MY LIFE IN RUGBY
THE FORMER CARDIFF, PONTYPRIDD, TREORCHY, NEATH AND BRIDGEND FLANKER
I’m thoroughly enjoying my third spell back at Pontypridd, having played and coached the club before, while also overseeing Cardiff Blues’ B&I Cup campaign. Pontypridd and Cardiff are two fantastic clubs that have played a major part in my life, as have the Blues.
I was brought up and still live in a little place called Church Village and the local side is Llantwit Fardre. It’s at the foot of the Valleys and is a massive feeder club for Pontypridd. However, I made my senior debut as an 18-year-old at Cardiff. That made me a virtual outcast because of the rivalry between the two!
I only played about 30 games over the five seasons, having picked up a nasty knee injury, but got to tour New Zealand which was a memorable experience especially as I celebrated my 21st birthday while in Wellington.
All was forgiven when I returned ‘home’ to play 16 games for Pontypridd for the 1991/92 season. Then, at Treorchy, I was part of “The Dream” – the phrase used to describe the club’s astonishing rise, which saw us win the Second Division title and finish third in the top flight in 1994/95. It was a fantastic era for me, even though I got sent off in our First Division debut. We were a rough and tumble team who worked extremely hard and took no prisoners.
From there I joined Neath and won the league and cup with them as well as playing in our famous win against Fiji when we had to come back from 17-3 down.
By the time professionalism arrived I was with Bridgend, combining playing with my job in construction management. It was the early years of the Heineken Cup and I had a rare outing at tight-head, instead of my usual position on the flank, during a win away to Grenoble.I was captain when we played Tonga, whose own captain had a baby born the same day and called him Bridgend. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll see ‘Bridgend’ playing Test rugby!
As my career wound down in my early 30s, I transitioned into playercoaching back at Llantwit Fardre, and then into coaching full-time – first at Pontypridd and then on to Cardiff and the Blues. I had great times working with Dai Young. We won the EDF at Twickenham, after putting 50 points on Gloucester, and then the European Challenge Cup. The atmosphere inside the Stade Velodrome the day we beat Toulon will live with me to this day; the place just erupted when the teams ran out.
Beating Bristol home and away to win the Championship final with London Welsh is right up there as a career highlight. We were in a good frame of mind and confident that we were a match for anyone going into that two-legged final. The whole squad celebrated on the field at the Memorial Stadium. It always felt like you were part of a wider family at Welsh, and Bleddyn Phillips, the chairman at the time, and I are still in regular contact.
The fact that we were promoted so late in the season, plus well-documented funding issues obviously made life extremely difficult in the Premiership. I had both arms (and legs) tied behind my back! It was sad to see Wel;sh removed from the Championship but I’ve no doubt they will rise again.
Having spent time working with some fantastic people at the Blues and then replicating that at London Welsh, going to Rotherham was sadly a different proposition altogether and one that I won’t look back on with fond memories. But now I’m in a very good place again – for me and my family. My son is playing for Pontypridd District U15s with the ambition of playing for Pontypridd and ultimately, Cardiff Blues! It's funny how things go in a full circle.