The history of Brynteg rugby

To the uninitiated it might look like any other secondary school on the edge of Bridgend. But Brynteg — grown out of Bridgend County Grammar — has a claim few schools anywhere can match: the greatest rugby player factory Wales has ever known.

Eight former pupils have gone on to become British and Irish Lions: Jack Matthews, JPR Williams, Gareth Williams, Mike Hall, Rob Howley, Dafydd James, Gavin Henson and, in 2017, Rhys Webb. Around twenty old boys have won full international caps, across both codes, and the wall of honour in the school hall has been quietly filling up for generations.

"You'd be sitting in assembly and they have a wall of honour showing all the internationals," Rhys Webb said of his schooldays. "You would just look at that and think one day you'll be there." When his own Lions call came he admitted he used to count the names on the board: "It shows what an immense school and breeding ground for talent it is."

It is not only rugby. The same school produced Olympic cycling champion Nicole Cooke and golfer Rhys Davies, and the former First Minister Carwyn Jones — who liked to say that Brynteg always had such a strong first fifteen that he never got near it.

Adam Rosser, long-time head of PE at the school, has always been careful to share the credit. "The children have got a good background of what the game is all about and we just tweak it slightly," he said. "We're extremely proud of what the school has done. We know that it's not just the school in isolation. We're supported by the local club game as well. The local clubs in the Bridgend district work their socks off and we're extremely grateful for the contribution that they make."

What follows is that story told from the inside — the coaches who set the standards, the traditions the boys inherited, and the tours that made the memories.

The word legend is too often used to describe outstanding individuals. In Keith's case it is totally apt. This is a man who led senior rugby at Brynteg for over 40 years, and he would have coached many of your fathers and uncles at an outstanding level.

After growing up in Ogmore Vale and playing for The Valley side, Keith went to Swansea University to gain a degree in Economics and enjoyed university rugby. After marrying his beloved Jan, they lived in Bridgend — Jan as a doctor, Keith working in the computer section of Port Talbot Steelworks while playing for Bridgend RFC and Bridgend Sports RFC. Many pundits at the time rated Keith as one of the best uncapped centres in Wales. He had a very successful career at Bridgend but chose to move on to the Sports, where as captain they won the Silver Ball competition three years in a row.

During this period Keith landed a post as Economics master at Bridgend County Grammar School and was Master in Charge of the senior rugby section. In those days the seniors played every Saturday and Wednesday from September until the end of the season, with two training sessions a week. Keith was ahead of his time, collecting WRU coaching awards as well as rugby league coaching qualifications. That experience was evident in his methodology at Brynteg: always attention to fine detail, always time for the individual. His coaching set players up to move seamlessly on to senior rugby or the university game. He was renowned for producing Welsh schoolboy caps, too many to mention, a great many of whom went on to represent Wales — and of course he nurtured many of our Lions.

Old boys hold Keith with the highest of respect for his tutelage both on and off the playing field. A passion he developed in 1976 was for the game of sevens, which he studied in great detail. The first tournament the school entered was the Windsor 7s, which we duly won at a gallop. That was the start of sevens at the school, and what a legacy has followed.

The late Cliff Daniel led the first senior tour, to Victoria and Vancouver in 1974, with Keith coaching. It proved so successful that Keith almost didn't come back — he was offered a job as Economics master and MIC Rugby at St Michael's School in Victoria. Thank goodness he didn't take it, or so many Brynteg pupils would have missed out.

With Keith at the helm, Pete Cavalli as tour manager and assistant coaches Steve Hiscocks, Paul Bowen, Wayne Morris and Rob Sage, Brynteg toured South Africa in 1998: the first southern hemisphere venture. Many more tours followed, with Steve Rudall and Alan and Richard Harris also touring as assistant coaches. Every coach and player was greatly influenced by the legacy of Keith Crockett. What a man.

