page revision date : Sunday 28th june 2009
Steve stars for the Otters and looks forward to Llanelli
The 2009/10 rugby season will see Steve Martin take on a new rugby challenge as the talented Narberth RFC centre who hails from Neyland is to join Llanelli.
He has already played for the Premiership club on one occasion this campaign as they took on Ebbw Vale at Parc y Scarlets and he marked his debut with a win – and says that the atmosphere at the ground is fantastic.
Signing semi-professional forms for Llanelli is fitting reward for a superb season just ended where Steve scored an amazing 22 tries from 22 starts to easily earn the ‘top try scorer’ tag for the third season, following on from the 16 he claimed in the previous campaign.
His final tally of tries from all matches this season was 40 and this included the opening try of the Pembrokeshire Knock Out Cup Final at Crymych when the Otters beat Whitland for the third time on the trot. It was one of the undoubted highlights for Steve and Co because they relish the local derbies against the Borderers more than any other fixtures – and third place in the Division One (West) table was another great moment for Steve before he sets out on the next stage of his rugby career in Llanelli.
It will mean training at Parc y Scarlets three evenings a week but that won’t deter Steve since he already trains twice weekly with the Otters and attends the local gym another four times.
“I know there is a great deal of hard work ahead” says Steve, “but I am ready for the challenge of moving up another grade in Welsh rugby because my ultimate ambition would be to find a place as a full time rugby professional.”
Juggling work with playing rugby
At the moment, Steve is sports tutor at the Pembrokeshire Behavioural Unit in Neyland for two days and as an L.S.A. there for the remaining three days and enjoys the challenges that it brings – and will continue his role there whilst being involved at Llanelli.
It all seems a long way from the time he started out in rugby as a nine year old at scrum half, switching to outside half, and then full back before finally settling in the centre spot he enjoys so much now.
Played for the County at every age level
He represented the County at every level from Under 11 to Youth, starting out at Neyland, where he was coached by Martin Davies and then Steve’s granddad, Percy Murphy, who Steve would say has had a ‘massive’ influence on his career with his support alongside grandmother Joyce, plus parents Scottie and Dawn.
Steve played for Milford Haven Under 14s and then played for Haverfordwest through to youth level as part of a team, which beat Pembroke in the Griffiths Cup Final for Under 18s and Pembroke Dock Quins in the Youth Cup Final.
Welsh boxing and athletic champion
Outside of his rugby it is worth mentioning the fact that Steve was also a Welsh champion in both boxing and athletics when he was younger. He boxed for Pennar ABC under the watchful eye of Alan Smith and won 20 out of 25 bouts, culminating in being Welsh champion as a 13 year old.
Steve was even more successful in athletics, where he competed in the 800 metres, high jump and pentathlon. When he was 17 he represented Wales in the high jump and had a personal best of 1.89 metres. He was also chosen twice for Wales in the Great Britain indoor championships at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow, competing in the high jump, long jump, shot, hurdles and 800 metres that formed the pentathlon and holding his own against the best young athletes from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Otters was Steve’s
first love
But it was rugby that was always Steve’s first love and culminated in his joining the Otters and scoring twice in a 30-21 debut defeat at Caerphilly where Neil Davies was his centre partner. He grabbed his first try hat-trick when the Otters beat Vardre 59-15 in the Konica Minolta Cup and he also scored three times in a KO Cup match against Pembroke, winning the top try scorer award and the ‘Most Promising Player’ trophy as a bonus.
There was another accolade the following campaign when Narberth lost 69-14 at Cardiff Arms Park in the Welsh Cup and he was voted as the Narberth man of the match. Steve also scored five tries against Pembroke in the KO Cup in a 65-7 away win – and at the end of the season was top try scorer and ‘Players’ Player of the Year’.
In late 2007 Steve was one of seven Narberth players who represented the Scarlets in the Welsh Under 25 championship final at Pontypool Park and they beat their counterparts from the Dragons by 24-22, as well as winning Narberth’s top try scorer award again. He also played for Wales’s amateur side in Germany, which won 27-14 and when Narberth were again drawn against Cardiff in the Welsh Cup he scored the opening try of the match before the Otters lost 53-15. His final tally of tries for the Otters is an amazing 58 tries from 85 matches!
Narberth supporters are the best in the County
All this, and representing Welsh Universities, was part of Steve having almost very happy years at the Lewis Lloyd Ground, where he says,
“The supporters are amazing because they follow us everywhere and are always ready to chat after matches. There can’t be a better set of supporters in the County and I will miss them.”
Ask about rugby influences at Narberth and his praise is equally unstinting.
“The coaching setup led by Jonathan Dodd is excellent and the players play with a spirit that makes it seem as if they all hail from Narberth. Justin Hughes has used his experience with the pack and I’ve learned a great deal from playing alongside Neil Davies in the centre.
“I was really chuffed to be chosen as the Supporters ‘Club Player of the Year’ and to have the Centenary Shield as ‘Player of the Year’ at the annual dinner – with the top try scorer award completing a smashing four-timer for me.
| 
