ANDREW BROWN, 53

The term legend is often bandied around too easily, but it fits the bill for Andrew Brown down at his local rugby club.

The veteran tighthead prop is revered at Furnace United where he still turns out into his 50s.

Club coach Chris Keenan said: “He can’t play week in week out, but makes sure he plays every season.

“We’ve got a really young team, but when he plays or trains he’s the most enthusiastic and excitable player on the pitch. If he wasn’t working on the buses most Saturdays I’m pretty sure he’d want to play every single week. He is a real club legend.”

Brown has a military background, as Keenan revealed.

“He was in the army when he was younger then came out and became a bus driver,” he said.

“When the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan was at its worst he was well into his 40s, but he signed back up and went for another two or three tours out there.

“We had a huge leaving do for him at the club at the time.”

The desire burns as brightly as ever for Brown out on the pitch when he turns out for his west Wales club.

“We had a game on tour up in Edinburgh last year against Linlithgow,” reveales Keenan.

“They had a scrum on their fivemetre line in the 80th minute.

“He begged me to go back on, drove them off their ball and we scored. We still lost and he missed the conversion by a country mile, but it will go into club folklore nonetheless.”