Any rugby coach who gains elevation in the National League set up has cause to be delighted but when he adds a second successive promotion then he will join an elite number who have achieved such success so Geraint Lewis can understandably be thrilled at joining a very short list.


It is typical of Geraint Lewis, however, that he is quick to say that in those two very eventful years at Pembroke Rugby Club he has been very lucky to have a very strong squad, with a perfect blend of youth and experience, excellent support from some talented coaches and team manager who assist him, a terrific committee ably led by Darrell Willington, and supporters who travel regularly to away matches as well as those at Crickmarren.

 
Be that as it may, there is no doubt that Geraint has been an influential leader and that is why we at PembrokeshireSport.co.uk are delighted to belatedly present him with our 'Star of the Month' award for May 2019!
 

Amazing 2017/18 season

The 2017/18 campaign was amazing because The Scarlets were runaway winners of Division Three (West) A as they amassed a huge number of points and they battled their way through to the final of the Welsh Rugby Union's National Bowl at the Principality Stadium, where they could consider themselves unlucky to lose by a single point to Porthcawl.


"We started very badly and looked down and out at half time but skipper Scott Powell and the boys rallied brilliantly and were two points ahead with seconds to go - but a penalty from the last kick of the match saw us miss out.


"It was real heart-break stuff but Scott and Co were magnificent in defeat, especially in front of the national media, and I couldn't have been prouder of them if I tried.

 
"We also reached the final of the Pembrokeshire KO Cup against Aberystwyth as St Davids but by then we were knackered, physically and mentally, although we still managed to push them hard until the final whistle."
 

Challenging start at a higher level

So The Scarlets  set out this latest campaign in Division Two (West) aiming to make sure that they consolidate against  some very strong teams - but soon found that they had a strong squad for Geraint, assistant coach Kyle Davies and team manager Nick Shiels to work with, plus total support from Darrell Willington.

"We had experience from Johnny Palmer, Toby and Sam Smith, Dan Colley, Dom Colman, Will Edwards, Seamus ' Moose ' Wiseman, Shaun Dalling, Jordan Gwilliam, James Davies, Simon Stanford, Cyle Weatherall and Barry John, to help really talented youngsters like Fraser James, Tom Lewis, Jack Parkinson, Tom Harding-Jones, Lloyd Davies, Rhodri Waters, Jack Smythe, Alex Thomas and Luke Hartland.

"We lost a couple of games through inexperience but in a late race for the two promotion places we played superbly and joined Penclawdd in Division One (West) for the 2019/20 campaign as Pontyberem just missed out after we scored a terrific 36-25 away win against them in our penultimate match!"
 

And finally . . .

 

There was understandably a huge celebration at the club's annual dinner, where Sean Holley was guest speaker, and Toby Smith won the 'coaches' player of the year' and 'top scorer of the year', with Scott Powell (clubman of the year), Lloyd Davies (players' player), Jack Smyth (most improved player), Rhodri Waters (supporters' player), Tom Harding-Jones (break through player) and Max Hayward (club contribution).


It is typical of Geraint that whilst he mentions so many others in Pembroke’s phenomenal two seasons he plays down his own role to a degree that shows his great modesty – but he has been a terrific head coach and will already be looking forward to another testing campaign when the new season starts, with players and supporters looking ahead to local derbies with Crymych and Whitland, plus many equally challenging fixtures up the line.

 
So we say a huge ‘well done’ to Geraint Lewis and we are delighted to mark his outstanding achievement by awarding him our special trophy!