A touch of fun to help worthwhile cancer plea

WHILST 685 Swansea City fans were travelling to the north east of England last weekend to support the Swans in their Championship opener against Middlesborough I found myself making a much shorter journey along the M4 from Gorseinon to Port Talbot.

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The Jack Army were travelling to the Riverside Stadium for a repeat of last season's opener. I was on my way to one of Welsh sports’ iconic grounds.

The Talbot Athletic Ground, located in the heart of Port Talbot, is the home of Aberavon Rugby Club, an iconic club recognised across Wales, the UK and world.

It was an early start for me - not quite as early as the Jack Army travelling to Middlesborough - but still an early call to start the first-ever Touched by Cancer women’s touch rugby tournament.

Touch rugby is gaining momentum and growing in popularity and this tournament promised to be one of the most exciting charity tournaments in South Wales this summer!

The tournament was organised by Swansea Bay Health Charity which is the official charity for Swansea Bay University Health Board as part of their Going the Extra Mile Appeal .

The goal is to raise £200,000 for the South West Wales Cancer Centre at Singleton Hospital which provides vital NHS treatments like radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy and is where I have had successful treatment for the past three years.

I chatted to Andrew John, chairman, about what hosting the event meant to a community-minded club like Aberavon.

‘Aberavon are very much part of the Port Talbot community.