News from former pupils
The school’s annual Vikings Rugby tournament will take place over Founders’ Weekend on Sunday, September 15, with the festivities set to get underway at 11am.
This year’s event will once again take place under a touch rugby format, with all ages and abilities welcome to take part. Breakfast will be served at Rydal Penrhos’ impressive New Field site from 10am, and there will be a barbecue to enjoy once the tournament has concluded.
Teams will be competing for the Bleddyn Williams trophy, which is named in honour of the former Rydal pupil who as a Welsh international, British Lions captain and was referred to as The Prince Of Centres.
Mrs Head, said: “The Vikings Rugby tournament is a fitting end to our Founders’ Weekend celebrations here at Rydal Penrhos, and it further highlights the community spirit that exists between our current and former pupils.
“We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Rydal Penrhos for the occasion.”
Anybody wishing to register their interest or for more information can do so on the Rydal Vikings Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/4570207778/.
Georgia Wilson, who left the school in 2012, has been crowned para dressage European champion in grade II, having won gold in the freestyle with her 10-year-old British-bred mare Midnight.
The 23-year-old, competing at her first championship, went one better than her silver in the individual test on Friday, producing a dazzling display to earn an enormous 78.19%.
Speaking following her gold medal triumph, Wilson said: “I was slightly ahead of my music so I was a bit worried through the test — I had to really think about how to use the arena and I tried to use all my corners.
“We finished in the right place. But it was a year ago that we did the floorplan and Midnight has got a lot more powerful in that time. “I’m not sure the silver team medal has suck in yet — it might take a week for this to seem real.”
The Betws-yn-Rhos native managed to relegate Friday’s gold medallist, Pepo Puch of Austria, into silver with Sailor’s Boy after a rousing performance for the Team GB squad.
This is another notable achievement from the former pupil, who continues to enhance her reputation as one of the most polished young riders anywhere in the world thanks to her consistent level of performances on the international stage.
Efan Jones, who left the school in 2016, started for Scarlets A in their weekend clash with Ulster A, and the Wrexham native was at his brilliant best to score a notable treble in a narrow 35-32 Celtic Cup loss for his side.
Jones has widely been regarded as one of the most promising young players anywhere in the country for a number of years and was a leading influence for RGC last term throughout the Indigo Group Premiership campaign.
This saw him come away with the Overall Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year titles from their end of season presentation evening following their final day victory over Cardiff.
He came through their Academy ranks at Rydal Penrhos, where he earned national honours with the Wales U18 squad before moving on to Bangor University to study a degree.
The back’s third score of a pulsating contest gave the Scarlets a 29-23 advantage heading into the closing stages, but they were unable to withstand a wealth of pressure from the Irish outfit late on in defeat.
Mrs Head, said: “Efan’s qualities on the rugby pitch have been there for all to see over the last 18 months, and it was no surprise to see him turn in another exceptional performance on the big stage."