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Crymych RFC celebrates in style!
It was a case of third time lucky for Crymych Rugby Club at the end of the 2009/10 season because they beat Milford Haven to secure the Pembrokeshire Knock Out Cup for the first time in their 25-year history.
They had previously lost in recent finals against Pembroke Dock Quins and Whitland but were good value for a 22-6 victory over the Mariners at Parc Llwyn Ty Gwyn in Whitland, which included good tries for centre Elgan Vittle, scrum half Rhodri Davies and centre Nick Bevan to go with seven points from the boot of outside half Ianto Griffiths. It saw the Preseli Men’s skipper Mark Oakman raise the coveted silverware for the first time, to the delight of their young side, plus coaches Lyn Williams and Elgan Vittle, and their hardy band of supporters.
Upwardly mobile
The club also confirmed its right to be considered the third best team in Pembrokeshire, behind only Whitland and Narberth, as they came third in Division Three (West) behind Newcastle Emlyn and Llandeilo, with 16 wins from 22 matches.
Not content with that little lot, Crymych then entered a team in the Newport Sevens, under the leadership of dynamic young flanker Tomos Jones, and after beating Carmarthen in the semi-final they comfortably beat Plasmawr Old Boys (Cardiff) in the final to claim another trophy for the club. Tomos was joined by Rhodri Davies, Ianto Griffiths, Dyfan Dafydd, Stefan Phillips, Tom Coleman, Tom Powell, Huw Rees, Trystan Griffiths and Aled Jones in a very youthful squad.
Terrific junior success
It is a similar storey at junior level, where Crymych dominated the Pembrokeshire finals the previous season by winning the competitions at Under 11, 12, 13 and 16 levels, with the under 16s also winning their league to complete the double. This recent season saw the Under 8 tag team tieing for their section whilst the Under 13s and Under 14s again won their sections – and the Under 16s again won their league!
Just a short while
It all seems just a short while since the club was formed in 1984 to cater for young rugby players in the area, who had to travel to Cardigan, Narberth and Whitland to get a game once they left school. They used London House as their headquarters and the Thomas family provided the pitch, which was, in 1992, officially named Parc Lloyd Thomas, with Mrs Dilys Thomas as the excellent president. In 1995 they were afforded full membership of the Welsh Rugby Union and two years later established their junior section. The club now caters for youngsters from under 8 to under 16, with a girls under 15 team started this year.
Superb facilities – and a solid base
The club has superb changing facilities at Parc Lloyd Thomas and now have their own clubhouse nearby as an added bonus. Robin Davies is the coaching director at the club and is full of praise for the work done by so many people.
“We have tried to put in place a solid base at Crymych, with current players Elgan Vittle and former star Lyn Williams coaching the senior teams, and with Kevin Phillips, John Morgan and Rhys Jones coaching the youth and receiving plenty of help from parents. We have excellent team managers in Adrian Howells (Firsts), Gary Phillips (Seconds), and Tudor Lewis (Youth), so that we can all work together for players at every level.”
Administratively strong
It is a similar story on the administration side because Gordon Eynon is another former player who is putting a huge amount back as the long-serving Hon Secretary, ably assisted by Mark Davies as assistant secretary.
“Everyone involved gives a great deal of help”, says Gordon, “with Kaye Davies as president, Brian Francis as club chairman, Wyn Jones as Hon Treasurer and Ian Delve as his assistant. At junior level we have Dylan Edwards as chairman, Robin Davies as secretary and Elvis Davies as treasurer. We also have a hard-working committee because there is always plenty to do.”
International honours
The club policy clearly works because as well as former Welsh regular Kevin Phillips helping with the coaching they have John Davies playing at prop, with the late great Brian Williams as their third full international. Brian Davies (flanker), Robin Davies (scrum half), and Gerald Rowland (centre) also represent the Welsh junior teams, with Andrew ‘Togo’ Phillips playing at No 8 for Wales Youth and Emyr Williams playing for Wales at Under 18 level. More recently, Dylan Dafydd and Tom Coleman played for Wales A at Under 16 level to complete a remarkable record for such a small club.
Things really are buzzing at Crymych in terms of rugby – and they have no intention of letting things slip as they go from strength to strength!
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