Treorchy
Laundrette
TREORCHY
FREE PICKUP & DELIVERY
WITHIN 8 MILES FOR SERVICE WASHES.
• ALL TYPES OF LAUNDRY WORK UNDERTAKEN
• DRY CLEANING SERVICE
• BUSINESS LAUNDRY
• SPORTS TEAM KITS WASHED
• IRONING SERVICE
123 Bute ST TREORCHY. CF42 6AH TEL:01443 775363
At their annual gala dinner in London on Monday 9 January the Rugby Writers’ Club presented Treorchy RFC’s
Hon. Secretary, Bryan James, with an award for services to rugby.
Bryan joined our club as a player in 1962 and has served as Hon Secretary since 1976. He was presented with the
well-deserved award by Adam Jones in front of a 500 strong audience at the London Marriot Hotel in Grosvenor
Square.
Needless to say, everyone at Treorchy RFC is delighted that Bryan’s 40+ years of outstanding service to the club has
been recognised by the Rugby Writers’ Club.
Ceri Davies, a Partner at
Devonalds Solicitors, a Sponsor of Treorchy RFC
I am a Partner in Devonalds, a well-known firm of local
solicitors, which has its origins in the Rhondda Valley.
I was approached last year by an old friend, Gwyn Thorne,
a long-standing servant of the Club and now its
commercial manager. The Club were looking
for sponsorship, and when I put this to my
fellow partners, there was no hesitation in
us agreeing to become a sponsor to one
of the most famous of Valley clubs.
Two of my colleagues, Steve
Evans and Paul Harris, have played
for Treorchy at various times, but my
involvement goes back much further
than both of those.
It was in the early 70’s that I
started to watch Treorchy, as my
elder brother, Tudor, played for the
club. It was a successful period, and
those players became my heroes. I
started to play for the senior team in 1977-
78, and was lucky enough to play with some
of them, including my brother.
However, a number of older players decided to
hang up their boots at that time, so it was left to younger
members of the club to take up the challenge. Believe me, my
early years in the senior team were not always that successful
and it was a hard, steep, learning curve. However, those years
stood us in good stead for what became a very successful period
for the Club from the mid 80’s to the early 90’s.
My first coaches were two of Treorchy’s favourite sons, Bob
Pearce and John Benbow, sadly both of whom have
passed away. Clive Jones was then appointed
coach in 1984, and we became a side that
any team found difficult to play against.
That’s the most diplomatic description
I can give! I retired in 1992, although I
played a few seasons for the “Rags”, a
time I really enjoyed.
Whatever success or otherwise
I experienced as a player, what
I will always treasure are the
friends I made in the club and the
comradeship I found there (I should
also say that is where I met my future
wife - the Saturday night discos there
were famous). It was a genuine Valley
Club rooted in the local community.
Like a lot of other clubs, I feel that it lost its
way a little in the early years of professionalism
but it is great to see it back to its roots and having
the success that this season has so far brought. I know that
this is down to the hard work of the coaching staff, players and
committee - long may it continue.
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