Chapter 5

A New Start (1948 to 1960)

It took a little while for St. Peter’s to reform after the war. The break from 1934 had been too long and all the old officials and players were no longer in evidence. Also many of the players were not demobbed until 1946 and even 1947. The baseball team began playing again in 1947 as a photograph in the book shows but it was not until 6th June, 1948 that a meeting attended by 25 was held at the old St. Peter’s Scout Hall to restart the Rugby Club.

The Rector, Fr. Holman, was present and was elected President with John Lane, one link with the pre-war days, as Vice President. Jim Spillane became the Chairman, Bill Callaghan Secretary and Tom Keane Treasurer. Someone proposed that each playing member donate two clothing coupons in order to help with the purchase of kit. Rugby administrators the world over know how difficult it is, to collect money from certain players and the intriguing variation of collecting specious clothing coupons proved too much for the new elected officers. Pleas were still being made for the coupons months later. Fr. Holman, yet another priest who was a rugby enthusiast, stated that he was prepared to rent a ground for the Club an offer which was accepted gratefully. In a way he was ahead of his time as the following years were to show.

The Club decided to meet every month – a democratic habit which may well have put a lot of strain on the officials who changed rapidly in the next two years. The early meetings were dominated by talk of insurance (everyone was in favour and kept passing resolutions to that effect until the cost of it was discovered) and finance.

In September, 1948 Ken Waite was elected as the first post-war captain and selected Bernard Twomey as his vice captain. Although this was the first season, a 2nd XV was formed but struggled to raise a team on many of the weekends. T. Martin was elected as its captain in November. A Youth team was also formed with schoolmaster Tom Riley as the Secretary. Their exuberance was such that they were soon asked to train at the gym on a different night to the seniors.

In 1949 the main officials all changed at the Annual General Meeting. John Daly, Senior, became Chairman, Des Keegan Secretary, and Gerry McCarthy Treasurer. Daly’s sons were all playing while Gerry McCarthy was to become the Chairman of Old Illtydians in later years. Ken Waite was elected captain for the second season with Peter Nolan as vice captain. A. Martin was 2nd XV captain with L. Norman as vice captain. The Youth team captain was J. Doubler. However both Secretary and Treasurer had to resign due to pressure of work during the season. The new Treasurer was Albert Tyler who was to become a tower of strength on the Committee for well over a decade. He was able to report a modest profit in 1949/50 which brought the Club’s balance to £68/4/11, a figure which gradually declined over the next few seasons!

Waite’s team began well with 7 wins (against Tongwynlais, Old Cantonians, Rhydfelin, ROF, Newport HSOB, Lysaghts and Cardiff Exiles) a draw (Cardiff HSOB) and two defeats (St. Clare’s and Old Howardians) but found it difficult to maintain the pace.

Hence early results were mixed and the winning habit that had been prevalent throughout the Club’s history proved elusive. Fr. Holman, true to his word, purchased a ground in Llanishen and great efforts were made to make it fit for use. Drainage was installed by the players but dressing rooms proved more difficult to erect. Bill Callaghan obtained an old large army hut with a view to it becoming the dressing rooms. It was transported to Cardiff and stored at the Scout Hall. Planning permission was sought to erect it at the ground but it floundered on the opposition of a local Councillor. Sadly the hut was to remain at the Scout Hall and decay. The Club had no home at the time since the C.M.S. (Catholic Men’s Society) premises in Richmond Road did not become available until 1951. Fr. Holman, ever anxious to help, offered the use of the Scout Hall but this venue lacked one essential ingredient – beer!

The Church Bazzar in those days of shortages was a major event and lasted all week. It was held in the School and Fr. Holman, worried about vandals or burglars, had the bright idea of asking the Rugby Club to provide volunteers to sleep at the school and protect the various goods. The Club agreed and all went well until the final Saturday night. The usual two volunteers had increased to six for Saturday and they took with them not just a few beers to smooth away the hours but enough to cause a brigade of the Chinese army to fall about! By the early hours they were making so much noise and havoc that they woke the nuns in the adjoining Heathfield House School. The next day they were admonished by Fr. Holman who was mortified that his beloved Rugby Club had been let down. It would not do to reveal the names of the offenders especially as today they are the most respectable and solid of citizens.

