When Wales took on England at under 16 level in rugby recently there is no doubt that one of the proudest players on the pitch at the new Ystrad Mynach complex was Gethin Davies because he was not only playing in the back row but had been honoured with the captaincy.

Gethin, who is studying for his GCSE exams at Ysgol y Preseli, has been part of the school rugby team for his age group which amazingly has never lost a rugby match against any other school from our county, led them recently to a superb success at the Millfield School's sevens, played regularly for Crymych RFC and Pembrokeshire, Scarlets (West) and the full Scarlets' team in the trials before earning his selection for the game against England.

Road to success begins . . .

His road to winning the much sought-after Welsh jersey and cap began at the start of the season when he attended trials for the Scarlets (West) at STP School in Haverfordwest as one of about 60 hopefuls who were eventually whittled down to 40 and then the final squad of 27 that also included Crymych team mates Jon Hill, Alex Varney, Matthew Roach, Morgan Davies, Dion Phillips, Jac Davies, Llew Bevan and Marc Iorwerth-Scott.

"We were coached by Barry John, Jonathan Evans and Michael Jones, who worked us very hard indeed, and I was picked as captain as a bonus. I enjoyed our matches - and it got even better when I was selected, again as captain, for the full Scarlets' under 16 team in the Welsh trials against players from The Blues, The Dragons and The Ospreys.

. . . and continues to Welsh honours!

"We beat The Blues at Ystrad Mynach, lost to The Dragons at St Helens and The Ospreys at Parc y Scarlets before I received a phone call on the Monday, inviting me to go to the WRU headquarters at The Vale the following day as part of the final squad.

"We trained hard for two days, had a day off and then back to stay the night, where the team was announced by coach Rob Sidoli before more training on the Saturday morning.

"It was a huge thrill when my name was called out in the starting line-up and a big bonus for me when I was also chosen to lead the team.

"We had another week of hard training before the Sunday dawned and we were on the team bus to play at Ystrad Mynach. 

"Luckily, I don't suffer from nerves before games and it was only when we went out to warm up, and heard the huge cheers from my family, friends and all those from school who had taken the trouble to travel there, that I felt a bit of a lump in my throat.

A memorable day ends in victory

"We had our jerseys presented by former Welsh skipper Ryan Jones before I led the team out for the singing of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, which was another memorable moment."

The Welsh team certainly didn’t get off to the flying start that Gethin had hoped for and after the first quarter they trailed 15-3 - but then Gethin chased a chip ahead from his outside half and gratefully accepted a kindly bounce to plough over at the posts. 
The try was converted and another seven-pointer before the interval saw Wales go in ahead by 17-15. The second half was just as close as England scored an unconverted try but two penalties saw Wales able to celebrate a 23-22 victory.

"England swarmed all over us in the closing stages," admitted Gethin, "but we tackled like demons and I was very proud of the squad, which included replacement hooker Dom Booth (Tenby) as the only other Pembrokian.

"An even prouder moment came when we were presented with our caps by an official from the Welsh Rugby Union and then had a dinner at the nearby Penallta Rugby Club - and I will never forget that very special day as long as I live!"

Family matters

That Gethin should be so involved in the oval ball game should come as no surprise because his father was also a useful back row player at Fishguard in his younger days whilst brother Llyr (18) plays in the same position for Crymych Youth and the Pembrokeshire Schools under 18s.

Gethin told us that his mum Sian has always been a brilliant No 1 supporter and an amazing amateur taxi driver, whilst grandparents Vivian and Bonni Davies are also there whenever he needs help.

Early start

He started his involvement by throwing a ball around on the grass behind their farm and was involved at Parc Lloyd Thomas in tag rugby in a team coached by Gareth Wilson and dad Hedd, joining the eager youngsters in chasing the ball like flies around a honey pot.

Then it was on to the full contact game at nine, playing second row because there were only five forwards, and he was soon attracting the attention of the Pembrokeshire coaches, playing No 8 initially but switching to his current open-side flanker slot under the coaching of Gethin Vobe and Marc Lloyd.

He has been part of the Crymych team which has won the county final for their age group every year since its inception and a measure of their all-round strength can be gauged from the fact that when they were in the under 12 category they also won the Dyfed Final at Parc y Scarlets beating Carmarthen Quins by 7-5 in a close tussle where Gethin scored the winning try.
"We also won the Dyfed Finals for under 14s and under 15s but by much bigger margins as we beat Burry Port 50-0 and 40-12 in successive seasons."

Rugby in school too!

"At school level in Year Nine we reached the semi-finals of the Welsh Cup before losing to eventual winners Cowbridge and although we had high hopes of going further this season we had a disaster in the last 16 out of 130 teams when we had several players out of action and lost 14-13 to Gower School after leading 13-0

But Gethin and Co more than made amends in sevens rugby as they entered the Millfield Sevens, where all the top public schools are in attendance, beat several of them en route and gave Millfield a 35-0 hammering in a one-sided final that made the national press.

A few weeks later there were 160 teams at the Rosslyn Park Schools' Sevens and they lost to Brighton College by 17-5 in the last four - but again showed what a talented team they are.

And finally . . .

So it is easy to see what a busy season it has been for Gethin Davies but with the sort of success that his commitment and skill levels deserve.

As Crymych RFC secretary Gordon Eynon, who doubles up as the District H representative on the WRU told us,
"Gethin is a credit to his family, school and our club and we were delighted for him that he was capped for Wales under 16s as captain because he deserved it."

We can only agree with Gordon and we wish this modest and likeable youngster continued success in rugby in future years!