Around the Touchline Feature:

 
 
Lloyd Davies is currently the proud captain of Pembroke Rugby Club. It is fair to say that in his nine years or so as a member of The Scarlets’ senior front row he has certainly seen the ups and downs of the game.

He has experienced the joy of two consecutive promotions, the thrill of reaching the WRU Bowl Final at the Principality, but also the anguish of a last-gasp defeat – and the fact that they were relegated through two divisions after two very tough campaigns in a strong Division One (West).
 
Lloyd served as vice-captain to fellow front-rower Seamus ‘Moose’ Wiseman last season and is now leading The Scarlets’ campaign in Division Three (West) A, where they are sitting comfortably in mid-table.

“But the real bonus for us is the fact that we have been able to give the chance of first-team rugby to some promising youngsters starting out at senior level,” Lloyd told us, “we have a very talented youth team run by Phil Greenwood where 11 of them become available to join us next season in the first-team squad.” “We are lucky to have great coaches in Gary Price, Rob Hearn and Darren Gilbert, all former players at the club themselves”.
 



 

Unwilling participant as a nipper

 
Now 27, Lloyd started out at Crickmarren at eight years of age and readily admits it wasn’t the most enjoyable time for him.

“To be honest, I wasn’t very fussed on being taken there by my dad Mark but coaches Richard Gibby and Graham Harries worked really well in encouraging me and pulled me through so that I actually began to enjoy the hurly-burly!”
 
And talking of family, Lloyd would say that he has his own band of dedicated supporters in mum Stella, grandmother Sheila John, plus girl-friend Nirvana Thomas, who travel to cheer him on, home and away, with dad Mark and grandfather Dave Fisher go as often as they can.




 

Enjoyed  success at junior and youth levels

 
“At under 15 level I was playing prop or hooker in county rugby alongside some excellent players like Josh McLeod, Lewys Gibby, Rhys Fawcett, Scott Jenkins and Iestyn Evans, where current Tenby United coach Jonathan Evans did an excellent job. I went to Greenhill School and Mr Evans was also with us there as we reached the final of the county schools cup in 2014 narrowly missing out to STP.”
 
Then it was on to youth rugby when Graham Harries, Richard Gibby Clive ‘Tosh’ Rowlands and Dai Gwyther coached Lloyd at Pembroke. These four were later replaced by the late Ross Taylor towards the end of his youth days. The highlight of his Pembroke youth years was the 2013 county youth final where they put up one hell of a fight against a strong Crymych side on a cold Friday night in Whitland
During these years, he also played for a very strong Pembrokeshire U19s side. “We reached two consecutive youth cup finals in Cardiff Arms Park, winning one against Newport 2016 and missing out on the other to Caerphilly in 2015.”

“Before I knew it, I was making my first team debut whilst still playing at that level, where we beat St Clears. When I became a first team regular it was nice to get advice from the likes of Scott Powell, Max Hayward and Sam Smith as I joined other newcomers in Jack Parkinson and Tom Lewis in playing on a regular basis.” As well as the players within this talented squad, he also wanted to thank his coaches Geraint Lewis and Kyle Davies for their advice and help during these crucial years in senior rugby.




 

Two appearances at the Principality Stadium

 
 
Lloyd made his first appearance at The Principality Stadium when Pembroke reached the final of the 2018 WRU Bowl for all the division three teams in Wales in unusual circumstances, despite losing in the semi-final to Cardiff University – but suddenly there were rumours that Cardiff Uni were being investigated for playing illegal players.

“We were actually on a bus to The Principality to cheer on our youth team, which had reached their final, when we heard of Cardiff uni’s expulsion was confirmed and there was huge cheer on the packed bus as we realised we would be following them there soon afterwards! “Sadly, the youth team was narrowly beaten after an epic struggle and we shared their disappointment but there was so much excitement amongst us I can’t describe it now – and it meant a huge build up in the following week as almost 40 players turned out so we could practise in full-match situations.
 
“Then I went to Swansea University for my history degree. I was proud to be selected for the 2019 ‘Welsh Varsity’ match against Cardiff University. It was a great experience to run out in front of the TV cameras at the Principality Stadium, not to mention the noisiest crowd I have ever witnessed first-hand. Although we got hammered, I have will always have my special cap as a memento of the day.”

During his studies and the years that followed, he has represented the Welsh Academicals five times, two of which were two extremely memorable away trips to Cambridge University. “It’s a great club with rich history, making it extra special when I got selected.”




 

Amazing day out at the Bowl Final

 
“The match day at The Principality was amazing as it started out at Crickmarren with people cheering us off and continued with the bus trip where everyone was so excited to be taking on Porthcawl – and then seeing so many red scarves and jerseys in the ground.”
 
“Porthcawl had a reputation for having pacy backs and they took us apart in the first half and to lead 27-5 and it looked like we were going to lose by a mile – but then we showed what we were made of and rallied to such an extent we eventually snatched the lead 31-30 with minutes to play.
 
“But what looked like being the best day of my rugby playing career turned to be my greatest disappointment. They had a penalty in the final seconds causing us to lose 33-31. But skipper Scott Powell, showed what a great captain he was in both his TV interview afterwards and his changing room speech when he told us how proud he was of us, because he knew we had all given total commitment on the field and Pembroke RFC would always be proud of us.”
 
“Our friends and families were all in ‘The Gatekeeper’ pub opposite the stadium. Anyone walking into that pub would have been under the impression that we had won that day considering the reaction we witnessed as we walked in.”

“The day was made better when we got back to Pembroke. All of the players could feel the pride of the supporters once we entered the clubhouse! There was an army waiting for us to arrive”  
 

Rugby ups and downs, literally

 
“The only other down time has happened in the past two seasons and came after the excitement of two successive promotions into division one (west) a little before. Since there was a ’no relegations’ policy, we had to just stick it out.”

“Within these three seasons, we had some great battles against some quality outfits. But, also, some heavy defeats. Despite this, it was only the latter half of last season where we struggled to get a team for these tough fixtures. This truly shows the true grit and heart within the squad at the club”.

“It wasn’t only the players that showed this grit to get through the fixtures. Our coaches Geraint Lewis, Ieuan Mathews and Tim Poole helped to keep our heads up in the club’s darkest season which I am truly thankful for”.

“We were then relegated two divisions. This was met with mixed feelings within the club, and if I’m honest I wasn’t in agreement with us going down with such a big drop considering the hard work we put in to get us to that level. However, in hindsight, I can now see that it was the right option.”
 
So now it’s a matter of bringing on the young players and building for the future with a club that is in good heart with a full junior and youth section, women’s rugby and a senior team – and Lloyd intends playing a full part in that.

Small wonder that team manager Simon Edwards, a long-time captain of the club told us,
“Lloyd is a very under-rated player because there are only a few props that I’ve seen this season who are as good as he is,”
And former captain Scott Powell told us,
“He is a great club man and a very good prop who can be relied upon to give 100% in every match – and he certainly leads by example.”
 
We could pay Lloyd Davies no higher compliment than those two ‘rugby-savvy’ gentlemen and we can only say that he is a credit to Pembroke RFC, not only on the field but off it with his total commitment to the club!