Village teams which gave stars their start

WHEN the Principality Stadium crowd rises to salute Leigh Halfpenny as he makes his final appearance on the international stage against the Barbarians this weekend, the fans should couple Gorseinon RFC in their applause.

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That’s where Leigh’s love of rugby was first developed and he rose through the ranks with a certain Dan Biggar. Just behind them in the age groups was Ross Moriarty.

Leigh and Dan played together for Wales at U16, U18, U19, U20 and senior level, as well as touring together with the British & Irish Lions. Between them, they amassed 1,463 points for Wales and 72 more for the Lions.

They won 213 caps between them for Wales and seven more for the Lions. Take a bow, Gorseinon and one of their junior coaches Rob Steele, who steered them both through their junior ranks. Who says the club system in Wales is broken? If ever a village helped to raise two great players, then Gorseinon is that place.

They have been among the pin-up boys of Welsh rugby for almost 15 years and were part of an amazing crop of talent that came through together – Sam Warburton, Jonathan Davies, Rhys Webb and Justin Tipuric. Many others who played in the IRB Junior World Championships at U19 level in Belfast in 2007 and in the inaugural U20 tournament in Wales a year later also went on to play for Wales and become high-level professional players.

What we need now is for more clubs like Gorseinon who can mine the rich seam of talent that undoubtedly still exists in Wales. After all, Cwmtwrch nurtured Jac Morgan, Bridgend Sports set Dewi Lake on his way to senior honours and Pencoed recently added Sam Costelow and Tommy Reffell to a list of international players who started in their junior section – Gareth Thomas, Scott Gibbs, Gareth Cooper and Gavin Henson.