Rugby Club Issue 53 | Page 82

whitehead FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/RUGBYCLUBMAG Kevin Lloyd is club Chairman of Whitehead RFC as well as being a sponsor with his business R&M Insulation. He told Rugby Club Magazine, “I played for Swansea originally and when I moved to the area I became involved with Whitehead and that was 25 years ago. Along with some others we initiated the junior rugby section with my son Scott, who now plays in the youth, starting as a 6 year old. I have filled many positions within the club including 1st team coach and captain and although Scott is looking to challenge me on the pitch in this year’s Boxing Day event I have effectively hung my boots up due to nerve damage in my back. I’d say we are a very traditional club that work on traditional values, when I have looked at some other clubs the guys head home straight after the game with their kit still on. At Whitehead we encourage the boys to shower and have a bag of crisps and a drink after the game. This has created a very good camaraderie amongst players, parents, grandparents, coaches – everyone really. The last time we went on tour there were 260 juniors and 17 seniors all taking over this one area. Through our togetherness and with the help of inspirational people like Gwyn Lloyd we have been able to maintain a great core and have grown from there. More recently we have acquired a senior girls’ team which is fantastic, because we are such a family orientated club whenever one of the club ladies falls pregnant we predict what rugby position the newborn baby will fill within the club and now we can accommodate our baby girls! I would like to wish everyone associated with Whitehead Rugby Club continued success, myself and friends often laugh to ourselves as we sit in the clubhouse on a Sunday afternoon after 4pm when everyone has gone home and think to ourselves, ‘what have we created here!?” 82 Issue 53 this has added another dimension to the real ‘rugby family’ feel at the club.” This Season “The club is currently achieving on and off the pitch. The seniors and youth teams are both enjoying a successful season and the junior section continues to grow in numbers of players and parent volunteers. We have started a women’s team and are still developing our girls’ team. We have more qualified people than ever in different roles and strong rugby committees who are helping take the club forward in leaps and bounds.  We are working on improving our pitch and are currently undertaking a soil analysis. We hope to access funding in order to improve the playing surface and keep providing rugby opportunities for all of our players, from the U6s right up to our senior team. We hope to close out the season with success on the pitch but off the pitch, the planning for next season has already started.”