Mike’s making his mark as Whitland Youth skipper

Mike Jones is rightly regarded as a very talented young rugby player who has already made his mark by captaining Whitland Youth to the final of last season’s Welsh Youth Cup Final – and he still has another season of youth rugby to come before he decides where his future lies in the game.
Mike is a very talented eighteen year old who hails from a very sporting family because his father Richard, known to all as ‘Stag’, played for Narberth, Pembrokeshire and Llanelli, and is still regarded as one of the best back row forwards ever to come out of the county whilst mum Judith was a very good all-round sportswoman and taught PE before moving in to management – and sister Emily played hockey and netball well.

Other sports

Mike started out at Narberth, where he was soon a member of the Narberth under 9 team, coached by Robert Simons, and also played football for Narberth AFC juniors as a goal-keeper or defender who enjoyed making big tackles. In the summer months he played cricket for both Narberth and Saundersfoot but didn’t move his feet enough to become a really good batsman and so bowled, and he also represented Pembrokeshire in the Dyfed Sports as a shot-putter before he decided he had to focus on his involvement with the oval ball game.

Rugby start

After starting out in tag rugby, where there was no tackling, Mike quickly settled in to the Narberth and county under 11s, playing as a second row in those days as Andy Grey and Simon Thomas were very influential coaches. He stayed with the Otters for the next two seasons but then switched to Whitland and joined a team which has become more and more successful over the years, winning the League and Cup double for their age category against Cardigan and then Aberystwyth (twice).
From under 16 rugby, where he was captain, he moved into youth rugby and was already playing No 8 and he helped a very talented Borderers Youth team to win the league and cup double, and the Griffiths Cup as a bonus – but just missed out on an amazing four-timer when they lost in the semi-final of the Welsh Cup at Bonymaen.

Biggest moment – biggest disappointment

Last season saw Mike and Co at Whitland complete the league and cup double at youth level and they played superbly well to reach the Welsh Cup Final, under the guidance of coaches Roy Newton and Paul Kirk, plus John Griffiths as team manager, which was played at the Millennium Stadium against Bridgend Athletic. The support from Whitland was amazing, with a smashing atmosphere at the stadium caused almost entirely by the many supporters from Hendy Gwyn. Mike says
“Walking down the steps at the Millennium Stadium as Whitland captain was one of the proudest moments of my life and the boys gave everything before we conceded late points to lose 30-18. Whilst I remain proud of what we did I can say it was also one of the biggest disappointments in my life because we so wanted to take the trophy back to Whitland four our wonderful supporters, families and coaches.”

Silverware success

Mike attended school at Greenhill, in Tenby, and his team won the league and cup there, beating Rhyd y Waun (Aberdare) in the final – and he represented Crawshay’s Youth on a number of occasions, including games against Llandovery College, Chris College, Brecon, and Rydal School from North Wales. He also captained Crawshay’s on a tour to Portugal where they beat Bath Colts in the final, with team mates Brynley Toms, Rob Evans and Luke Kendall in the pack alongside him. As usual, he showed the forgetful side of his nature by forgetting items of kit, which is something that he has been teased about regularly since he started playing!
Not content with that little lot, Mike also represented the county youth team and after narrowly losing to West Carmarthenshire in the counties youth cup they won the plate competition by beating Swansea in the final, with excellent performances from outside half Toby Smith and centre Ianto Griffiths, both from Tenby, in a very good team performance. Ask him about the toughest thing about captaining the county side and he would laughingly admit that it is making a speech after the games!

Looking forward

Mike represented the Scarlets at under 16 level and says that all he wants from his rugby is to go as far as he can in the game and enjoy it. Although he is sometimes teased about being a Narberth boy at Whitland, Mike is full of praise about his team-mates and the coaches there, with players of the calibre of Scott Williams, Dan Newton, James Stephenson, James ‘Cub’ Davies and Dan Evans amongst a number of other very good players he has played alongside. He still has one year left at youth level and is hoping to be off to Cardiff University, so that could be another avenue to widen his experience, but he will take advice from dad because he knows that time is very much on his side.
It is clear that there is a very level head on this young man’s shoulders and PembrokeshireSport.co.uk is sure of one thing – we will hear a lot more about Mike Jones, rugby playing in the years to come because he has a great deal to offer in terms of determination, dedication and, above all, skill!