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Four Caerphilly County Borough rugby union sides ended successful campaigns by picking up Worthington’s Mid District Cup silverware.

Caerphilly and Deri men’s first XVs lifted the Mid District Division Two and Division Five cups, respectively, while there was also a Worthington’s win for Senghenydd Sirens, who overcame Gwernyfed Ladies 38-34 in a thrilling Mid District Women’s Trophy final at the Wern, Merthyr.

Bargoed Warriors bagged the Mid District Division Six Cup by beating Penallta Troop 33-12 at Sardis Road in Pontypridd.

For Deri and Bargoed Warriors men, it followed up on league promotion success in 2024/25, while for Caerphilly men and Senghenydd Sirens, their district victories completed a trophy treble for the season.

Caerphilly capped an incredible season by defeating Ynysybwl 27-16 in the Mid District Division Two Cup final at Merthyr.

Captain Sam Haley, Milo Crompton, Tom Lewis and John Leko scored the tries for the Cheesemen, with Harrison Parsons adding seven points from the tee.

It was a third win over Ynysybwl this season for Caerphilly, having also beaten them home and away in Division Two East Central.

“Even though [Ynysybwl] are in the bottom half of the league, for me they are one of the better teams in that league,” said Caerphilly head coach Gareth Short.

“They’re a really tough team to play against; they carry direct and defend really well.

“Just like in the two league games, it took us a while to break them down – but it all came together for us in the second half.”

The victory wrapped up a stunning campaign in style for Caerphilly – who went unbeaten on their way to being crowned Division Two East Central champions, winning 17 and drawing one, while also bagging the WRU Division Two Cup.

“We’ve been building this for the past five years,” Short continued.

“When I took over, we were bottom of the league and heading for relegation; Covid saved us – and it was literally a reset from then.

“We created new values and a better club ethos. Over the past couple of seasons we’ve so nearly been there, but this year everything has come together.

“This is just the accumulation of the boys putting in blood sweat and tears these past few years.”

Deri, meanwhile, required two bites of the cherry before eventually lifting the Division Five Cup. That’s because their final with Cefn Coed, originally played at Sardis Road in Pontypridd, had to be abandoned with just six minutes remaining after an injury sustained by Deri replacement prop Matthew Cheasty. Deri were leading 10-7 at the time.

The decision was made by the Mid District Rugby Union to replay the match, with Bargoed RFC this time agreeing to host. It saw Deri go on to bag glory after they overcame Cefn Coed 34-24 to also secure Mid District Cup glory for the second season running.

Aaron Jones, Martyn Morgan and Jacob Rowe scored the Deri tries. Jones and Josh Rees shared kicking duties.

For Senghenydd Sirens, their 38-34 victory over Gwernyfed Ladies in the Mid District Women’s Trophy final completed their own treble as it followed on their National League East Wales title success and WRU Women’s Bowl victory.

Raf Taylor, Rhian Bowden, Catrin Davies, Kaitlin Protheroe, Lianne Fletcher and a penalty try were the Sirens’ scorers, with Sarah Harper adding two conversions and Hannah Kennedy one

For Bargoed Warriors, Morgan Powell (2), Josh Michaels, Brad Crossman and Jason James inspired their 33-12 win over Penallta Troop. Charlie Williams added four conversions.

It was also the Warriors’ first win in three attempts over the Troop this season, after a 19-19 draw and a narrow 40-39 result in Penallta’s favour in the league clashes.

This is the second year of the Mid District Rugby Union’s expanded format for their end of season Worthington’s finals.

The competitions were revamped last year, with the old standalone Cup and Bowl finals replaced, in order to avoid dropouts, as well as the unwanted scenario of some clubs reaching the final without playing a single match, as had previously been the case.

Teams now battle it out for a place in the final based on their league results over the course of the season.

This year there were eight men’s finals, from the Premiership down to Division Six, between the two highest placed Mid District clubs in those respective leagues – as well as two women’s finals.

Dubbed ‘Worthy Weekends’, most of the finals have been played on Friday nights and on Saturdays, rather than in midweek as they were in the old format.

“It’s a great event and just shows how strong rugby is in the Mid District,” said Collin Smith of sponsor Molson Coors.

“The interest is here and the commitment is unbelievable. The rugby has been fantastic – and this is what it’s all about. Long may it continue.”