All’s well for Welfare as they begin a new chapter of real success story
CAMBRIAN Welfare have been one of the major success stories in the National League in recent years and that looks set to continue after a pleasing start to their next chapter.
The club have climbed up through the leagues starting with their Six Central title triumph in 2013.
Promotion from Five South Central followed the following year and a third-placed finish in Three West Central B saw them continue to climb the leagues.
After two years in Three West Central A they claimed the title with 100 points and followed that up with a silver medal in Two East Central, which was enough to hand them their first taste of Division One rugby this season.
And they’ve made a promising start to the campaign with victories over Porth Harlequins (14-13), Treorchy (11-6) and Llantrisant (12-11).
A 19-10 defeat to Rhiwbina halted their progress but they got back on track with an impressive 30-15 win over Gilfach Goch, who beat them to the title last season, in the first round of the WRU National Plate on Saturday.
Team manager Marc Whitford is delighted with how they have started the season and believes there is no limit to what the team can achieve.
“We always set our targets high so we want to finish in the top four,” he said.
“It’s a big ask but if you don’t set your targets high then there is no point playing rugby.
“We’ve come from nowhere, going back a long time ago we were playing the likes of Gilfach II, Porth II and Treorchy II, that’s where we were.
“We’ve come through the ranks, we’ve been known as a little pub team but this little pub team has proved a lot of teams wrong.
“We’ve gone into Division One and won three out of four, which is an unbelievable start to the season.
“The likes of Treorchy have been one of the biggest teams in the Rhondda for a long, long time.
“But we have come from being probably one of the worst teams in the Rhondda to, on paper at this point, the second best team in the Rhondda. There is no denying that because the table doesn’t lie.
“The last six years the club has come on leaps and bounds, we’ve got a first team, a second team and about 150 kids in the mini section so we are making massive inroads.”
Whitford led the club from Division Six to Division Two before stepping aside to let Danial Roberts and Jack Dunning take over.
“I stepped down from coaching because I thought it was time for the club to move in a different direction,” Whitford continued.
“If you’re coaching a team for too long it can get stale. It wasn’t about me, it was about the club so I stepped back, got two new coaches and they’ve got the same passion and belief and are doing fantastic.
“The momentum continued. They came in and took over a great squad.
“The boys have adapted to the coaches and there is a good buzz around the camp at the moment.”
The supporters and wider community have also played their part in Cambrian’s rise and Whitford believes the National Championship could be a realistic destination.
“Playing in Division One, I would think, would be the highest point for us but the way this club is going, who knows,” he added.
“There could be a point in the future where we could get to the Championship, you just don’t know.”