The title for this piece was suggested by Geraint Edwards, and it sums up in eight words everything that the rugby staff worked towards. Many thousands of young males have attended Brynteg, or the old Bridgend Boys Grammar, for more than 100 years, and every last one of them left the school as 'a boy from Brynteg'. Far fewer proved to have what it takes to earn the right to call themselves 'a Brynteg boy'.

The question of what it takes has occupied the rugby staff in many hours of quite intense discussion — Colm Sweeney of St Mary's, Dublin would have pithily described this as "telling lies and talking shite" — over a few pints in either the Five Bells, the Coach or the Old Castle.

So what qualifies a boy to claim the accolade? It may come as a surprise to hear that playing rugby for the school is not a requirement, though we would obviously include many more who did play than who chose not to. We are not so concerned about rugby, but what rugby can do for the development of a person. Playing a team game, and especially playing rugby, does a huge amount towards instilling socially desirable values and attitudes. "If you can play the game of rugby, you can play the game of life" possibly sums this up.

Taking a hit for a team-mate, or doggedly following Razor over the Merthyr Mawr dunes, are the type of things that help develop the character of an individual. Those who took A level PE can still give chapter and verse on 'mens sana in corpore sano' — a healthy mind in a healthy body.

Finally, we hope that your experience of playing rugby at Brynteg helped to develop the joy of understanding that taking part is what really matters. Brynteg boys have played rugby at every level, up to and including those who have represented the British and Irish Lions. The coaches celebrate their achievements, but we also feel that Brynteg rugby has played an equally important role in developing so many lifelong friendships.

The link with St Mary's College, Rathmines, Dublin began in 1979. Some parents of St Mary's boys were in Wales for an international match and staying at a hotel in Porthcawl. They got into conversation with local schoolteachers involved with the District U11 team, and wanted a game against a local U12 side on their next visit to Wales. Wayne Morris was contacted and asked whether Brynteg would be interested. The rest, as they say, is history. And what history.

St Mary's first and second visits involved their U11 team, who played Bridgend and District Schools, so Brynteg's first two visits to Dublin were also with the district schools team. A wonderful tradition was forged, not only on the field of play but, as importantly, off it. Boys stayed with their Irish hosts when in Dublin and returned that hospitality when the Irish came to Bridgend. Many friendships were kindled that still exist to this day.

Taking boys out of their comfort zone and placing them in another house and another culture proved a wonderful learning curve, and it was followed on all future tours. Brynteg parents played a full part in returning the hospitality shown to their boys.

A and B teams travelled to Dublin for the first five years; after that A, B and C teams toured. The record above runs up to 2016. U13, U14 and senior teams have also visited St Mary's.

Many St Mary's old boys went on to play for Ireland, among them Denis Hickie, Ciaran Fitzgerald, Tony Ward, Paul Dean, Tom Grace, Terry Kennedy and Johnny Sexton.

One year the seniors were playing Llandovery College at home. We thought we were in with a good chance of pulling off an upset, and then the Llandovery players started to exit their team bus. Each of them wore a blazer, shirt, team tie and grey trousers, and just by doing so they won the match before they had even run onto the top field. It was obvious in the looks on our players' faces, simply because of what was, in effect, a rather poncey school uniform.

Brynteg has had a long and proud tradition of touring. One of the main methods of instilling values into generations of Brynteg boys was the Dublin trip. 'Rocky' Morris, who instigated the link with St Mary's, was responsible for starting another memorable tradition, and every last player who went to Dublin can still name his host and then "tell lies and talk shite" about the occasion, no matter how many years have passed.

Given all that, and the recent experience with Llandovery, it was decided that the tour party would be equipped — along with about a quarter of a ton of other stuff — with Number 1s, and with what became known as Number 2s for less formal occasions. The blazer badge was taken from the old Bridgend County Grammar badge and included, along with the tour date, on a tie. Rob Howley had come into school to present at an assembly wearing a blazer, and the rugby staff decided that was exactly what we were looking for.

We only intended that Number Ones be worn on the tour itself and on possible future tours. The boys, however, decided they would become the norm for the seniors both at home and away. It proved a far-sighted decision, and definitely helped to even the odds on many matches over the years.