Deri Gwynne - a key cog in the Aber Youth machine

 

Aberystwyth Youth’s talented team has swept all before them in the Pembrokeshire League for their age group this season, remaining undefeated and with a huge points differential over the  chasing clubs - and one of the key cogs in an efficient machine has been Deri Gwynne, who plays his rugby as open-side flanker and formed a superb back row alongside Mikey Whistance and Maurice Raggett, a newcomer to the game and playing his first season of youth rugby.
 
Deri’s performances haven’t gone unnoticed elsewhere because he has also been called up once for the Welsh Academicals and twice for a Crawshay’s’ XV as they played against clubs celebrating special occasions.

 

Rugby’s very much in the family’s blood

 

Ask him for special support received and he would instantly nominate his mum Nicol, who has regularly been at matches to cheer her younger son on!
 
That Deri should be involved in rugby should come as no surprise because his late father Dewi was a long-time player with the Mid-Wales Club as an. immensely strong front rower and his elder brother Deian his done so well this campaign he has led the Welsh Under 20s in their six-nations’ age group, again as a marauding back rower.
 

Early start – and still going strong

 
Deri has been involved at Aberystwyth since he was about six and played tag rugby for a couple of seasons until they were introduced to tackling - and Deri readily admits that it made the game even more attractive for him because he loved the physical aspect it brought!
 
Always part of the District H (Pembrokeshire) set-up, Aber won the County Championship at under 15, beating Crymych, who were playing on home turf in the final - and completed a double with the same success of being undefeated all the following season but losing their final match, against Tenby United, to miss out on an extra piece of silverware.
 
Then it was into youth rugby and after a reasonable-enough campaign last season with a young and inexperienced squad they have come alive this season with their new coaching team of Kieran Gregory, Dafydd Pugh-Jones and Mark Houlihan, a trio that has raised the profile of the team and is held in huge esteem by Deri and Co.
 

Representative selection earned this season

 
Deri made his representational debut for Crawshay’s against Christ College, Brecon and was part of a team that won by five points, the first time in five seasons that ‘The Accies’ came away with victory.
 
Then it was on to Good Friday when the Welsh Academicals played in a charity match at Penarth, organised to raise much needed-funds for the host club after their clubhouse had been burned down by vandals - and a crowd of 1,000+ raised a considerable sum towards meeting the cost of rebuilding.
 
On Wednesday (April 8th), Deri then played for the Academicals, at Christ College, against an English International touring team, and again it was part of Deri’s learning curve as he completed a win treble - and he now has the ties awarded by Crawshay’s and the Accies as nice mementos.
 

And finally . . .

 
So, what of the future for Deri? His next rugby challenge is to try to help Aber complete the season’s double when they take on old rivals Haverfordwest in the Pembrokeshire Youth Cup Final at Heywood Lane, Tenby, on 24th April, 2026.
 
Aber have won both league matches against this opposition but Kieran, Dafydd and Mark will try to ensure there is no complacency in the Aber camp - and will be looking for Deri Gwynne, plus the rest of their back row, plus outstanding skipper Henry Michell to set the tone and hopefully lead them to more silverware for the Mid Wales’ club!