Geraint Bowen - Welsh cap and a Narberth giant!

 
Geraint Bowen was certainly one of the local players who impressed me most when I started watching local rugby and I am proud to still call him a friend so whenever I bump into him on the touchline at Narberth it is always a real pleasure.
 
When Narberth RFC made such a great start in the National Leagues one of their greatest inspirational characters around that time was Geraint Bowen, who played so well at full back for The Otters, The Scarlets and for Wales B whilst on tour in Canada - and it was a deserved recognition when much later the match was up-graded to full international status and ‘Bows’ received his cap, presented at a match against The Fijians, and then at a special presentation at The Lewis Lloyd Ground.
 
Geraint had started out in rugby at Whitland Grammar School and played scrum half for Carmarthenshire Schools’ team that lost 19-3 to the touring Australian Schools - and for Narberth  as they won the Pembrokeshire Youth Cup Final.
 
He was also selected on a regular basis for Pembrokeshire during his long career and is rightly proud of the fact that he is the only player who represented Pembrokeshire in all four of their Welsh Counties’ Cup Finals, with wins against Glamorganshire, Monmouthshire and Breconshire, plus a defeat by Monmouthshire.
 
In all he played over 50 times for the county, one of which saw them win 15-9 against a Llanelli team, captained by Phil Bennett, and he landed four penalties and a dropped goal to score all the points - and it must have impressed the opposition because a little later he was invited to join them. 
 
He played over 50 times and in his first full season was Llanelli’s top scorer with 185 points as he played in a back division that included Mr Bennett, Ray Gravel, Roy Bergiers and JJ Williams, with Derek Quinnell, Hefin and Gareth Jenkins up front.
 
Then he played in Canada alongside top internationals Eddie Butler, Steve Fenwick and David Burcher, and still recalls his immense pride in pulling on the Welsh jersey and singing the national anthem.
 
But he sustained a leg injury playing against Harlequins at Twickenham which later turned out to be a broken leg and kept him out for six weeks - and his bad luck continued at the start of the next campaign as he helped out old pal Mark Keyworth in playing for Aberystwyth and damaged his other leg so he was out until Christmas!
 
But his No 1 supporter, wife Sian, persuaded him to carry on playing for Narberth  and he captained the side to silverware before stepping down into the second XV, where he was capped for The Welsh Districts’ in Holland and they won well.
 
But at 38, whilst playing for the third team in their cup final he realised he had come to the end of the rugby road and retired.
 
But he continued coaching until he felt there were too many prima donnas coming into the game, which never suited this tough as teak character - so he stepped down - but he still visits The Lewis Lloyd Ground to watch The Otters play sometimes and renew old friendships over a post-match pint, where he can see his Wales’ jersey alongside one from his Canadian opponent as a reminder of his part in his club’s and country’s fortunes!