PHOTOS:
Kyle Williams on the burst
Kyle Williams
Kyle secures clean lineout ball

 

 
Haverfordwest RFC’s conveyor belt of junior talent is still running very smoothly and proof of that fact is the emergence of talented players of the calibre of Kyle Williams.
 
Kyle is 16 years old but after playing for the Scarlets under 16s last year is now in their under 18 squad a year early as a rangy second row honing his lineout skills and developing nicely as an all-round player.
 
He also plays for the Pembrokeshire under 18s squad and for Haverfordwest Youth when he can fit matches in, as well as at No 8 for Sir Thomas Picton School, so with his studies for AS Levels in PE and Business he has a very busy schedule. He plays for the first XV at school and enjoys playing in the A League against quality teams like Crymych, Pembrokeshire College and Whitland.
 
“They are very competitive teams with good quality players but it raises our game, even when we lose,” admitted Kyle with the commonsense approach that is very much part of his make-up.
 

Total family support

 
He is very lucky to have the total support of his parents, Peter and Sally, who was a useful athlete in her younger days. Peter played rugby as a hooker for Neyland and still plays in that position for Haverfordwest Seconds, coaches the under 16s and will be coaching the Blues Youth team next season.
 
Kyle’s brother Cian also plays in the back row for Haverfordwest under 16s whilst younger brother Devin and sister Olivia are already showing an interest in football and dance respectively.
“My parents have been great taxi drivers, along with my coach Jeff Clout,” said Kyle, “whilst my grandfather, Trevor Buttle, watches as many of my matches as he possibly can.”
 

Other sports

 
Outside of his rugby, Kyle has dabbled in sports like cricket, playing for Haverfordwest junior section for a few seasons, and he is also a more than useful central defender in football and before he opted for rugby as his main sport he was a regular in the Prendergast Villa junior team run by Mike ‘Glenys’ Davies.
 
They swept all before them in league and cup competitions, as well as doing well in competitions ‘up the line’ as Jake Davies, Jordan Frank and Patrick Pearce were other key players.
 

Well looked after in the Junior Blues

 
Kyle has been involved in rugby since he was seven years old after he went along to a training session at Merlins Bridge and took to it like a duck to water.
 
The Young Blues were well looked after by Jeff Clout, Malcolm Dawes and Dai Braithwaite – and from the under 11 age group onwards he was also a regular in the county set-up where Jeff and Malcolm were joined by Kenny Davies as coaches.
 
At this stage he was playing at No 8 at county level alongside team mates Jonathan Clout, Jake Davies and Elgan Roberts – and was also chosen for Dyfed Schools for matches against the likes of Swansea, Llanelli and Carmarthen, with Nikita Neary as the only other Pembrokeshire player involved.
 

High praise from coach Jeff – and silverware success

 
As a tall youngster he soon found his place as a second row and over the intervening years he has nicely developed not only his ball handling skills but his ability to leap high and secure quality possession for his team.
 
As Jeff Clout told us,
“We could see we had a winner with Kyle from the outset because not only was he naturally athletic he had the commitment to the game that made him want to improve – and it has always been a pleasure to have him in our squads.”
 
The effort was certainly worthwhile because Kyle became part of a very strong Haverfordwest Junior Section where his age group won their section in the county finals on five occasions, beating old rivals Crymych on most of those occasions and also winning the league a few times as well.
 
In one final, played at Pembroke Dock, his all-round play earned Kyle the man of the match award, and he was delighted to pick up the bonus of extra silverware alongside his team medal.
 

Special tours and a Scarlet starlet

 
Another highlight of his junior years came on a tour to Barcelona, where they also played in France on the way back, beating a team which was two years older than they were.
“It was a brilliant trip that I will never forget,” admitted Kyle, “and we learned a lot thanks to Jeff Clout and the others involved in organising it.”
 
“Then when we were under 15s we went on a tour to Derbyshire, which was just as enjoyable because we won all our three games against teams from that area.”
 
His play attracted the attention of the Scarlets under 16 coaches and after a series of trials throughout the summer Kyle joined Haverfordwest team mates Jonathan Clout, Patrick Pearce, Jake Evans and Dax Leggett in the squad which played regularly against their counterparts from the Ospreys, Dragons and Blues.
 
“We used to train every Monday and Friday, with matches taking place on Wednesday afternoons so it was a huge commitment for our families, as well as for us,” said Kyle, “but at least we could usually travel together, which wasn’t so bad.”
 

Battling back from injury

 
Kyle started most matches but then broke his hand, ironically in a school match, and was out of action for ten weeks.
“It was awful just watching and I hated it, as it seemed a lot longer before I could get back into action!”
 
But he battled back and now he’s playing for the under 18s a year early along with older local players like Josh McLeod, Ryan Bean and Jordan Roberts as regulars in the squad, as well as playing for the county under 18s as part of the ‘Pathways’ Scheme’ run by Jonathan Llewellin, Dan Field and Barry John.
 
They train every Monday evening on the field in the middle of the athletic track at STP School and also work out at the SAW gymnasium nearby. Not content with that little lot, Kyle sometimes trains with the Haverfordwest Youth team on a Thursday if he has the time under the watchful eye of coaches Jeff Clout, Peter Hughes and Andrew Thicker, plus team manager Craig Jones.
 

And finally . . .

 
Ask Kyle about ambitions and he would be quick to answer that he would like to something in sport and there is no doubt that his level-headed approach has already been noted.
Jonathan Llewellin told us,
“Kyle Williams is a credit to himself, his family, to Haverfordwest and Pembrokeshire Rugby with his commitment and willingness to learn.”
 
We could pay him no higher compliment and we wish him continued success in his quest for rugby excellence!