The Club played on the Glider Field in the early years but the lack of suitable changing facilities was a handicap. When matches were arranged with St. Alban’s, Pontypool and St. Mary’s, Bristol a special effort was made to change at Roath Park and bus the players to the Glider Field. Since the sides had travelled further than most, a meal was provided at the Royal Cafe at a cost of two shillings and six pence per head. It is interesting to note that although the former team no longer exists, the St. Mary’s team, like St. Peter’s, has prospered and become one of the most formidable sides in Bristol.

Peter Nolan was captain in 1950/51 when no game was won before Christmas as a series of narrow defeats took place. After a players meeting when they analysed the various faults of the team (everyone blamed everyone else), all the games after Christmas were won. The Secretary was Paul Widlake but he was replaced by Bernard Twomey in January. An annual subscription of ten shillings was set which is much larger in real terms than today. However the impact of such financial support was diminished when it was revealed at the next Annual General Meeting that only 16 members had paid the subscription in full!

Whilst some of the players would have been of dubious spiritual value to anyone, the Club was to provide the Church with three priests and a monk from among its ranks of this era.

One of the stalwarts of this time was Irish prop Ted Reavy a forward intent on creating havoc. On the rare occasions that he had the ball in his hands, his one tactic was to put his head down and charge at the opposition goal line. In one such surge he ran straight into a goalpost and was knocked unconscious. He soon recovered to play on but the post was never quite the same. On another occasion Ted injured an arm when he collided against a line of small concrete posts at the side of the pitch of Cambrian Colliery but he continued to play on with his customary zeal only to find after the game that he had broken his arm.

A proposal that non Catholic members be allowed to join was defeated in July 1950 by 14 votes to 11. In true Vatican style the embarrassing vote was never rescinded, but was promptly ignored. The 1950/51 season was also when demands were made that the Committee proceed with the building of the dressing rooms at Llanishen.

A unanimous resolution was passed to that effect but it was already clear that it was financial muscle and not resolutions that was needed. The financial position was illustrated by the fact jerseys were washed by the players themselves which led to complaints about non uniform appearance at matches and some players using jerseys for training. Some of the more crafty players were accused of acquiring more than one jersey. When it was suggested that jerseys be collected and washed after every game, the Treasurer reminded members of the cost and these peculiar jersey arrangements were to persist throughout the 1950s.

Bill Callaghan attempted to change the system by purchasing a washing machine but some players complained that it was installed in his home and it had to be returned!

The Annual General Meeting of 28th June 1951 was held at the Ruperra Hotel, Shakespeare Street. The Chairman was not present and Bernard Twomey, the Secretary, suggested the appointment of a temporary Chairman until elections took place later in the meeting. The members agreed and Mr. J. B. Twomey, the Secretary’s father, was elected. He was confirmed in office a few minutes later and his other son schoolmaster Dennis Twomey was elected captain to complete the dominance of the Twomeys that season. John Twomey, known to everyone as ‘Boss’, was to remain unchallenged as Chairman until his death twelve years later. He was to give the rugby club the sort of continuity it needed and his drive and good humour were to lead the club through a series of ever improving seasons. ‘Boss’ Twomey also became President of the C.M.S. which was just establishing itself in premises at No 9 Richmond Road opposite the Church. The Rugby Club began to use the premises as their headquarters and were to remain there for over 30 years until their own Club- house was opened in 1982.

In 1951/52 the Youth team broke new ground by visiting Cork. There was an article in the Cork Examiner extolling and exaggerating their virtues – four Youth internationals etc. The officials in the party were the Youth Secretary, Bill Callaghan, Tom Keane, and Harry and Stan James. Stan later became a Councillor and has served for many years. Matches were played against Cobh Pirates and Christian Brothers Cork. The first was an epic and the Pirates, fearful of St. Peter’s strength after the press reports, had imported some over-age players. St. Peter’s won 5-3 with a Brian Drane try which was converted from the touch line by a tiny scrum half who caused some amusement among spectators when he came forward to take the conversion and made little effort to prepare for it. The smiles turned to gasps of surprise as the ball sailed over the post. The scrum half was Bernard ‘Slogger’ Templeman, but more of him later. The success of Callaghan’s team in 1951/52 and the following season in particular was a turning point for the Club. The improvement in the ranks of the seniors followed as the youth players graduated to senior rugby, a pattern which was to be repeated many times in recent years.

