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BRECON RFC
WRU BIKE RIDE
On Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th July the Brecon RFC cycling team
of Alan Taylor, Martin Keylock, Ian Grif ths, Jonathan Morris, Paul Wesley, Colin Evans, Julian Edwards, Darren Jones, Simon Wood, Brian Pritchard, Sophie Pritchard, Michael Harris and Phil Williams successfully completed the 185 mile trip from Colwyn Bay to the Principality Stadium in Cardiff for the Welsh Rugby Charitable Trust.
The ride was organised by the WRU and former international players Colin Charvis, Ryan Jones, Huw Bennett, Alix Popham, Tony Copsey, Robin McBryde, Les Keen and Aled Williams took part.
The rst leg on Saturday from
Colwyn Bay to Llandrindod had many challenging climbs and coupled with atrocious weather conditions the ride became more of a battle of endurance rather than the social, enjoyable ride that the cyclist had signed up for. Everybody nished the rst day and the group were hosted by Builth Wells RFC on the Saturday evening and thanks to them for their generosity and hospitality.
Sunday morning saw more favourable weather conditions and with a revised route put in place spirits were high. The group left Llandrindod headed for Brecon RFC where they were greeted by family and friends who had come out to support their efforts. Thanks to Sharon and her team for preparing a great lunch and all that turned out to support the riders during their stop. After leaving Brecon the group travelled over Storey Arms and made their way to the Principality Stadium. Thanks to all the riders for a fantastic effort and everyone who has already contributed by sponsoring the riders. To date the Just giving page has received £4,600.00 and with more money to collect the group are well on the way to their target of £6,500.00.
Ron Rowsell
reviews the 2015/16 season...
BRECON RFC
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE
PAST SEASON AS WE LOOK
FORWARD TO THE NEXT
Matching 2014/15, probably one of the most successful seasons in the Club’s long history, was never going to be easy. Both the 1st XV and Youth teams won promotion and the 2nd XV were Cup Winners. For many years the club has sought without success to gain promotion, now that it had been achieved it presented a new challenge. Could the momentum gained last season be maintained at a new higher level? Goals were set for
all the Club’s teams and preparations for the new season began.
Eugene Murnane, who was appointed as the Club’s new Senior Coach following the departure of Graham Daley, must have been disappointed and frustrated with the lack of commitment to pre-season training, particularly considering there was a new and unknown challenge facing the senior squad. The poor preparation was compounded by a shortage of purposeful pre-season xtures and a rash of long term injuries. When the league season nally began it started with
a bonus point win against newly relegated Blackwood. A signi cant feature of that game was that Brecon scored all 47 of their points in the rst half. The second period faded away in a plethora of errors and a signi cant injury to Jake Crockett, the previous season’s outstanding try scorer. That failure to sustain momentum and focus in the closing periods of a game came back to haunt the side time and again. In the rst half of league matches we were in contention up to the 60 minute mark in most of our games, only to fall away badly in the closing quarter. The wins we achieved against Nantyglo and Senghenydd were critically important. As the second phase of league matches commenced so Brecon showed considerable improvement with three consecutive wins against Blackwood, Nantyglo and Nelson while sandwiched in the middle of those results was a cup match against CRCC at the Arms Park. That result was surely one that was best forgotten.
Having gained some momentum from these wins, the weather intervened. During one of
the wettest winters on record games were cancelled, training fell away and when matches reconvened Brecon seemed to have slipped back into previous bad habits. Four games were lost and the spectre of relegation reared its ugly head. Fortunately the team re-grouped and cast aside any worries of relegation with wins at Risca and then at home to Brynmawr. The latter match was an outstanding result in which the team showed that they could focus and compete against a good side for the full 80 minutes. In some ways it provided a Blue Print for the future, showing that the team is capable of competing with the top half of the Division and that has
to be the goal for next season. This was further emphasised with an outstanding win in the last match of the season against league, SWALEC Plate and Silver Ball Champions, Bedlinog. This was only, Bedinog’s second defeat of the season, the rst coming in their very rst match when they lost to Rhydyfelin.
For the 2nd XV the scenario was different. The league remained virtually the same but Brecon had a target to build on their outstanding cup win at the end of the previous season. There
is no doubting that they have achieved that goal. In the rst half of the season they swept all before them apart from a loss at Abercwmboi and at Cefn Coed in a cup match. They headed the league at the turn of the year and with the only league defeats coming against Bedlinog and Dowlais they secured their top position and deservedly won the League title.
The youth team, along with their senior counterparts, moved up a league after nishing runners up the season before. The young team, which included many players in their rst season of youth rugby, started brightly and made outstanding progress. Defeats against Wattstown
and Penygraig, both big powerful out ts, failed to disturb the team’s con dence or belief in their ability to play attractive 15 man rugby. At the end of the season they nished third in the league, won the Breconshire Youth Cup following and outstanding victory over neighbours Builth Wells and narrowly lost in the Heart of Wales Cup Final to a huge Mountain Ash Youth
BRFC News
SUMMER 2016