News

Bridgend Athletic RFC held their 50^th Season Anniversary Presentation Evening at their Ewenny Road Clubhouse on Saturday June 3^rd..

The main award the Jeff Jenkins Memorial Award, 1^ST XV Coaches Player of the year award went to 6 times club captain Ben Howe, who also scooped the Nathaniel Car Sales Players Player of the Year award as well as the captain’s award. He was also presented with a photo album of his pictures playing for the Ath – compiled by club photographer John Canon in recognition of his services to BARFC.

Other 1^ST XV Awards were:

Best Back – Ieuan Evans, Daryl Dyke Memorial Award – Tom Morgan.

Also honoured were Stuart Morris & Wayne Fooks as the first players to ever make 500 BARFC Senior Club Appearances. They were both awarded a special 500 games cap in a display cabinet. A separate write up will do justice to their outstanding achievements – both reaching the milestone in their 26^th Senior season with the club.

The Peter Woods & Son Clubman of the Year was awarded to Club Photographer John Canon who as well as primarily covering 1^ST team games when available covered the Generals & Youth games as well as covering the 3 M&J U12,13, U15 District Cup winners’ finals and semi-final games and the Mini Festival. John’s announcement was met with a standing ovation for his tremendous commitment and high quality action pictures.

The Generals (2^ND XV) Awards were presented to: -

Coaches Player of Year – David Perry Trophy & Players Player of year Nathaniel Car sales Awards – both to Morgan Bennett.

Best Back – Aled Thomas &Captain’s Award Aled Pilliner.

The Youth Team Awards

Coaches Player of Year David Davison Trophy – Joe Reape

Players Player of Year Award Nathaniel Car Sales Trophy – McKenzie Grey

Daryl Dyke Memorial Award – Nathan Cox

Gareth L Edwards Estate Agents Youth Clubman of Year Award – Iolo John, who was also presented with his Welsh Academicals Club Tie.

Youth Team Captain – Gabe Brown

Bouquet Award

Club Stewardess Yvonne Blackburn

The Event’s MC was again Life Member Gareth Davies with the main organisers Gareth, Adrian Burt, David Davison, Rhys L Jones & Yvonne Blackburn.

Speeches were made by Club Chairman & one of the club founders Phil Rees who spoke of sad losses of members Glan Hitchens, Willie “John” Williams& Ron Evans – thanked the club’s main sponsors who were represented on the night by Gareth L Edwards, Richard Dyke of R.M Dyke Civil Engineers and James Perry of CVT Travel.

BARFC’S own British Lion Rhys Webb was a guest and presented many of the awards, as did the 3 sponsors mentioned and BARFC Head Coach John Apsee.

Phil as a BARFC co- founder along with the late Brian Lewis and administrators the late Jeff Jenkins & Clive Easterbrook outlined how the club came into existence 50 years ago and the tremendous effort of the players to not only succeed off the field but thrive through fundraising off it and within 10 years purchasing the existing Ewenny Road Clubhouse from the Wexa Club. He urged today’s players to help in anyway they can to improve not only the club’s on field success, but through challenging times off it with high Energy Costs as well as general costs in running 13 sides from U7 to senior.

Team Reviews were carried out by:-

1^ST XV – Gareth Davies

Generals (2^ND XV)– Team Manager Liam Griffiths

Youth Team Manger Nic Sadd

As well as highlighting the past season they thanked all those who had helped their teams by asssisting in various ways.

BARFC Head Coach John Apsee also spoke of the future ambitions of BARFC and what was necessary from Players, Coaches, Committee, Helpers, Sponsors to achieve the best future outcome for BARFC.