Rhymney
Cerianne Meredith is a mum of a player
and wife of Head of the Junior section
Jamie. She told us, “I was raised locally in
Rhymney and the club has always been at
the heart of our local community. When my
son Sonny expressed an interest in playing
for the club myself and my husband took
him along at the age of six and he has been
involved ever since.
Seven years on Sonny plays Flanker for
next seasons U14s and is considered to
be a very useful team player who likes
to compete strongly and mix it up on the
pitch. The club have a great number of
fabulous members who do a lot of work to
help keep the club functioning.
It was great to see the club’s senior Coach
Jon Hughes at the juniors presentations. I
try to watch the seniors when I can, usually
after I finish work on Saturday and for them
to finish the season as Champions has
been inspirational to everyone.
My business Rockafellar Barber Shop are
club sponsors and we like to contribute as
much as we can to this great club. Best
wishes to everyone at the club for many
seasons to come!”
both tested and strengthened over the
last eighteen months since the tragic loss
in a motorcycle accident of young centre
Dylan ‘Sausage’ Williams, another
local lad in a team packed with talent
from a small radius and himself a son
of a former player. His teammates and
the whole Club responded splendidly,
sincerely and sustainedly to the dreadful
shock and the loss so keenly felt and
magnificently borne by his family, and
the lounge renamed in his honour and
initials on the club kit are an ever present
memorial and inspiration to a side who
still ‘do it for Sausage’.
“Fittingly, this year’s promotion was
clinched on his doorstep, with the recent
win over fellow valley side Aberbargoed.
Drama was added to the final chase since
three sides, including the Chepstow and
Llanhilleth outfits who each inflicted a
loss on Liam’s boys (along with a shock
6-3 reverse at Whitehads), were all in with
a real chance at the two promotion slots.
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The see-saw last-gasp home success over
Chepstow proved the key in the end,
with the loyal regular ‘halfway liners’,
loyal supporters through thick and thin,
wet, dry and often freezing, having their
hearts and nerves fully tested.
“Hopefully this present success will
help ensure that as many Youth products
as possible stay with and want to play for
the club going forward, as this is the only
sure route to sustainability. Examples
of the tightrope scenario are any and
nearby: Deri were understandably
having an obituary written by Peter
Jackson in 2014: restarting at the bottom,
they progressed, clinched promotion at
Rhymney a year ago and finished mid
table this year.
“Hopefully the Brewers can do
likewise, though it will be a tough
ask especially of a youthful pack in a
tougher division. It will also contain
the nearest of local derbies, with
Rhymney ‘suburb’ Abertysswg similarly
revitalised in Three East A of late. Two
quiet little encounters there, then! Welsh
Rugby below the National level is shot
through with financial, organisational
and playing number issues, with too
many clubs, almost no Second XVs, too
few resources and too many counter
attractions being quoted as reasons. The
WRU, often the butt of the blame game,
has at least tried in recent years to target
grant aid more effectively and accurately
with joint funding of worthwhile facility
projects, Rhymney finally benefitting
with clubhouse improvements assisted
by fine Brewers in-house planning and
implementation.
“Hopefully progress can continue
both on the pitch and on the social side so
that, while no one is under any illusions
about an easy pathway, the history and
traditions of a special club nearly 140
years old can be added to long into the
future. Come on you Brewers!”
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