Our History

1970's

Whilst the club were proud of the players' achievements and education, career ambitions took many players from the village and the committee campaigned tirelessly to attract players to the club. 

Velindre Tinworks was a source of talent for the club, with GB Williams a Superintendent and Stan John, a senior hand at the works, plus a number of players employed by the company, all helped to recruit players to the club. Such were, Michael Davies (Spike) who played on the wing for 14 seasons, Mike Jones (Kamikaze) who played on the other wing for seven seasons, Peter Roberts who served the club as first and seconds player, Malcolm Evans a prop nicknamed (Mad Murdoch, after the New Zealand prop who was sent home in shame). He was a great character and his rendering of ‘My boomerang won’t come back’, was indeed something to behold. 

During this era there came a tremendous amount of players who had talent but the side underachieved after the heady days of 1969/1970/71 seasons when Trebanos won the Swansea Valley Cup.

During this period all three Penhale brothers played and they gave faithful service to the club. Clive, gained an Under 18 Welsh Boys Club Cap in 1968 and progressed to play for the club for 14 successive years and is the current Chairman of Trebanos RFC. Lynn played with distinction as a wing or centre and is the current Team Manager.  Viv played for Trebanos at 17 years of age and had so much talent as a player that he must be classed as one of Trebanos’s best outside half's. His talents were recognised by Neath and they invited him to play, but Viv was happy at Trebanos and declined their offer.

Another player of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s decades was Keith Williams who had started with Trebanos in 1967, and was already the recipient of three Swansea Valley Cup winners medals 1969/70/71. Like Neal Rogers before him, Keith was an exceptional soccer and rugby player and played for Wales Boys Clubs Under 18 team against England at the Vetch field in 1966. Such was his talent that in the first five minutes the Wales centre half was injured and had to leave the field. Alas! These were the days of no substitutes and Keith was moved from his left half position to fulfil the role of centre half and such was his talent that he finished man of the match. Leicester City, then a first division side plagued him to sign, but like many others he declined. Keith played for Pontardawe in the Welsh league for a season or so and then came to Trebanos RFC. The three brothers Huw, Keith and Noel played for the club. 

Keith probably came to Trebanos because his ‘partner in crime,’ was playing, one John Vernon Thomas, and indeed are still partners to this day. John was a blond haired baby faced centre that opposition players often underestimated. One such player was Elwyn Davies of Glais, who was a bull of a man and straight running centre. When he lined up against John in a local derby, he must have thought all his birthdays had come together, and proceeded to run at John, only to be tackled around his ankles. After four or five attempts with the same result, he got up off the ground put his arm around John and said to him ‘OK let’s get on with it and have a game’’. Unfortunately for John his career came to an abrupt end at Laugharne on Boxing Day 1974. He broke his leg and had kneecap surgery undergoing several operations. He was on crutches for eighteen months and it was two years before he returned to his employment. Sadly he never played again, but is a’ true blue’ and an avid supporter of Trebanos RFC .

One of the most remarkable players ever to wear a Trebanos shirt was Tudor Ben Davies, the current Club President and benefactor to Trebanos RFC. He played 34 seasons for the Ancient Borough, played in every position and also played alongside his son, Andrew. From my records, he is the longest serving Trebanos player of all time. His first game, at 16 years of age, was against Ystradgynlais Seconds at Ystradgynlais in 1958, where he played centre alongside John Daniels (Pheasant Road). John Pritchard played outside half and never gave them a pass all afternoon (John says they were too young to get a pass). Tudor's last game for Trebanos was against Mansfield, on tour, aged 50. Tudor was an open-side wing forward by rights but, because of his versatility and ability, was always first choice to be slotted in at any position and it says a lot about him that he never refused to play anywhere. These players are few and far to be found today.

Another Trebanos stalwart was Peter Parker, who played 31 seasons and finished practising the art of 'Propping' when he was 47. Peter came from a rugby family. His grandfather, W E Parker, was a Welsh international and captain of Swansea RFC, and his father was captain of Swansea Harbour RFC when they beat Trebanos 4-3 in the Swansea and District Cup Final in 1925. In the 50's and early 60's, cars were a luxury, but Peter had a 1939 Austin 10 (a communal Trebanos RFC car, or at least all the players thought so), that ferried as many people as you could get into it on Saturday nights, plus outside running board passengers. Gelligron in Pontardawe was a particular problem as everybody would have to disembark and push it up the hill, but coming down was no problem, except for stopping at Pontardawe Cross traffic lights. Peter served as a committeeman for over 30 years and still supports every Trebanos game.

Barrie Lewis, a mere mortal, only played 23 years for Trebanos, but being a 'true blue' like Tudor Davies, Barrie played in every position behind the scrum and in all the back row positions. Although a gifted No. 6, because of his versatility he slotted into other positions when Trebanos had nobody else or people failed to turn up. I was probably most guilty of asking Barrie to play out of position, but he never refused, and did so willingly for the club. He played a full season as scrum half because of injuries and several seasons as centre because we had nobody else. He could have played at a much higher level but loved Trebanos and played all his rugby at the Ancient Borough. When he finished playing, he assisted Kim Davies in coaching the Youth and Firsts, and still assists every Saturday with rugby duties. These are the people that clubs are built upon.

