Sporting Snippets - with PembrokeshireSport.co.uk

Still loads of laughs in our county’s sport!

Buddug beats Derek in the prawn fishing stakes

Derek Roberts is manager of Haverfordwest County’s second team and has recently been off recuperating from illness with family in New Zealand, where he always looks forward to some relaxing fishing.

When Mr and Mrs Roberts went last time Derek fooled some of their pals at the Conygar Bridge Meadow Stadium with a picture of him holding onto a giant marlin which he convinced them he had caught.

On this visit Derek took Buddug to a prawn fishing park where they saw the whole process of breeding the creatures before they eventually had the chance to fish for the huge prawns, using just a rudimentary rod and line, and then enjoying them on a nearby ‘Barbie’.

Now, one would expect Derek to show his skills at this moment because of his alleged fishing prowess but not a bit of it – he didn’t manage to get one prawn on his hook. Luckily for him, however, was the fact that Buddug caught loads and sportingly agreed to let her man share them with her when they were cooked. So well done Mrs Roberts – and don’t stop reminding him that you are the better angler in the household!

Thanks – and well done Ian Capon

PembrokeshireSport.co.uk was delighted to receive a phone call recently from Ian Capon, the former Neyland player who now plays for Gowerton as a quick bowler and useful batsman and was captain of their relatively young team which was beaten by Neyland in the Welsh Indoor Cricket Finals.

He wanted to congratulate them and wish them well for their play-off match at the Meads just two weeks later and was glowing in his praise for the way that his former team-mates played. Ian now teaches at the highly-rated Bishop Gore Comprehensive School and his parents Christine & Jack were at the final. Jack was one of finest cricketers to play in county and coached most of the current Neyland players when they were a lot younger, so he must have felt a great deal of pride in their success too.

I always considered Ian as a very good cricketer who never gave less than 100% but was a modest and likeable feller – and his phone call merely supported that long-held view. It also shows that although sport can be very competitive it can still support good sportsmanship and we join Ian Capon in wishing Neyland all the best but we also wish Ian every success in the 2012 cricket season because he deserves it!

The Seagulls are a real ‘brotherly’ team

Fishguard and Goodwick RFC have long been regarded as a team which in general brings on its own players from junior and youth levels, with a family atmosphere that helps keeps them together.

It has never been more evident than in this campaign as they sit proudly atop the National League Division Five (West) because when Fishguard took on Nantgaredig and Bynea they had no fewer than three sets of brothers playing – and two pairs were twins!

Leading the way were Steve and Nathan Jenkins, who can now lay claim to being at the veteran stage compared to most of the other talented youngsters involved at The Moors. Steve came to rugby after a successful time as a fiery midfield football player with Goodwick United at nearby Phoenix Park and has adapted his fiercely competitive nature to playing either centre or flanker – and is an inspirational skipper as an added bonus for the Seagulls. Steve’s brother Nathan is an under-rated second row who has given outstanding service for many years as a real grafter who also can only give 100% effort and commitment – a real players’ player and clearly a Seagull through and through!

Then there are twins Mark  and Matthew George, who are both tenacious players who love to outshine each other in scoring tries, with Mark as a bustling No 8 and Matthew using his added pace on the wing – and both have been real assets for Fishguard over a number of years and still going very strong.

Finally, we have talented youngsters Rhodri and Owain Morgans, who represent the future of the club since they are teenagers and should be playing at The Moors for many years to come. Rhodri is a deceptively strong scrum half who is adept at keeping opposing back rows on their toes whilst also getting his backs into motion – and Owain is a gritty hooker who loves the close-range stuff alongside his fellow front-row men.

Isn’t it great to see them all involved – and making an impact for Fishguard and Goodwick RFC!

No bathers – and no trainers either!

Simon Holliday is known to his cricket pals in Haverfordwest as ‘Doc’ because of medical background but it seems ‘absent-minded professor’ might be more appropriate because on two occasions recently he has shown a single-minded ability to forget things that were certainly required.

Firstly we bumped into our Simon at the Haverfordwest Leisure Centre and our short chat before he went swimming extended into a discussion of almost an hour over a cup of coffee because he had simply forgotten to pack either pair of bathers in his kit bag!

Then it was on to the Meads Leisure Centre in Milford Haven, where he was due to play for The Town in two indoor cricket matches, and just prior to going out to bat discovered that he had left his trainers at home. On this occasion he was helped out by someone from the opposition who showed true sportsmanship by lending him his trainers, although it mattered little because ‘Doc’ Holliday was run out without facing a ball!

They say things go in threes and we will let you know what the third piece of absent-mindedness is for our ace run-maker – because it is sure to happen!

Getting locked out is such a nuisance

It seems that getting locked out of one’s home is becoming fashionable in sporting circles because a lady involved in local cricket and a gentleman who does a lot of work in football have both recently found themselves without a key as they gazed forlornly at their front doors.

I know we can laugh with them but it does cause a great deal of inconvenience. For example, the lady had to have new doors fitted after her better half had eventually managed to get them in out of the cold with a little brute force – and our footballing friend had to smash a window and then call out a glazier.

But it seems there is a simple message here – always hide a spare key under a suitably placed flower pot – although I suppose that might allow others to get in before you get home!

Arriving early – at the wrong ground!

And finally this month we can tell you about a well-known local footballer who was delighted to tell me his latest mishap, on the understanding that I don’t reveal his name.

He was eagerly awaiting his away match on Saturday every bit as much as he has always done and got to the ground early. He waited for his team mates for what seemed an age but no-one arrived until the opposing club’s second string strolled up and he discovered that his team was playing at home!

It meant a ten-mile trip back to his home ground and he was still there in time to get changed and out for the start so that even his team-mates don’t know that he had almost gone AWOL – and his little secret is safe with us!

HAVE A GOOD SPORTING MONTH!