Rhys Phelps is perhaps best known as a very talented young cricketing all-rounder with Hook CC and very much part of the Phelps’ dynasty there where his father Jamie has been a great servant for 40 years.
 

His older brothers Aled (who has recently been club captain) and Owen (another excellent all-rounder) are also key players - and mum Claire is the most important person in the family because she keeps them all in order, was an excellent taxi driver when the kids were younger, and played cricket for the village ladies team!

 
It is nice to record that all four of the Phelps’ men-folk played in one league game together at Narberth and Rhys topped the batting with 64. His brothers didn’t do too badly but poor old Jamie was dismissed for a duck - and it was some time before the boys (and mum) let their father forget the fact!

 

Already played rugby for Haverfordwest First XV – at 18!

 


But Rhys is also a very talented rugby player who has recently made a successful debut with Haverfordwest RFC in the hurly-burly of the front row, which isn’t the easiest place to play as an 18-year-old against very experienced older players from around south-west Wales.
 

And he certainly didn’t start off with an easy match as he came on as a replacement against table-topping New Dock Stars and helped The Blues take their previous 100% record off them!

 
He has already made four appearances and in the Blues’ recent away match at Trimsaran he grabbed his first try as hooker in a massive 57-0 win – and also picked up three stitches in a small head wound to further remember the game by!


 

Catching the eye at Hartpury

 

He is also a first team player at Hartpury College, near Gloucester, where he is in his second year of studying Level Three – B Tech Diploma in Rugby, which allows him to train on Mondays and Fridays alongside the academic content of the course - and in his first year was a regular with The Bulls, the college’s first team for newcomers where he played alongside other Pembrokeshire players like Ifan Williams.
 
To gain entry at the prestigious college he had to attend an assessment day where there were 300-400 rugby youngsters trying to gain entry.
 

Impressed prior to being given his place

 
He then received a phone call confirming his application was successful and it seemed that no sooner than he had finished his 12 GCSE’s than he was off on his own and straight into college life, where he shared a room with Ifan Williams. No mean feat for a 17-year-old away from home for the first time!
 
As soon as he had settled in, he found himself chosen for a pre-season festival, where they played Cardiff & The Vale, Exeter College and Bromsgrove - and he was off and running!
 

Early start as a Young Wasp and a county regular

 
Rhys had started out in rugby as an eight-year-old at Llangwm RFC, with Hamish Nicholas as a popular coach and Liam Hughes as his regular team-mate, and both stayed until under 14s but couldn’t continue at Pill Parks because there weren’t enough players for the next age group.
 
During that time, he had played for the county in a useful team that included Liam, Ifan Williams and Harri Evans, and he carried on when he played for Milford Haven RFC, where he joined fellow county players in Alfie Thomas, Dylan McGuire and Korey Riley.
 
Also playing for the county squad were Madoc Evans and Josh James as they reached the Laurence Miller Bowl Final at the Principality Stadium, but just missed out against a strong Islwyn team from North Wales.
 
At the same time, he was playing for Haverfordwest High School, whose coaches were Mikey Jones. Tom Powell and Michael Jones - and they were also runners-up to Bro Myrddin in the Llanelli Region final at Parc y Scarlets.






 

Back for a second season – and instant success

 
In this his second season, Rhys was again invited to play in the pre-season festival, this time against Bromsgrove, Henley on Thames and Malvern, and they won it in style, without conceding a single point, with the bonus of a try in the final fixture.
 
This, he was chosen to join the Aces, the second-year first team (they have four teams in total for each year group!) - and he started off with a bang as he played against Truro, and Cardinal Newman (Brighton), both of which were also won by wide margins.
 
But then Rhys was injured in training, suffering medial ligament damage, which cost him three months of the season on the sidelines - but he did come back for the Lions (the mixed team for first and second year students) and they beat Loughborough College in the Colleges’ Cup Final at the AOC Stadium.

 

Options open for the future – but enjoying helping out The Blues

 

So, what of the future for Rhys at the end of this two-year course?
“I am considering a three-year degree course in Sport Strength and Conditioning at Hartpury although I am keeping my options open until June, when I will have to decide on my next step.
 
“In the meanwhile, I will continue to help out when I can at Haverfordwest, where coaches Simon Lepetit, Mikey Jones and Steve Williams, plus the older players amongst the forwards, have been fantastic in giving me my chance - and I will definitely be playing cricket at Hook in the summer along with dad and my brothers.”

 

And finally . . .

 

STOP PRESS! There has been tremendous news this week because Rhys, along side Ifan Williams and Thomas Davidson (both Pembrokeshire boys) have been chosen for Hartpury College’s ten-day tour to South Africa. They will play three matches against top teams from the Stellenbosch area – and understandably Rhys will have to limit playing locally before then because u the last thing he would want now is to sustain an injury which stops him having such a unique experience!
 
PembrokeshireSport.co.uk has seen Rhys Phelps grow up in cricket at Hook and we regard the family as friends so his advancement in cricket has come as no surprise but his rugby prowess fell outside our radar until we saw him come on as a replacement hooker for his winning Division Three (West) league debut against fellow promotion candidates New Dock Stars, and help rob their opponents of their unbeaten record.
 
He played with high skill levels and a maturity beyond his years and we at PembrokeshireSport are confident that we will hear more of his rugby prowess in years to come!