In 1952 Peter Nolan was elected as Secretary and, together with John Twomey as Chairman and Albert Tyler as Treasurer, gave continuous service for the next several years. It was something which had been lacking in the past and it helped to achieve a gradual improvement in the Club’s results. However in 1952 the numbers were such that there was considerable debate as to whether a 2nd XV could be formed. In the previous seasons it had been difficult to fulfil the fixtures. Frank Maria was elected captain for 1952/53 and Norman Harris, who had joined from Cathays H.S.0.B., became 2nd XV captain.

Maria’s team suffered a series of broken limbs to Jim MacClancey, Tom Keane, Pat Dacey and Steve Edwards and early results were again disappointing. They finished with 11 wins from 29 games with 154 points for and 245 against. However these results were better than those achieved in the previous three seasons. Norman Harris gradually formed the 2nd XV into a reasonable unit and in spite of the fears of not being able to raise a team a total of 24 games were played, Harris appearing in all of them, with 7 wins and 2 draws, 100 points for and 301 against. Dennis Norman, the Club Vice Chairman of today, made his first appearance as a flying wing scoring 10 tries. There was a feeling that things were improving and it was not taken as a bad omen when the 1st XV photograph failed to come out!

The 1952/53 Youth side, in spite of losing Dennis Norman, Pat Dacey, Peter Stone and Norman Thomas to the seniors, had a fantastic season losing only four matches. They completed the double over Newport and lost 5-6 against Cardiff in the last few minutes. A major reason for their success was ‘Slogger’ Templeman who.had scored 189 points by February when a Football Echo article said it would be a travesty of justice if he did not get a Youth cap. In fact he was not even selected for a trial and nor was any other St. Peter’s player, a great disappointment in view of the side’s results. However five of them played for the District team – ‘Slogger’, Brian Drane, Jim Sweeney, Pat Doyle and Charlie Brown.

‘Slogger’ was soon to depart for Penarth R.F.C. where he became their mainstay for many seasons. He was a great sevens specialist and will be remembered for his contributions in the early years of the Snelling Tournaments, where under his direction Penarth would normally do well. ‘Slogger’ never altered his apparently casual style of goal kicking and was hugely successful. He became the first St. Peter’s man to play for the Barbarians in the late 1950s against the East Midlands and he returned to play one final season with St. Peter’s before retiring.

In the 1953/54 season John Price was selected for a Youth trial and Johnny Evans the season after. Regrettably the elusive first Club Youth cap was still awaited and the tendency for some of the best players to join the Cardiff Youth team continued.

Frank Maria moved on in 1953 to enjoy a distinguished career with Glamorgan Wanderers and in recent years he has been the Cardiff and District Youth Secretary and served on the Welsh Youth Rugby Union.

In 1953/54 the Club began playing on Blackweir although changing had to take place at the nearby Maindy Stadium. Nevertheless this represented a very significant improvement in the Club’s facilities. The ground at Lianishen was rarely used and the changing rooms never built. Eventually the Parish sold it in the 1960s and today at Usk Road it has become the home of Llanishen R.F.C. Fr. Holman would probably have been disappointed but the time had not been ripe for his ambitious plans.

Frank Johnston became captain in 1953/54 and Bernard Sheils 2nd XV captain. Bernard Twomey became Fixture Secretary which was the first time one had been officially elected. Bernard was revived that season when he had to leave the field with a back injury received when playing prop. The trainer was Johnny Howe, one of the pre-war players, but he had nothing suitable for a bad back in his bag. Fortunately Johnny had a bottle of his wife’s cough mixture in his pocket which he applied liberally to the offending back. Bernard, thinking he had been treated with the best that medical science could supply, returned to the fray and it is rumoured that a cough he had suffered from for weeks mysteriously disappeared.

A discussion at the 1953 Annual General Meeting on insurance was adjourned and Peter Nolan ruefully noted in the minutes that ‘it could have gone on for hours’. Early results in 1953/54 were poor but the side enjoyed a fine run after Christmas and finished:

Dennis Norman scored 13 tries, a new post war record.

The 2nd XV had their best season since the war:

A tour to Cork took place at Easter with Sundays Wells and Old Presentation College the hosts. Although finance remained a problem the tour was partly financed by the magnificent sum of £180 raised from ‘football doubles’. Maurice Bingham senior and Bill Callaghan were running the youth team that season.

