Elgan Roberts is 16 years of age, loves being involved in a whole range of sports but specialises as a talented young scrum half with Haverfordwest Youth and the Scarlets (West) squad that is based in the county town and is coached by Jonathan Llewellin.
 
He is part of that group which trains regularly at the Strength Academy Wales gym facility run by Simon Roach and Owain Rowlands – and then uses the grassed area in the middle of the nearby floodlit Pembrokeshire Harriers’ running track to practise their skill routines and set-piece work.
 

Well coached with Haverfordwest Youth . . .

 
Elgan joins several other players as the youngest in the Scarlets’ (West) squad and the Haverfordwest Youth squad where Jeff Clout, Andrew Thicker and Peter Hughes are coaches, with Craig Jones as team manager.
 
“Youth rugby is much more physical than my previous rugby,” admitted Elgan, “but I enjoy playing at scrum half alongside Ollie Hughes or Matthew McLeod in the No 10 shirt, with talented forwards like Jonathan Clout, Kyle Hamer and Kyle Williams.
 
Jeff is also involved with the county under 18s in conjunction with Kenny Davies, and Dave Thomas, with Crymych outside half Jake Thomas as his half back partner. This team is clearly improving because after a fallow period over recent seasons they recently beat a strong Neath/Aberavon team by 41-27 in an exciting floodlit tussle at Crickmarren, Pembroke.
 

. . . and the Scarlets’ (West) squad too!

 
It is a similar story with the Scarlets’ (West) squad which is part of the ‘Pathways’ scheme organised by Johnny Llewellin and aimed at setting talented young rugby players on the right road to the very top, with emphasis on peak fitness allied to nutrition, psychology and a number of other component parts.
 
“I went to the trials in Crymych and was pleased when I was told I was chosen for the squad, which encourages players to achieve their potential and we train twice a week, the first after school on Monday evenings, then there’s usually a game on Wednesdays and gym work later in the week.
 
“We work hard as a group and it is beginning to pay off because in our four matches for the Scarlets’ (West) we have beaten Llanelli Youth and North Wales.
 

 Other sports

 
As well as his rugby, however, it is worth recording the fact that Elgan also loves playing other sports, like cricket for Hook. He played as a useful bowler with the Hook Youth team under the watchful eye of Stuart Blaxland which won the Ormond Youth Plate competition and has had a couple of five wicket hauls as he also plays for the club’s second team skippered by David Petrie.
 
Elgan has also played basketball for Haverfordwest Hawks and trained at a higher level with the West Wales’ squad alongside rugby team mate Dax Leggett.
 
Throw in some tennis for the county under 13s squad and running for the Pembrokeshire Harriers and his school in the 1500 metres and cross country, and it is easy to see Elgan’s all-round capability but all this has to take a back seat because his rugby is so time-consuming.
 

Early start in rugby

 
He first started out in the oval ball game when his dad Gareth took him and big brother Dylan (now 19 and studying at university in Cardiff). His mum Helen and older sisters Eleri and Tangwen, plus grandfather Chris Bryant, were also very supportive and Elgan took to the game straight away so that he could hardly wait for the Sunday Morning sessions to come around.
 
With Jeff Clout in charge of a talented young team at Haverfordwest, Elgan started out on the wing but eventually switched to the scrum half berth, where he remains today. They have done really well so that, one season apart, they won every county cup final for their age group, ending at under 16 level with a big win over rivals Pembroke.
 

Captaincy choice

 
At that age Elgan also took on extra responsibility because he joined Jonathan Clout in leading Haverfordwest and didn’t mind speaking up in the pre-match build-up, despite being teased by Jeff Clout.
 
He also led the Scarlets (West) against their counterparts from Cardiff Blues (West) and although they eventually lost a hard-fought tussle he enjoyed the experience` and wouldn’t mind taking on the role again at some time.
 
“I am pleased with the way that Elgan’s game is progressing,” said Jonathan Llewellin, “and leading the team showed his growing maturity since he joined us on the ‘Pembrokeshire Pathways’ scheme.
 
Elgan grabbed a try in that final against Pembroke, as he did when they were under 13s, and the Young Blues also won the annual Neyland Junior Tournament four times in a row.
 

Future hopes

 
So what of the future for Elgan? At the moment he is studying Art and PE at A Level, having obtained an A* in PE at GCSE Level. Eventually he would like to go to Cardiff Metropolitan University to take a degree in Sports Science or Coaching.
 
On the rugby front, Elgan is happy to keep working hard and to try and go as far as he can in the game.
“I’ve always given 100% and tried to keep improving,” Elgan told us, “and I will carry on doing that because I really enjoy being involved.”
 
Jeff Clout, who has been involved with Elgan for most of his playing so far is full of praise for his young charge:
“Elgan Roberts is an example to others with his commitment to the game because he rarely misses a training session and is always ready to listen to advice.

Link that with his natural flair for the game and it is fair to say that although Elgan Roberts still has some way to go in rugby he is on the right road – and we wish him every success!”