Around the Touchline Feature:

 




 
When I first bumped into Justin Mountstevens in front of the changing rooms at Haverfordwest RFC I made an immediate impact when I listened to him speak and then asked him what part of New Zealand he was from!
 
His answer I think was a mixture of disbelief and disdain as he pointed out that he was in fact English and played good quality rugby in his younger days in London.
 
But I’m glad to say that from that early faux pas on my part has grown an appreciation for the unsung work he does with The Blues as he goes about things in his quiet, but very efficient way – and I know that he was also held in high regard at Pill Parks because some of the Llangwm RFC officials have told me so in several conversations!
 
A junior at Woodford RFC and tough matches at senior level
 
Justin Mountstevens set out in rugby in North London for a team called Woodford at under 11 and played there throughout his junior days as a hooker, with the odd game as a prop, and he was lucky to have total support from parents, Gerald and Patricia, who originally hailed from Pembroke.
 
Sadly, the club disbanded the team at under 17 level because they didn’t have enough players but after a short break he was old enough to be involved in senior rugby and played for the first team in the North London League, division two, which was about one step above the Welsh Division Three rugby in which Haverfordwest are now playing.
 
“The major difference was that the packs were much bigger in London and the pace was a little slower – and they weren’t averse to using a little ‘physical encouragement’ if you were lying on the floor and blocking the ball in a ruck!”
 

Going semi-pro at Barking and back to his rugby roots

 
Then he joined Barking, who played at the next level up, which was semi-professional, and he enjoyed the more intense training twice a week alongside matches where the pace and skill levels under Welsh coaches John Davies, who taught at Campion School, and Steve James, who did a great job – also increased as they were also expected to train at home as well.
 
“Our director of coaching was ex-England prop Jeff Probyn and I once played against another former England prop in  Graham Dawe and our matches were played at a greater pace and at one time all our forwards, other than the front row, were 6 feet 5 inches or taller!
 
“I actually played in two London Cup Finals where we lost both and I got stick when I rejoined Woodford because they gained promotion the year I left and were relegated in my first season back!
 
“But I played over 200 first team matches there and when I stepped down I really enjoyed being captain of the second XV until my wife Sarah, who hails from Pembroke Dock and has always given me wonderful support, decided it was time we left London to move back to Pembrokeshire with our son Owen and daughter Megan.




 

Joined The Blues after watching Boxing Day Bishop Cup

 
“I did consider playing in the south of the county but then I watched Haverfordwest play Llangwm in the Bishop Cup on a Boxing Day and decided I would join The Blues because I liked the set-up there, intending to have a run out with a seconds, thirds or even a veterans’ team if they had one.
 
“But I played five seasons in the first team alongside some real characters and I was regarded as the ‘Grand Old Man’ of the front row because Gareth Green and Adam Martin were nine years younger – and I was 14 years older than Simon LePetit and Graham Jenkins!”
 

Helping out short term at Llangwm – for five seasons!

 
Justin decided to retire at 38 but after a year out and watching The Blues play he was persuaded by his pal Simon Brick to join him in helping Llangwm out short term – and it was the start of five very enjoyable years at Pill Parks, including several Bishop Cup battles where his old team-mates from Haverfordwest totally forgot that he had been one of them!
 
“Then I really did step down but my rugby involvement wasn’t over because I was roped in to be team manager back at Haverfordwest, where I would have liked to do some coaching but my work in Health and Safety keeps me away all week so I can’t attend training sessions.



 

Back with The Blues – and busy on match days

 
“On match days I work closely alongside John Summons with coaches Matthew John, Simon Lepetit and Steve Barnett – and as a pair John and I share the work pre-match in getting everything ready from making sure the kit is at hand; to giving shoulder, back and leg massages to some of the players with niggles or are still stiff from training or playing.
 
“Once the game starts, John and I share the roles of being touch judge and first/aider, with John usually running the line while I frighten the players by running on with the first-aid kit.
 
“During my time at Haverfordwest and Llangwm I have been very lucky to have played with, and against, some very good players and some real characters, and although there’s nothing like being involved as a player it is still great to be involved in other ways – and I would recommend former players to try and put something back into your club because help is always needed and welcomed in a whole range of different areas!”
 
Those sentiments are typical of Justin Mountstevens and we at PembrokeshireSport.co.uk are pleased to highlight just a little of what he does at Haverfordwest Rugby Club – and we enjoy popping in for a chat to catch him for a few words at Pembroke Road when we can get him to stand still for a moment in the room he and John Summons uses for their pre-match efforts!