Tony Bowen – 71 years a Borderer – and still going strong!

 
An amazing 71 years ago Tony Bowen played his first game of rugby for Whitland and after a long and distinguished time as a talented centre three-quarter he is still involved at Parc Llwyn Ty Gwyn as he defies arthritis to cut the pitch as often as he can.
 
Tony started out at Whitland Grammar School and had the odd game with Whitland at junior level before his playing career began in earnest when he played for Pembrokeshire Youth as an automatic choice, although there was no formal youth league in those dim and distant days.
 
So he had to wait until he was 18 and went straight into a strong Borderers’ first team at outside half against Haverfordwest – and by the time he was 22 had switched to centre and had the honour of being selected for Western Counties against the touring Fijian team.
“I had to go to a couple of trials and was delighted to find myself playing alongside Ken Jones, with Barry John at No 10 and Terry Price as full back – all famous Welsh players and Lions. We played in quite atrocious conditions and lost 9-3 against a very big and skilful side.”
 
The next week saw Tony invited to play for Llanelli (now called ‘The Scarlets’)  against Loughborough College, where he was marking Gerald Davies, and then the next week against Coventry. In midweek he played for Whitland against old rivals Narberth on Boxing Day – and when Llanelli asked him to play the next week he had to say no because it was an amateur game then and he had to go into work on the railways. Llanelli weren’t over-pleased and games started to dry up a bit so he went back to Whitland and played for the rest of his rugby career there.
 
Tony played until 1976, when he was 34, and represented Pembrokeshire an amazing 52 times, including their first-ever win in the Welsh Counties’ Cup – but his play was brought to an abrupt halt as he sustained a badly broken leg against Tenby.

“I heard it snap,” Tony told us, “and I knew that was the end of my playing days.”
 
But in the 47 years since he has been involved at Whitland, including being chairman, and was coach of the youth team that won the Welsh Youth Cup in 1983/84 – and says that in more recent years he has been odd job man and looked after the scoreboard on match days – and has been cutting the grass for nigh on 20 years!
 
“But I wouldn’t have missed a day of it and I am proud to be a Life Member of Whitland RFC!”
 
Talk to anyone involved at the club, as we do around the touchline,  and they would say they are proud to have Tony Bowen still going strong because he is a fantastic club man!