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Jamie loves to play rugby – and to travel the world
Jamie Bohata has been a powerhouse forward over many years with Narberth who has also played in the Southern Hemisphere, in Canada and France, and represented the Welsh Deaf XV.
Not content with that little lot, he has never let his hearing difficulties interfere with being involved in other sports like surfing, rock climbing, kayaking, mountain biking and skiing – and must be quite a sight as he propels his 6’5” and 18.5 stone frame down the piste at a rare rate of knots!
Early success and an Otter debut
In his rugby, Jamie joined Narberth from Crymych youth and in the 1994/5 season he made an immediate impact as helped the Otters win the Junior Union Cup as they beat St Clears by 13-12 in Whitland – and played in the under 23 Cup Final at Haverfordwest where the young Otters beat Neyland 27-3.
He made his first team debut in October 1996 as he partnered Bill Ridge in the second row at Builth Wells, where they lost the Division Three game by 38-8. But Jamie had tested the waters and liked it, playing another eight league matches that campaign and one Welsh Cup tie at Bridgend Sports.
There was a second Under 23s’ cup winner’s medal the following season where the Otters beat Crymych 23-6 at St Clears, and again completed a double success as Narberth Seconds defeated St Clears by 31-6 at Whitland, plus another 12 league matches for the first XV and two more Welsh Cup games as he grew in experience and confidence. In 1997 Jamie started his rugby travels when he went out to Canada and played for Burlington Centaurs
The 1998/99 season was a significant one as Jamie appeared 18 times in Narberth’s colours for league matches, claimed his first senior try in the 59-7 home win over Pembroke Dock Quins and grabbed his first league try towards the ends of the season as the Otters lost 41-17 to Oakdale.
Much travelled
The Otters lost Jamie for the entire following campaign because he decided to jet down to Australia and New Zealand and played his rugby there for Mahurangi RFC, as well as in the Conference set-up with Northern Reds
His return to Narberth saw him playing really well as he formed a youthful second row partnership with Jason Jennings, with Jamie scoring tries in good wins over Mountain Ash at home and in both games against UWIC. He was chosen at blind-side flanker for the Knock -Out Cup Final at Tenby and received the man of the match trophy for his yeoman work in the back row as the Otters won 48-15.
In 2001 Jamie visited Australia and played for Shoalhaven, the home of Narberth’s Aussie No 10 Tim Eddy and in 2001 went back to New Zealand for a spell with Wakatipu RFC.
Cracking play for Narberth
Narberth had a cracking season in 2001-02 as they broke all their scoring records to win promotion to Division Two – and Jamie formed a successful second row partnership with Emori Katalau as he played in 28 out of 30 league matches as well as being an integral part of a Welsh Cup run where they beat Builth Wells, Resolven, Cross Keys and Merthyr before finally bowing out 19-15 against Caerphilly at the Lewis Lloyd Ground.
October 19th, 1902, was a special day for Jamie because he joined a rare band of players who had made 100 league appearances for Narberth as he turned out against Tondu in a 38-24 defeat but in the October was off again abroad, this time to ski and work in France for a lengthy spell. Whilst out there he played for Stag Olympique Eugene et Alberville, who were simply called SOUA by their supporters! It was the start of a quiet two years for the big Narberth forward because he only played 11 league games and was again abroad, widening his social experiences.
Captaincy honour and Welsh cap
He was back and raring to go for the 2005-06 campaign and played 17 league games, almost all of them in the back row, and he was honoured with the captaincy for the first time as they beat Vardre 59-15 – but in the following round he played against Barry and although the Otters won 46-0 the bad news was that Jamie cracked his knee cap and was sidelined for six weeks!
In the following season he was heavily involved again as he played in 20 league games and played for the Welsh Deaf XV against their counterparts from Scotland at Braidholm, Glasgow, helping Wales win 51-3 and scooping the man of the match accolade as a bonus. Not content with that, Jamie scored a try in the KO Cup Final at Haverfordwest as Narberth beat old rivals Whitland by 29-16, played at Cardiff Arms Park as Narberth lost to Cardiff in the Welsh Cup, and appeared in both memorial games for the great Brian Williams.
Tribute paid to a great-hearted player
A broken bone in his foot saw Jamie miss the chance of a KO Cup repeat win over Whitland at Pembroke in 2007-08 but he still managed to complete 18 matches – and it was this injury which saw him miss the start of last season. But he captained the team to victory by 15-5 against Dunvant and by 64-0 against Dunvant in the Welsh Cup as well as playing regularly for the rest of another good season for the Otters. Jamie has continued to play well until this season, when it was rumoured that he had retired – but he helped out the seconds on one occasion and might be persuaded to turn out if ever they are stuck.
Ken Mathias, Narberth’s expert statistician who supplied much of the detail and all four pictures for this article, says of Jamie,
“He is a very special person and one of the most popular ‘local’ players with our supporters. You always know what you are going to get from Jamie on the field – and that is 100% effort. Off the field he is an amiable and gentle giant who is a pleasure to know.”
PembrokeshireSport.co.uk could pay Jamie Bohata no higher compliment and we wish this talented sportsman every enjoyment in what he chooses to do in the future.
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