Nantyglo and District

  

Nantyglo and its environs produced many famous rugby players over the years. I really don’t have enough space to write about all of them, so I shall mention the players I knew rather well as family, friends or acquaintances. All were exceptionally good players, in an era when Welsh Rugby ruled the world. There are other local players too who played at representative level, I will refer to these players elsewhere.

Let me mention first Nantyglo’s David Nash who was ‘capped’ for Wales in 1960. I had great joy watching David dominate lineout play in many a game at International level for Wales and at club level for Ebbw Vale Rugby Club. He was selected for the Lions Tour of South Africa in 1962 as a back row forward. During one particular game against the ‘Boks’, David was seriously injured and this injury ended his first class career. He later became the first Welsh national team coach. David has been a friend of mine for many years, he is now retired and spends his time entertaining in a different way, singing for worthy causes in a Welsh choir. Another player who played alongside David Nash in the Ebbw Vale team was Wilf Hunt, an outside half who was selected for the Barbarian RFC and played in innumerable County games and also representative games against foreign touring sides with his Ebbw Vale scrum half partner Roy Evans.

Other players from the district became household Rugby names. David Watkins, who attended the same school I did, Glanyrafon, Blaina, captained Wales and was selected for the British Lions as well as the Barbarians. On leaving Wales for the northern rugby professional code, David joined Salford Rugby League Club. He gained even more honours in the International arena of Rugby League and toured abroad with the British Isles R.L. team. Other rugby players in our small district gained representative honours at the highest level. Robert Norster who played for Cardiff, Wales and British Lions, was at the top of the tree during the 1980s. His last game for Wales was against England in 1989 and helped Wales to a great 12pts to 9pts victory playing at lock forward. He was a former pupil of Nantyglo School as was David Nash. I cannot conclude this potted history without mentioning Dewi Morris. He was born in Monmouthshire and played for the County at schoolboy level. When he went to college in England at eighteen years of age he continued playing Rugby in the North. Winnington Park RUFC his first club was followed by Liverpool St. Helens RUFC until eventually he played scrum half for Orrell RUFC. It wasn’t too long before the England selectors turned their eyes towards this talented player from Wales playing for Orrell. They selected him to play against Australia at Twickenham. I was there when he gained his first ‘cap’. This was followed by a total of eighteen more appearances, the rest is history, as they say. A British Lions tour to New Zealand was followed by World Cup games in South Africa. Nowadays he works as a Rugby commentator for Sky Sports and on their TV programme ‘Rugby Club’. Not bad for a lad from a small farm in the rural village of Llangenney who kept his stockings rolled down whilst playing on the hallowed turf of ‘Twickers’. Now finally to a player who played for Wales before I was born. He was a man I liked and knew well, as I had worked with him for several years when he returned to Wales. His name Jack Gore, a very tall man with a reputation for playing hard but fair, he had a great sense of humour too. Jack was another player who went ‘North’ to further his career, as did his son Billy Gore. Yes you guessed it….both lived in Nantyglo! All the above players went on to promote rugby or work in the local community after their playing days and I see most of them quite often, sometimes we have a ‘pint’ together!