Rowland George is a very busy farmer with two large milking herds situated in the Letterston area but he still finds two, and sometimes three, evenings a week in helping Ken Owen at The Yard Amateur Boxing Club in his role as a qualified coach with the Welsh Amateur Boxing Association.
 
Rowland is now in his early 60s but still has that infectious enthusiasm he had for the Noble Art which he had as a 16 year old - and was an accomplished amateur boxer in his own right for about eight years before he sustained problems with his hands and couldn’t carry on in the sport.
 
But he continued giving a helpful hand to Tony Morris at the old Letterston ABC until Tony had to step down because of his business commitments and the club inevitably closed - so when The Yard club eventually rose from the ashes he quickly popped down to Ken and was soon involved, putting his wealth of experience into helping some of the talented young boxers who are beginning to flourish under their care.
 

A good reason to box – he always enjoyed a good scrap in school!

 
“To be honest,” Rowland admitted, “I had played some rugby in school but boxing was perfect for me because I always enjoyed fighting in the playground and eventually my father took  me down to Tony Morris and I started boxing at the club.
 
“I can still remember that first night in the gym when I was allowed to use the punch bags and pads - and I was well and truly hooked!
 
“I can also recall going for my medical and then getting my card within six weeks to show I could box - and then my first fight as a light middleweight in a tournament at Llanboidy, against someone who had already been in the ring, in front of a big crowd.
 
“I was nervous beforehand but although it flew by and I gave it my best shot I lost on points - and I was very disappointed, although it made me even more determined to do well as I met the same opponent a month later and won on a unanimous points verdict.
 

A great run after initial disappointment

 
“I was already regarded as a big puncher, rather than a stylish boxer, and confirmed it as I won 13 out of my first 15 fights, with nine of them by way of knock-out - but it wasn’t’ all plain sailing because in the Welsh Championships in Cardiff I then came up against a very strong and experienced boxer from that area who gave me a bit of a hiding.
 
“But I didn’t throw in the towel and battled it to the end - although I was knocked out once in my 45 contests, where I won about 75% of them, just walking on to a wild punch and waking up on the canvas and wondering what I was doing there!”
 

Boxed for Wales - a great honour

 
He was soon back in action, though, and one of the undoubted highlights was being selected to box for Wales in a competition against a team from HM Forces at the Dockers’ Club in Swansea.

“It was a huge honour,” Rowland told us, “but after the pre-fight formalities it didn’t last long because I caught my opponent with a cracking clean punch in the first round and he went down like a sack of spuds!”
 
In his eight years of boxing Rowland travelled across the whole of South Wales and up north as well in his willingness to get into the ring.
 
“I once boxed in Llay, near Wrexham, and found my opponent, who was called Jim, was a policeman in the area, but originally hailed from Pembrokeshire!
 
“I also loved training sessions three times a week and my work on the farm also gave me a high level of fitness - and it was great to spar against some highly skilled and strong boxers who abounded in the club as Tony was a brilliant coach and had help from Dewi  Harries and Ken Marpole.



 

Great young boxers in a cracking club

“When I was boxing I would go five nights a week if I had the chance and there were some very talented youngsters at the club like Phil Morris, who was my main sparring partner,  Wayne Mathias, Neil Harries, brothers Gareth and Stephen Marpole,  Nigel Richards, Alan Price, who attended Eton College and Rene Edwards, who had so much promise at that time.

“The club met at the gym on the Rock House Estate where Tony had converted an old barn and it had all the necessary equipment, like heavy bags, pads, skipping ropes, weights – and even its own boxing ring for sparring in!

“It had a great reputation as a club across the whole of South Wales and when my hands started to give me trouble after so many years of boxing, which in boxing terms was a real body blow, I had to step down – although I then went along to help Tony, alongside Dewi and Ken.
 

The yard came into being – and Rowland’s been involved ever since

“Eventually Tony was too busy with his business and the club closed – so when I heard that The Yard Boxing Club was starting up  in Letterston I popped along and received the warmest of welcomes from head coach Ken Owen, and we have enjoyed each other’s company ever since as we meet with the youngsters at The Yard every Monday and Wednesday – and sometimes an extra night if needed.

“Only the other week we made the journey twice to Ebbw Vale with Joseph Felice and we were delighted he boxed well to reach his Welsh final and disappointed for him that after doing so well he just missed out in the final – but he is certainly one to watch for the future!

“We have an excellent group of young boxers and older members who like keeping fit, and we also cater for young girls who want to try the sport and perhaps gain more confidence in the process – and from the outset we emphasise the need for self-discipline in and outside the club, which we believe is very important.
 

Training is still as important as ever

“The training sessions still follow a similar pattern as we warm up with 20 minutes of skipping, which boys find hard at first but soon get the hang of it and devise their own eye-catching routines – and then we do their floor work, which is similar to circuit training as we aim to develop all-round strength, stamina and the ability to keep going when it gets tough.

“All our new boxers learn to punch correctly and then we have the heavy bags, often for nine-three-minute rounds with a rest in between. The training on the pads, worn on the hands of coaches, teaches correct use of straight punches, hooks and upper-cuts – and we usually do three three-minute rounds of them.

“Sparring is going on and this part of a cool-down session which is important before they leave – and we can see the strides made by Sean Bolger, Jason Felice and Thomas Hunter, to name but a few.”






 

Family matters . . .

Considering the fact that Rowland and the George family milk two herds of Holstein cattle it might seem surprising to some that he has any spare time but it is his way of relaxing and he is the first to sing the praises of his wife Sharon, who is not a huge fan and has her own interests but did enjoy most sports in school and is part of a well-known Narberth sporting family because her late father Tony was a fine front-row player with Narberth RFC and eventually became their chairman and president in recognition of his valuable administrative work when The Otters were setting out in the National Leagues’ pyramid.

The couple have three daughters in Claire, a pharmacist married to a former international squash player in Gareth Arthur; then Sophie, a radiologist whose husband Matthew Jenkins was a popular conductor of the Goodwick Brass Band – and finally Hannah, who serves in the CID with Pembrokeshire Police and is married to Matthew Clark, a former captain of Haverfordwest RFC.

Sharon and Rowland are also proud grandparents four times over so they are busy family-wise – but Rowland still makes time for his sporting interest.

He is a great asset to the Yard Amateur Boxing Club and we at PembrokeshireSport.co.uk have made several visits there and really enjoyed the camaraderie that exists and care taken of their young charges by Rowland George alongside Ken Owen – and we wish him many more years there because he is someone who represents all that is good in local amateur boxing clubs!