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Brecon RFC Annual Awards 2014/15

Brecon RFC finally brought an end to a long season with its annual awards evening. The senior and youth awards was held at Brecon Rugby Club where Sharon Williams, Club Steward and her group of helpers served up an excellent meal prior to the formal part of the evening. Don Howe, Chairman of the Club made the point of saying commented, “If the good will and camaraderie that is evident this evening can be harnessed then the club can have a great future.”

The first set of awards went to the youth team. The young side had a successful season finishing joint second in their league and only narrowly losing to Builth Wells, who went on to win the trophy, in the Heart of Wales Cup semi-final. They also reached the final of the Breconshire Youth Cup after narrowly gaining their revenge over close rivals Builth in the semi-final. The final, played late in May proved to be a match too far as they were finally outplayed by an excellent Ystradgynlais team.

Players, Player of the year, captain Eifion Phillips, certainly made a big impression both on and off the field and thoroughly deserved his award for the way he led by example. Other Youth Awards went to Adrew Hosie, Club Man of the year; Ioan Edwards, Most Improved Youth Player and Huw Prothero who was not only the leading try scorer but also received the coaches award of Youth Player of the Year.

The fortunes of the First XV this season followed a similar pattern to that of the previous season although the difference was even more marked. The first half of the season saw a return of just 2 league victories out of eleven fixtures. Many of the games were lost by narrow margins but by December the team were relegation candidates. By contrast the second half of the season saw the team produce performances which if they had been replicated earlier would have put them at the top of the table. Their nine wins out of eleven matches gave them mid table respectability and they earned their right to defend the Mid District Plate in a final against Wattstown. With the honours even from their two previous encounters the result was always going to be close but Wattstown took the trophy with the scores tied at 13 apiece by virtue of the fact that they had scored two tries to Brecon’s one.

Player of the year at senior level was Tom Daley. Introducing the Award coach Graham Daley stated, “This season Tom has again showed his great ability and commitment to the club. He played in 26 out of a total of 28 matches and was again for the third consecutive season top try scorer with an outstanding total of 17 tries.”

Players, player of the Year was the indestructible Davey Herdman. Davey, in just his second year out of Youth Rugby, was a permanent fixture in the side and never took a backward step whether with ball in hand or when crunching opponents into the ground with his trade mark tackling. Another young player to make his mark was Aaron Horne who in his first season out of Youth Rugby was awarded the Most Promising Player Troph

The 2^nd XV has had a mixed season. They fulfilled most of their fixtures but used over 60 players to do it. That inconsistency cost them dearly in terms of results but they were always competitive and 2^nd team Manager Lyn Parry was confident that next season would show improvement on all fronts.

Players, Player of the Year was Josh Williams who towards the end of the season started to make his mark with the 1^st XV. Most improved player went to Dafydd Phillips and Matthew Watkins claimed the coaches’ award as Player of the Year after featuring in many positions and only missing matches when he was called on to play in the 1^st XV.

In conclusion Club Chairman, Don Howe thanked the club, coaches, Sharon and her bar staff and all the players for their continued support and pointed out, “You players are not the heart and soul of Brecon and Welsh rugby. Former players, who came through our ranks, have gone on to make a mark at a higher level. This shows that the talent is here and if we can start next season as we finished the last then we as a club can look to succeed at a higher level. That goal is in your hands while our responsibility on the management side is to give you all the facilities and support you need to help you move forward.”