The second day of the first competition of the WPA Calendar took place on Sunday, 23rd March and was again hosted by the Cardiff Harlequins PC.

Fifty-two players representing seven affiliated clubs came together to endeavour to win the 2025 President’s Cup title. The clubs were:

• Caerleon RFC PC
• Cardiff Harlequins PC
• City of Llandaff PC
• Monkstone PC
• Pontyclun PC
• Twyn-y-Ffrwd PC
• Vale PC

Qualification Round

The 16 teams played three rounds (1, 8 and 15) from a 16-team round-robin competition format. The top eight teams progressed to the President’s Cup, and teams 9 to 16 played in the Plate. Only three teams won all three games, representing the Vale PC, Twyn-y-Ffrwd PC and a mixed team from Caerleon RFC PC and Pontyclun PC.

Congratulations must go to Jack Harris, a junior member of the WPA, who played in the third team to win all three games.

President’s Cup

The playing format for the afternoon session for both competitions was a knockout, so the pressure was on to win the encounter to progress to the semi-finals and, ultimately, the final. The quarter-finals saw last year’s champions Julie Bailey, Ian Bailey & Jean-Yves Robic, with the addition of Len Field for 2025, quickly progress through to the semi-final stage. A home team captained by Phil Freegard managed to overcome the team that finished third place in the morning qualifier to win an encounter against Julie Bailey’s team. The second-place team from the morning Cai Jones, Steve Love, Garry Griffiths and David Jones, all members of the Twyn-y-Ffrwd PC, failed to win their spot in the semi-final by losing to the 7th-placed team of Claude Le Razavet, Alex Skibinski and Roger Green, all members of the Monkstone PC 6/13. The last quarter-final was between the two middle-ranked teams from the morning session, which proved to be a one-sided encounter with the team of Richard Edwards, James Frackrell and Amiee Vaughan, all from the Twyn-y-Ffwrd PC winning the encounter 13/1 against Tansy Mayfield, Stewart Spencer and John Attfield from Caerleon RFC PC and Pontyclun PC.

The two semi-finals were quite different. The first encounter between Julie Bailey’s team and Phil Freegard’s showed a noticeable difference in playing and tactical experience, ultimately leading to a 13/2  for Julie Bailey’s team. The second semi-final was nip and tuck throughout. The scores were level at 12/12; unfortunately for the Monkstone team, they were pipped at the post, with the final opposition boule beating theirs by just 3mm. This meant that Richard Edwards’ team progressed to the final.

Due to the duration of the second semi-final, the light faded during the final. However, Julie Bayley’s team took an early lead and moved quickly up the scoreboard, and it looked as though they were on course to take the title. However, Richard  Edwards’ team did not give up, and they began to close the gap, winning successive ends and putting pressure on their opponents. Unfortunately, the daylight had gone, and lights had to be brought in to finish the game. It was not ideal, but as it turned out, it did not last long, as Julie Baily’s team managed to achieve the final 2 points required to take the match and the title.

Congratulations to both teams for a close and well-fought match.

2025 President’s Cup Winners: Julie Bailey, Ian Bailey, Jean-Yves Robic & Len Field. Vale Petanque Club	2025 President’s Cup Runners-Up: James Frackrell, Amiee Vaughan & Richard Edwards. Twyn-y-Ffrwd Petanque Club

Plate

The Plate competition ran parallel to the President’s Cup, and the four teams ranked 9 to 12 easily won their encounters in the quarter-finals.  The first semi-final was between Jayne Dunn’s team together with Sean Smith, both from the Monkstone PC and Steve Snudden from Caerleon RFC PC and David Languerand, Andy Rios Hall and David Long, all members of Caerleon RFC PC. Jayne Dunn’s team took the match 16/6 and progressed to the plate final.

The second semi-final was between Gail Brooksbank/Peter Stahl/Basil White, all members of Caerleon RFC PC and Kym Jeffrey/George Hill/Cara Bastow/Andrew Bond, all members from Twyn-y-Ffwrd PC. This encounter was closely fought, with a final score 13/11 to Kym Jeffry’s team.

The Plate final was a match of equals, but unfortunately for Jayne’s team, Kym’s team managed to take the lead early on and open a gap before Jayne’s team began to score and close the gap. However, Kym’s team always managed to be a score ahead, allowing them to finally take the win 13/9.

Congratulations to both teams for a close and well-fought match.

2025 Plate Winners: Andrew Bond, Cara Bastow, Kym Jeffery & George Hill. Twyn-y-Ffrwd Petanque Club	2025 Plate Runners Up: Jayne Dunn, Steve Snudden & Sean Smith. Monkstone Petanque Club & Caerleon RFC Petanque Club

The WPA would like to thank the Committee and Members of Cardiff Harlequins Petanque Club for hosting the President’s Cup weekend and for their generous hospitality throughout.

Tony Smith