Nantgaredig
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Nantgaredig
RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB
It has been quite a season for Nantgaredig RFC with their first
team going unbeaten throughout the league season made possible
by a tremendous togetherness across all areas of their set-up. Club
Secretary Bryan Phillips recently took the time to speak to Rugby
Club Magazine to provide an insight into their success.
Involvement
He told us, “I joined the Club in August 1966 some six
months after the Club was founded in January by young
farmers club members led by Arwyn Allen who is still heavily
involved until this day as past Secretary and President.
I lived in the area and it was an exciting time for the village
with the formation of a new Rugby Club based at the Railway
Hotel and playing on the present field known as Ystrad Fields.
I knew most of the players who formed that first ever team in
Nantgaredig and as a very average player expected to have a
few games as hooker.
Unfortunately, they were short of a loose head prop and
that first season I played in that position and as a vice captain
for the Captain and scrum half Ken Rees. I enjoyed a couple of
seasons playing for Nantgaredig before work commitments as
a policeman curtailed my playing activity for the Club.
However I continued to support the Club and ended up
on the committee and seven years ago took over as Secretary.
At present, I combine the role with my position as the Referee
Appointment Coordinator for the Scarlets Region.”
The Role
As Secretary of a certain age (!), the most challenging
aspects of the work are keeping up to date administratively
and ensuring that the Club standards are maintained in respect
of matters such as Health and Safety, Safeguarding of children,
improving facilities, particularly disabled access. We try to
ensure that Nantgaredig is the Club of Choice for everyone be
8 Issue 86
they players, volunteers, supporters or other organisations who
regularly use our facilities. I am lucky to have a such a good
industrious committee around me and to have an outstanding
progressive chairman in Hugh Harries.
The rewarding aspect is being involved with others in the
development of the Club as a first class facility accessible to
all in the community. During the last ten years the Club has
obtained WRU status, built a new clubhouse, and over the
next twelve months we will have installed match standard
floodlighting on the main pitch as well as building additional
changing rooms for our 2nd team, Juniors and male and female
touch rugby teams.
Local representative teams such as Carmarthen District
Schools regularly use our facilities and the Scarlets Regional
Development team hold their Junior Finals at Nantgaredig
RFC. The Clubhouse is regularly used by local organisations
to hold their courses and workshops. The WRU also make a
considerable use of our facility.”
Atmosphere
“The Club is buzzing for a lack of a better word. All our
players are local and a fair number have been with the club
since we achieved WRU status. We are a strictly amateur Club,
we do not bring players in from afar. All our players are friends,
having attended the same Comprehensive School. After games
on a Saturday afternoon the first and second team players stay
in the Club as one group.
As far as our coaches, committee and supporters are
concerned they are one team and the team spirit is unbelievably