Neath RFC: Captain Aaron Bramwell wants local youth to cherish Wales’ oldest rugby club

By Adam Evans

NEATH RFC captain Aaron Bramwell has taken it upon himself to instil an attitude in the local youth to cherish Wales’ oldest rugby club.

The history isn’t sparce at Neath. In the late 1980s they dominated the amateur game, won the first Heineken League title in 1981, aswell as producing countless Welsh rugby legends with the likes of Jonathan Davies, Adam Jones and Shane Williams to name a few.

The All Blacks have had a torrid recent couple of years with the club being at risk of facing a wind-up order after the former owner Mike Cuddy’s construction business Cuddy Group collapsed.

However, it seems the club is on the up with their sights firmly set on a return back to the Welsh Premiership, and Bramwell hopes that more youngsters will begin to appreciate the club with brighter times seemingly in the horizon, as it was in the 1990s.

He said: “When Neath was full time and it was the pro era, our aspirations as kids was to play for Neath and represent this rugby club.”

The 35-year-old feels that the attraction of the professional academies such as the Ospreys has had a negative impact on the appreciation of Neath from the next generation of upcoming talent.

“For me I think I have a different outlook on Neath to alot of youngsters who are coming through now where you have the Ospreys.

“The youngsters look to play for them and get into the regional set ups whereas for me when I was younger, everything was about playing for Neath Rugby.

“I just want to instil what I learnt from Neath Rugby into my kids, because I do think alot of youngsters now, look to play for the Ospreys but Neath Rugby is still a massive club.

“Sometimes I find it hard to understand. I have had this chat with Pat (Patrick Horgan) the head coach and I said, “to me Neath Rugby Club is massive”.

“I do understand that some youngsters do want to go into professional rugby, which is brilliant, but I think they can use Neath. I don’t want youngsters forgetting what Neath Rugby Club has done over the years.

“In the community it is about getting back to getting local youngsters back to the feeling I had for Neath Rugby Club when I was a kid, and that is the biggest part for me.”

Evidently Bramwell is incredibly passionate about Neath and takes his duties as club captain incredibly seriously, just as any skipper should.

However, he goes the extra mile to inspire Neath’s potential star players by coaching Neath schoolboys under-15s.

If anybody is going to endorse the history and future of such an iconic club, it is going to be Bramwell who has experienced the lowest of lows aswell as the highest of highs with Neath.

“This where I come in with Neath schoolboys under-15s at the moment. I wanted to create a link between Neath Rugby and Neath schoolboys under-15s,” he spoke enthusiastically.

“They (Neath schoolboys players) come and watch the Neath games now, and hopefully that will keep on happening for as long as I’m involved with the schoolboys.

“I really want people to understand obviously how much of a big club it is and how much it means to the supporters and for people like myself.

“Pat is so passionate about it, it’s unbelievable, it is a massive club and the history speaks for itself really.”