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Gareth’s going great guns at the Obs
When Milford Haven RFC set out on their new season in Division Four (West) then Gareth Fawcett could rightly regarded as a key ball-winner with his excellent lineout skills and ability to be a very good ball carrier as an added bonus.
He has slotted in at The Observatory as a second row, where he uses his 6 feet 4 inches frame to the full, and can only get better as he gains in experience because he hails from a football background, played the round-ball game himself until he was 18 and now, after just one season in the engine room for the Mariners, finds himself being watched by clubs like Narberth and Whitland at a higher level.
Footballing family
That Gareth should be involved with football was natural because his dad Tony is well known as both player and manager in the Milford Haven area, where he played for Steynton and Herbrandston amongst other clubs. His older brother Jonathan plays for Hakin United and mum Jane has been a good supporter of Gareth’s in both football and rugby.
Gareth himself started out at Herbrandston as a striker and he bagged more than his share of goals and he once scored six goals in a game, and he played for Milford Haven School in the Schools’ Cup Final against STP at Marble Hall. He also played for Hakin United Juniors when Tony was coach and Gareth says that dad was harder on him than the rest of the team!
Chance start in rugby
Then he started playing senior football for the Vikings but on one occasion when they were without a match he received a phone call from Craig Smith, who was hooker at Milford RFC, asking him if he fancied helping out because the Mariners were short of a player on the wing. Gareth agreed to play and he enjoyed himself so much that he decided to switch games – and hasn’t looked back since. He has shot up in height over the past two years but stayed on the wing for quite a while under the watchful eye of Alan McClelland, whom Gareth rates as a ‘great coach’ – and Gareth moved into the pack on the suggestion of Jamie Parr, the experienced prop whom Gareth works with every day.
Growing success
That was at the start of last season and Gareth helped The Mariners win promotion from Division Five with his ability to capture good ball at the linesout, and use possession well with his excellent handling skills. He scored eight tries during the league season, including a brace at Neyland, which he naturally enjoyed in a hard-fought local derby at the Athletic Ground – and as a result Milford came second in the table and had to take part in a one-off match against Cwmgwrach, which is a village between Neath and Merthyr, and played in Division Five (South Central) and scored a heap of tries before they met Milford. It was a tough clash against an experienced opposition but a late Ian Rusinek try, converted under real pressure by scrum half Tom Arnold, saw the Mariners move up to Division Four (West).
Gareth and Co at Milford know that this is going to be another sharp learning curve for their relatively young team and he has been working at his fitness levels, although he admits that he is not the best trainer in the world but loves playing matches. They have been training twice weekly under the eye of Alan McClelland, Lyn Lewis and Larry Spillane, who has rejoined the club as forwards’ coach and who is sure to pass on some useful tips to Gareth.
No hurry to move upwards yet
He was invited to train at Whitland a short while ago and although he was flattered to be asked by the Borderers he has decided that he needs at least another season with Milford before he even considers trying to play at a higher level, and at 20 years old still has plenty of time to progress.
This is a view shared by coach McClelland, who said,
“There is no doubt that Gareth Fawcett is a very promising young player, with bags of potential, but he has only played one season in the pack and still needs a great deal more playing time at this level. We will look after him here and when the time comes for him to move we would give him every encouragement to play where it is best for him. In the meanwhile he is a great ball-winner for us and has the ability to switch to the back row at some stage because he can tackle and carry the ball well.”
Great team spirit
This is a view shared by Gareth because he says that he just wants to carry on playing with his pals at the Obs.
“I really enjoy the matches and we have a great team spirit afterwards which makes it easier to travel to away games. We also have a couple of older heads like Jamie (Parr), Scott Walters and Mark Wonnacott who use their experience in helping us and so I am happy where I am at the moment.”
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