Our History

During the 50's the club was always in the top half of the West Wales League table, which comprised 36 teams. Trebanos once met Llandybie in a first round cup match which developed into a four game epic before eventually winning 16-3.

During this period they produced fine footballers in Ken and Des Lloyd, Gwyn Rees, Les James, John Lewis, Glan Morgan, Brian Canning, Peter Parker, Len Thomas, Morgan Jones, Howell Hughes, John and Jack Lewis, Cliff Jones, Emlyn and Ned Thomas, Tom Jones, Danny Walters, John Pritchard, Jack Lewis, John Gower Rees, Anuerin Rees, Ceri Davies, Jim MacNamara, Bill Rees, Will Thomas, Howard James, Ken Davies, Byron Hopkin, Cliff Jones, Eurof Davies, Dilwyn Hughes, Doug Evans, Denzil Edwards and a host of others. During this period prop Islwyn Phillips created a club record playing in 88 consecutive games.

Who in Trebanos could forget Danny Griffiths (pictured left), a great character, former player, Trebanos RFC supporter and a huge benefactor to the club. Before the days of the Betting Shop, if you wanted a bet, Danny was your man, his natural sidestep came in handy dodging the local bobby. He loved Trebanos RFC and it was a sad day when Danny was killed in the Llandow air crash on March 12th 1950, returning from Ireland where Wales had won the Triple Crown.

After the war Trebanos produced a trio of players that all played with distinction for Swansea. Herbert Thomas, a wing who went on to play a final Welsh trial; few players have sped down the St Helens touchline with more determination than Herbert and, with a low centre of gravity, took an awful lot of tackling. In the 1953/54 season whilst playing for Trebanos, he was the only player in West Wales to cross for a try against Seven Sisters at their home ground.

Perhaps the two near misses were Danny Lewis and Roy Sutton. No one who saw Danny Lewis in action, alas all too briefly, will argue against the proposition that Danny Lewis was a fly half of rare genius, a player who melted through defences and tackled with spectacular certainty that belied his small physique. Then on the threshold of greatness Danny's richly promising career was ended by a knee injury. 

Meanwhile scrum half partner Roy Sutton (pictured above) remained to strike up a partnership with Danny Lewis's successor, Alan Thomas, who later moved to Cardiff and gained Welsh recognition. It seemed nothing could deny Sutton the cap that his Trebanos admirers had been predicting since he was a schoolboy. Certainly, with his devastating acceleration there was no Welsh scrum half during this period who was more dangerous on the break, or more adept at linking up with the supporting back row forwards.

Sutton demonstrated these gifts as an attacking scrum half brilliantly in the 1950 final trial at Cardiff, when he twice eluded that most dreaded of back row men Ray Cale, to cross for tries. However, when the side was picked to play England, the selectors opted for the virtues of Rex Willis.

Many people (and not all of them living in Trebanos) will insist that Roy Sutton was the best scrum half in Wales, if not the four home countries, however, he was never to be capped between 1949 and 1953. An eye injury whilst playing cricket, tragically brought an end to his career.

Further images can be found in our galeries.