Brecon RFC

63 The Watton
Brecon
Powys
LD3 7EL

Tel: 01874 624848
Fax: 01874 611719
contact@breconrfc.co.uk

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Club Newsletters

BRECON RFC NEWSLETTER March 2009

Senior Teams

With just six games remaining in the season the 1st XV are in 4th place, one point behind St. Peter’s, our opponents on Saturday. The season has been very mixed. After a disastrous start we improved beyond all recognition and put together a sequence of six consecutive wins. Then just after Christmas we lost a very tight match against unbeaten league leaders, Llantwit Fadre. We recovered from that with a very creditable away win at Llanishen before losing form. A sequence of five defeats was eventually halted with a bonus point win against Old Illtydians, although the signs of a return to form had appeared in the narrow defeats to Llandaff North and promotion chasing Treorchy. The remainder of the season allows us with the opportunity to achieve a third place finish if we can achieve notable wins on Saturday 28th and against the two front running teams, Llantwit Fadre and Treorchy. It would be a great achievement and is not beyond our capability if we can get things right. Such a finish would give us confidence as we look to the future.

Our seconds have also had a mixed season with about an equal number of wins and defeats. Compared to the last few seasons, when we have at times struggled to raise a side, this is a marked improvement and we hope it is a sign of the direction we are heading.

Youth

Coaches Tony Price and Brian Pritchard have worked hard with a young and promising squad of players. Results have not been as good as expected but many games have been lost by narrow margins. With most of the squad remaining intact next year and with the extra maturity that will bring then we can look forward to a successful season.

It should be noted that three youth players played regularly for the first XV. Owen Morgan is at present the 1st XV’s leading try scorer and has missed only one game. Rob Price has been a regular at scrum half and Jack Herring has stepped up at prop during the latter half of the season. His progress into the senior squad has been outstanding for such a young and inexperienced player.

Brecon President’s XV v British Army

This was an outstanding match and event. The game was hard fought between two teams that wanted to play rugby. Ten tries were scored; with the Army shading it by six tries to four. The match was graced by the presence of two Internationals; Jack Prasad, 13 caps Fij,i filled the Army No 10 berth, while Gary Halpin; 11 caps Ireland, put in a 25 minute vintage performance for the home side in the front row. We were also pleased to welcome Ian Poley back to Brecon after a number of years playing in the Premiership for Pontypridd and now Aberafon.

In such elevated company the fourteen Brecon players were certainly not out of place with each one of them making a notable contribution. While it is hard to single out individuals Richard Galea and Chris Wilton must be mentioned. Richard won the Man of the Match Award for a typical barnstorming performance while Chris had his best game for Brecon to date bagging two excellent tries and just missing his hat trick when it was adjudged that he had knocked on in the build up to his third.

In addition to the day being a great rugby event it produced a grand total of around £5,000 profit for the Keith Morris Memorial Fund.

Honours

Once again this season the club is proud of the fact that a number of players have achieved International Honours. The top of the pyramid has to be Andy Powell who, injury apart, would have played in all nine of Wales’ Internationals this season. His achievement has been outstanding and we all hope that his injury before the final Championship deciding match against Ireland does not rob him of a place on the British Lions tour of South Africa.

At Under 18 level Lewis Smout followed up on his success last year as an under 16 by winning another Welsh cap in an excellent victory out in France. Having made such rapid progress in moving up an age group there is no reason why Lewis can not go on to win many more caps at this level. We wish him well.

Darran Harris, Under 16, is on the threshold of winning his first Welsh cap with his selection as one of the 26 players selected for the Wales Four Nations Tournament Squad. The tournament takes place between 8th and 15th April with the first Wales match at Llandovery. I am sure that Darran and his family would appreciate any local support as he steps up on the first rung of what could be a ladder that allows him to reach the top with Wales and the Lions.

Alwyn Lee should also be congratulated on his progress at Under 16 Level. In spite of a serious injury which ruined the first half of his season he has fought back to make the fringe of the Under 16 squad and I am sure that with better luck in the future he too has the aptitude and ability to achieve International Honours.

The youngest of the group aiming for National recognition is Alex Ryan, Under 11. Alex is part of an outstanding Under 11 team which has swept all before it. Together with Tudor Roderick and Rob Wainwright he took part in a trial for the East Wales Under 11 team. Alex has since made progress to a final trial and we all wish him success in achieving his short term goal of representing East Wales in the annual match v West Wales.

Juniors

All Junior squads with the exception of the Under 16’s have continued to make good progress this season. The under 16’s have struggled to put teams out on the park and this is a huge disappointment for a number of committed players and the club as a whole. Hard work has to take place to ensure that in the future we do not encounter the same difficulties in what is a vital year.

Minis

On the whole all teams have enjoyed huge successes. The reports on the website and their results are a joy to read. With the Brecon Tournament taking place on 13th April all teams are in fine form. They will need to be as the interest in the tournament grows and grows and a number of strong visiting teams will put up a stern challenge.

Our Under 8’s Tag Team have a special day out at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday 11th April. The team has been invited to play during the half time interval of the Heineken Cup Quarter Final match between Cardiff Blues and Toulouse. This is a fantastic opportunity for our youngsters but I am not sure if it is they or their coaches who are the most nervous at present.

Lottery

The lottery has started with a draw every Friday. Support particularly from the Mini/Junior Section and general committee has been excellent. To date we have banked into the Development Fund around £330 from the Lottery. If we can maintain or slightly increase this over a year then we could achieve a total of £9,000 to £10,000 and together with Vice Presidents’ Subscriptions we could be in a position to go ahead with floodlighting at Parc de Pugh. Every ticket sold is vital and we need the support of the whole club.

Vice Presidents’ Dinner – Guest Speaker:- Steve Fenwick Friday 17th April 7:30p.m

The dinner is open to anyone at a cost of £20 per person. The ticket price includes a hot buffet and entertainment with Steve Fenwick and a comedian. Previous events have been very successful and everyone has enjoyed a good evening.

To date ticket sales have been much slower than usual. Such events are important for the club as they give us the opportunity to join together socially and to allow us to make awards for achievement to specific people/ players in front of a good audience of Vice Presidents, Members, Players and Guests. I would hope that this dinner will be no exception to that rule.

Tickets can be obtained through me (01874 624548) or by leaving a message at the club. The sooner we know what numbers we need to cater for the better we can prepare for the evening.

Ron Rowsell