'I was brought up watching rugby around the pitches of Wales... and now it's come full circle'

ARRA ELGAN never really stood a chance of escaping a love for rugby.

- BEN JAMES

The face of TNT's Gallagher Prem coverage, as well as S4C’s highlights of this summer's British and Irish Lions tour in Australia, will be instantly recognisable to fans.

It's rare that you'll find a weekend of rugby broadcasting without Elgan involved somehow, bringing the warmth and charm that tends to put the most battle-hardened of players instantly at ease.

A constant on screens when it comes to rugby, Elgan was always destined, it seems, to be entwined with the sport.

"South Wales Police or Caerphilly on a Tuesday or a Wednesday night," says TNT presenter Elgan as she recalls her earliest memories.

Evenings spent watching her father, former Wales and Lions wing Elgan Rees, strutting his stuff for Neath at The Gnoll set her up for a lifetime spent adoring rugby.

"I was brought up watching rugby around the pitches of Wales," she adds. "It's only when I sit down and think about it, it's kind of come full circle.

"I used to love my time at The Gnoll, watching my dad play.

"I used to love the little newsagents opposite The Gnoll almost as much as the rugby, going there as a six-year-old and getting a 10p mix of sweets.

"I've been lucky. I've been really lucky. I'm still enjoying it, which is good."

It's been a busy summer for Elgan, with a Lions tour spent not only covering the action on the field for S4C, but watching husband and former Scarlets back-row Simon Easterby help coach the tourists to a series win over the Wallabies.

Throw in the Women's World Cup and it's been some summer of rugby - with Elgan savouring every moment of it.