After an excellent start to the season, bringing a trophy home from every tournament contested in 2018 - things took a slight dip for the Carmarthen Warriors this weekend at the Heart of Wales 7s.

After a 12 month sabbatical, the tournament returned to Llanidloes, seemingly stronger and better than ever.

Boasting Elite competitions for both men and women, netball was also included along with music by Newport rappers Goldie Looking Chain closing proceedings on the Saturday night.

Warriors supremo Arwel Davies took the opportunity to field two sides albeit both slightly depleted, particularly at Elite level. Davies was realistic in assessing their chances early on, stating his intentions in using the tournament to look at a number of new faces.

The competition was also an opportunity for the Ladies side to feature alongside the men for the first time in 2018. Having lost a few core players to other teams this year, Warriors Ladies founder Keeley Evans assembled a young and exciting squad based around her own Burry Port club colleagues supplemented by players from Cardiff and other local sides like Hendy and Whitland.

And the girls were quick to lay down the gauntlet.

With a few delayed by mid-Wales holiday traffic, the team took to the field in their first game without the Warriors distinctive 2018 pink shirts, and only five players.

Whilst skipper Evans was parking her car, the girls had already racked up 10 points without response against Bonties. The final score a devastating 52-0.

The Warriors Open side were up next disposing of Newtown RFC 28-5.

Both sides continued their winning streak whilst keeping the opposition at bay as the ladies beat Swifts 31-5 and the men despatched Velindre Untouchables 14-0.

Things were to change for the men in the next round of games, as the Elite competition got underway.

The Open side were the first to fall, 26-19 to Red Kites, whilst over on the main pitch the Warriors Elite found the reigning champions RED Wailers a real handful in a game which looked far more one sided than the eventual 26-21 defeat.

Fortunately the girls were proudly carrying the Warriors flag, progressing comfortably to the knock out stages with another emphatic victory over Nomads 29-0.

The Elite's day was going badly, losing again to two local rivals Ponty Butchers and Preseli Baabaas - both teams would meet in the Cup final at the end of the day, whilst the Warriors were relegated to the Plate competition.

The loss against the Kites sent the Warriors Open into the Bowl semi, a 19-5 victory over Mayans saw them meet Whitehead Stags in the Final.

The Warriors looked more than comfortable going into the break 15-0 up but despite some creditable performances by Steffan Duggan, Steff Castle and Nico Setaro, the well organised Stags fought back to take the trophy 26-19.

Too many mistakes, lapses in concentration and lack of killer instinct had seen both Men's sides falter with the Warriors Elite failing to record a single victory in the higher level for the first time in 18 years.

The absence of seven regulars didn't help, but in all, the tournament will be one the Warriors men will be keen to forget.

The ladies however were on fire, and helped by a Cilfynydd RFC no-show in the semi final, a fully rested squad ripped Swifts apart for the second time on the day. The resounding 64-0 final score attributable to an all round team effort, led by Keeley Evans and with a little help from Ross Pritchard and Dai Ebsworth on the side-lines. Daisey Mayes and Megan Davies were rewarded with players of the Tournament by the organisers and Warriors management respectively.

Evans was ebullient at the end, keen to praise her young side.

"Megan, Ffion Jones and Gwen Crabb have all come from the Under 18's, it's great to have them in the squad."she said

"Hopefully they'll enjoy this experience and will be part of the Warriors set-up for years to come."

Next up for the Warriors will be the Avon 7s next week, whilst the girls build for Beach Rugby Wales at the end of the month.

Warriors Open Squad: Jack Mason, Moritz Neumann, Daf Pritchard Shaun Tennant, Calum Brown, Niall Martin, Nico Setaro, Mitchell Jones, Steff Duggan, Andrew Jones, Josh Ferriman, Ceri Rees, Steff Castle.

Warriors Elite: Elliot Rees, Ryan Boulton, Thomas Shane, Daniel Davies Mike Jones, Scott Gibson, Ianto Griffiths, Ashley Evans, Ian Ellis, Jay Harris.

Ladies: Keeley Evans , Lauren Petche, Mari Jenkins, Kath Salter, Cary Davies, Becky Newton , Daisie Mayes, Megan Davies, Gwen Crabb, Ffion Jones.

Coaching / Management: Arwel Davies, Gareth Bennett, Ross Pritchard, David Ebsworth.