By Ben Jones
THE University of South Wales has restarted its men’s rugby operations after a self-imposed six month suspension.
All four men’s competitive rugby teams at USW were banned from playing in March after an investigation into a variety of “unacceptable behaviours”, the precise details of which were not made public.
An investigation at the time involved not only the university’s Students’ Union but South Wales Police. No charges were brought.
At the start of the current season the Students’ Union took the decision to suspend the men’s rugby teams, though the women have continued to take a full part in BUCS fixtures.
But now training has resumed for the men, friendly fixtures are in the pipeline before the end of the season, and the new campaign in September is being keenly anticipated.
Backs attack coach – and former player – Cobi Flowers expressed his delight that men’s rugby at USW is back.
.@CobiFlowers reflects on rugby’s return to @USWSport @SportsJournoUSW #mojo pic.twitter.com/gXK4hewSL5
— Matt Slater (@MattSlater2000) February 19, 2020
“We have had our second session back with the rebuild programme and had a really good turnout, pushing from 36 Monday to over 40 today,” he said.
The ex-winger continued: “It’s good to get everyone back, it’s good to get a positive vibe and energy, we’re trying to build a good environment.
“A lot of the boys are catching up as they haven’t played for a while but the skill set is definitely there. We’re more than happy with what we’ve seen today and it’s shown glimpses of where we can go in the next six to ten weeks.”
It is an exciting period for rugby at USW, with Sport Park boss Steve Savage this revealing to exposport.co.uk that a new 4G rugby pitch is being planned for the Treforest complex.