

Demolition Derby, Las Ynys, Harlech, LL46 2UT
Wednesday, July 28,  first race : 6.30pm
Entry fee: adults £5, children £1, free parking

Competitor Info
Entry form / Rules from: Toyota Garage, Harlech.  Tel.01766 780432
Entry fee £15 (Entrants must be 18 and over)

Demolition Entry Form

This is a major fund raiser for the club so please do what you can to help.  Stewards will be needed on the day. If you haven’t helped before, please contact Iwan Garage for a list of jobs Tel. 07810543564 or email me on gwion@talk21.com.

They have considered entering Britain’s Got Talent next year but for the time being have decided to do some market research to see how the public will take to them and release a festive dance production.

It’s taken months of rehersals to get this far so they need encouragment to take the quartet forward and make it to the big stage.

If anyone has any names for the group they would love to hear them.

Click below to see the full video:

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/3Ctqi1plz5IjAr0u

Starter
Home Made Soup
Melon fan served with Coulis

Main Course
Roast Turkey with Chestnut Stuffing, Chipolata, Bread Sauce & Cranberry Sauce.
Roast Beef served with Yorkshire Pudding
Salmon Steak served with Hollandaise Sauce
Nut Roast served with vegiterian gravy
Cheese & Broccoli Bake
All served with: Roast Potato & Fresh Vegetables

Sweets
Christmas Pudding & Brandy Sauce
Sherry Trifle
Pavlova

Coffe & Mince Pies

Cost is £15 for playing members and £16.50 for all other members/guests. Can all who wish to attend please let me know their dinner choice no later than 25th of November. email david@deimai.co.uk

Forward cheques made out to Harlech Rugby Club or cash to me either at Smithy Garage or post to David Roberts, Nant y Coed, Dyffryn Ardudwy, Gwynedd, LL44 2EN.

Looking forward to another great night, thanks. David

This was the biggest match so far this season with a place at the final of the North Wales Junior Cup up for grabs.  Harlech had a couple of players missing up front but it didn’t seem to affect them too much as the battled up front and didn’t shy away from Menai Bridge’s physicality.  The lineout was very effective that day providing the backs with quality ball to use.

Many spectators who were present were questioning whether the ball was hot or had needles sticking out if it because for some reason none of the backs seemed to be able to throw or catch it.  Both teams exchanged penalties early on and then Harlech were able to pass the ball along the backline and Aeron scored a well worked move in the corner.  A moment of madness then followed by Ben Bailey, throwing a punch and apologising for doing so and claiming to the referee it was a reaction punch.  He received 10 minutes to cool down on the touchline.  Harlech led 8-3 at half time but should of probably had a bigger lead.

Harlech continued to pressure early in the second half but could not convert the pressure into points.  The error count was increasing and the ball was being dropped left right and centre (most notably in the centres!!!).  Menai Bridge absorbed the pressure and started to move upfield and scored and converted a try making the score 8-10.

Harlech had 20 minutes left to win the game but as the clocked ticked by this looked more and more unlikely.  It didn’t help when they were again reduced to 14 men when Gerallt received a yellow card for a late tackle but in his defence he got there as quick as he could.  The defensive effort was huge with Sion Rees in the middle of it all dragging players by their collars.

Full time was about to be called and over 80 minutes had been played and possibly the next time the ball went dead the whistle would be blown.  Bennett started on a casual jog beating a few players on his way and Harlech made way down the pitch and Andrew Stone got his hands on the ball and grounded the ball in the corner with his feet in touch.  The try was awarded because when he grounded his feet were in the air.

Menai Bridge were gutted and felt they had been robbed, Harlech were very relieved and felt they won a game they probably deserved to lose.