Other players were Wayne Samuel who played all his rugby at ‘The Ancient Borough’ from youth player to senior player and captained the side for two seasons, John Walker, Noel Williams, Ian Walsh, Alan Clapham, Selwyn Thomas (who was to play later with his son, Stephen, in the eighties), Howard Thomas (the fittest player I ever saw in Trebanos, every ‘Banos’ supporter knew he was a one off, and in 1973 the village was delighted for Howard, when he transferred to Llanell; he also played with his father Len Thomas and his uncle Raymond Thomas), Alun Jones, Rhodri Getvolsen, John Michael Davies, who played 20 years, represented Swansea and Neath and could have played for a much better side than Trebanos but, chose to stay and played all his career with The Banos, Rhodri Pritchard, Huw Perry, Mike Hooper, Gerwyn Evans, Huw Bowen, Andrew Tipuric, who played every game for the club in 1978/79 season, Colin Byrne, John Phillips, Gary Jones, Austin Williams, Chris Aleman, Colin Jenkins (The Coal), Roger Jones, Dai Williams (Big), Steve Morgan, Ian Rees, Tudur Jones, Howard Walters, Richard Jones, Phillip Harris, James Trumper, John Rees, Billy Todd, Richard Jones, Barrie Norton, Keith Ayres, Chris Jones, Nigel Jones, Keri Evans who gained a Welsh Secondary Schools Cap, went onto play for Cardiff and is now a top class referee, Phillip Davies who went on to play for Penarth for many years, John Price, Phil Danahar, Gareth Lewis, Huw Jones (Whitey), Stuart Hudman, Mike Jones (Kamikaze), Robert Davies (later Streatham and Croydon), Haydn Bowen, Brendan Bracey (now a doctor), Christopher Bracey, Martin Thomas, Huw Jones, Eddie Bubb, Phil Hewitt, John Arthur, Dai Elliot, Ken Humphries, Andrew MacNamara, Kim Davies who transferred from Aberavon and was a real find and a brilliant scrum half, became coach for the youth and first team.  Ray Christopher, who had played for Birchgrove Stars in the 50’s and 60’s, had represented Wales as a schoolboy international and played for Swansea as a centre at 17. Unfortunately he broke his leg whilst playing against Trebanos for Birchgrove in the early 60’s, which was to curtail a promising career. With the faithful Billy Todd, he played and assisted in running the second XV for many years. 

Alwyn Thomas played and served on the committee for several years, this is one of the many tales told of him. In the seventies Llandeilo and Llandovery was always a ‘stop away’ for the club. The players and committee looked forward to these visits, indeed there were instances over the years of players missing the bus home and the committee’s famous visits to the local constabulary to plead for leniency on behalf of some misunderstood soul. 

On such a trip in 1976 with everybody having thoroughly enjoyed a hospitable evening at Llandeilo rugby club and various taverns throughout the town, they departed for Trebanos in the early hours of the morning. The front seats of the bus were occupied by members of the committee, in one seat sat Peter Parker and Roy Bowen and in the adjoining seat Alwyn Thomas (his turn to be Man in Charge). When the coach had reached Ammanford,Viv Penhale suddenly realised that John Rees was missing and told the committee members the bad news, ‘You’ll have to go back and get him’, said Viv, to which Alwyn replied, ‘It’s too late now, carry on driver’. 

The following morning in the cold light of day and feeling extremely upset about the incident, the Secretary went to visit John, to apologise and make his peace with the victim, only to find that John had decided to go home by service bus without telling anybody. You can imagine the retort.

In 1972 Trebanos celebrated its 75th anniversary playing against Public School Wanderers and West Wales League at Trebanos Park. To celebrate the event a dinner was held at the Dragon Hotel, Swansea, Chief guest being Mr Ray Williams, President of the Welsh Rugby Union.

Phil Warner was another who give years of great service to the club mainly at loose-head prop. Phil was quite a character and never gave less than 100 per cent on the field and for years was the club's unofficial choirmaster. He would be the first to start the entertainment and burst into song on the long bus trips home from such exotic locations as Llandeilo and Llandovery. Unfortunately X-Factor came 30 years too late for Phil; had it been around in the seventies, he would have walked it. 

From 1974 to 1978 Trebanos played in Section D of the West Wales Championship and the team gradually improved until in 1978 – 1979 Season, it won promotion to Section C. However the following season 1979 - 1980 Trebanos found themselves being relegated to Division D.

In 1978 – 1979 Season enter a young man named Bleddyn Bowen, already playing for Trebanos Youth XV and Swansea and District Youth XV, indeed a rare talent.  In a rearranged game at Trebanos Park in 1979 against Ammanford, and after a long debate by the committee whether he should play or not, (several were against him playing) he was eventually selected at outside half.  Kim Davies was an experienced scrum half, who assured the committee that Bleddyn would have no bad ball - he would look after him.

After 10 minutes Bleddyn was running the show and proceeded to score 20 points, a try under the posts without a player touching him. After three quarters way through the game, even Viv Penhale who was playing inside centre, was pleading with him to kick the ball and not to run it. At that time, he became the club’s highest points scorer. The following game against Pontyberem at home he turned in a master class performance kicking the ball out of hand 50 yards, kicking penalties, dropping goals and generally taking your breath away. Such is class.

Further images can be found in our galleries.