The Junior Section – The beginning

(Written in 2001 by Kevin George)
The growth of the junior section has been arguably the most significant event in the modern era of Waunarlwydd rugby. When the 75 th anniversary booklet was compiled it was still in its infancy and did not merit a mention! Let us digress one moment and consider Youth rugby. The Welsh Youth Rugby Union was formed in 1949 and right from the beginning Waunarlwydd RFC has been one of the ‘backbone’ clubs of this organisation. However the development of rugby below this level in the village did not take place until 1970. Prior to this time it was the schools that catered for the needs of rugby playing village children.

The junior section had its origins in a ‘phenomenon’ that took place in Penlan Secondary School in the very late sixties. The start of the ‘Golden Era’ of the national side had inspired unprecedented numbers of boys to play the game! The school could no longer satisfy the demand and many keen youngsters could not get games. Luckily one of the teachers who ran one of the school sides at the time was Clive Morgan, an ex-Waunarlwydd player who would also become senior coach in the future. ‘Rastus’, as he was fondly dubbed, was instrumental in bringing this matter to the attention of the club. An under 13 side was set up and run by Howard George with the help of many of the parents of the boys. In addition to the nucleus of village boys a large contingent of other youngsters from the Penlan school catchment area began their acquaintance with the village. Many of these are now respected village figures that have made a significant contribution to Waunarlwydd rugby since this time.

The 1970-71 side contained two future senior coaches (current coach Tim Lillicrap and Garry Howells) and two players who went on to play for Swansea RFC (Gareth John and Jeff Trotman). The impetus was continued by the likes of Stuart Lilburn and Rowland Emmanuel and successive teams followed. Many others too numerous to mention followed suit and have enabled the junior section to snowball to its current size. Due to the devotion of many selfless individuals rugby opportunities are now available to youngsters as young as seven years old living in the vicinity of the village.