Rugby Club Issue 53 | Page 122

betws FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/RUGBYCLUBMAG Betws R ugby has been played in the village of Betws for over 100 years. Located in a predominately Welsh speaking area of East Carmarthenshire, the village depended on agriculture and the local mining industry until its demise in the latter part of the 20th century. The village team played in the Llanelli & District Leagues for many years and were a team to be feared with players such as Eiros Bowen and Colin Elliot of Llanelli and Gwyn Jones and Gerald Roberts of Swansea returning to play for the village at the twilight of their illustrious first class careers. The first clubhouse, Y Clwb Bach (The Small Club) was built in the 50's with the current imposing two-storey clubhouse completed in the mid 90's and opened by the then Welsh coach Graham Henry. This was also an important time in the club's playing history with the attainment of full WRU status and the club's progress through the newly formed WRU National Leagues. The Club were crowned Champions of Division 5 South West in the 200708 season and currently ply their trade in Division 3 West C of the SWALEC League, where they lie in third place. Two teams are currently run with the Second VX competing in the local leagues but a Youth XV introduced last season has unfortunately been disbanded. 122 Issue 53