In 1954/55 Dennis Twomey was captain for the second time with Jim MacClancey 2nd XV captain. The first team won more than they lost for the first time since the war with 13 wins and 3 draws from 28 games scoring 156 points whilst conceding 128. It was to be a landmark and in spite of ever improving fixture lists the 1st XV have won the majority of their fixtures for all seasons except one ever since. It also returned the Club to the sort of success it had been used to prior to the war. The 2nd XV won 10 and drew 2 out of 23 games with 124 points for and 136 against. The Youth won 12 and drew 2 from 22 games with 112 points both for and against. The reader will note the relatively low number of points scored in those days. There always seemed to be sufficient experience in all teams to keep scores down when up against it and no doubt the old rules helped. The highlight of the season had been the return visit of Sundays Wells from Cork.

For the first time the Club began to provide barmen on a rota basis for the C.M.S. premises. This was to be a valuable source of income for the Club for several seasons although it was hardly an efficient way of running a bar. It gave rise to a whole series of incidents and tales as inexperienced barmen tried to serve from barrels which were kept in the bar itself. Without proper temperature control the Hancocks Home Brew could vary from the beautiful to the explosive. A pattern of marks on the bar ceiling illustrated occasions when the barrels ‘blew’ as they were spoiled. On one famous occasion a barrel almost emptied as it was tapped leaving two soaked barmen, a crowd of amused customers and a problem to explain to the stock taker. The small sums the Rugby Club received for running the bar were well earned. In spite of the apparently primitive conditions there were many days when the C.M.S. premises were well attended particularly on Sunday nights in the era when the public houses were not open. On the many nights when the Home Brew was ‘on song’ it was a marvellous pint and St. Peter’s men never forgave the brewers for supposedly changing the beer years later.

In the early 1950s a series of boys won schoolboy international caps. In 1950 Connie O’Brien played for Wales at scrum half and in 1952 Phil Smith, then at St. Illtyd’s, was capped as a wing forward. In 1954 Michael McCarthy was capped on the wing and the following year his brother Tommy and Bruno Carpanini, the brother of the current Treasurer Mario, were capped. Most of these players were to join the senior Club a few years later.

In 1956 the education system changed and St. Peter’s School became a junior school with the boys leaving for the new Lady Mary High School after the age of eleven. In 1957 Tony Canham became the first of several schoolboy internationals who travelled the path from St. Peter’s School to Lady Mary. However the change meant that the name of St. Peter’s School could no longer feature directly when a boy was capped. Hence the seven St. Peter’s boys caps up to 1955 will never increase:

• 1908 Arthur Callus
• 1922 Johnny Ring
• 1933 Joe Cullen
• 1950 Connie O’Brien
• 1954 Michael McCarthy
• 1955 Tommy McCarthy
• 1955 Bruno Carpanini

Although the list excludes St. Peter’s boys capped while at St. Illtyd’s such as Johnny Kelleher and Phil Smith, it is interesting to note that no other Cardiff school could boast of more caps in 1955 and even today only a few of the large High Schools have passed the St. Peter’s total. It is an amazing achievement for a small school.

In 1955/56 Tom Keane returned as Treasurer, a position he was to hold for the next four years. A young Pat Doyle led the St. Peter’s lst XV to 19 wins and 2 draws from 28 games with 335 points for and only 96 against. This was easily the best set of results since the restart. The 2nd XV led again by Jim MacClancey won 9 and drew 3 from 24 games. Dennis Norman became the first of many players since the war to be selected for the Cardiff and District team. The Club selectors included Tom Regan, for the first time, with Bill Viney, Doug Hislop, Tony Thomas and Maurice Bingham, senior. Tom was an excellent Chairman of Selectors and always tried to stop the meetings becoming too lengthy. Unscrupulous captains could get their way by trying to prolong the meeting since Tom would support them if he felt it was a way of drawing things to a conclusion!

The Easter Tour to Cork was a great success and included both senior and Youth teams. Ted Reavy hired a car in order to see more of his native countryside. Ted had been a R.A.F. tall gunner during the war and had reversed the normal pattern by being the only survivor when his bomber crashed. On another occasion, Ted’s bomber was shot down over Brittany and the crew walked overnight to a prearranged pick-up point. When they were almost there, they were challenged by a German sentry. Whilst the others were dumb-struck, Ted answered in his thick Irish brogue. His accent was such that even those who had known him for years could barely understand him, so what the poor German made of it is anyone’s guess. The sentry gave up and ignored the group. Ted was later to claim that the German had mistaken him for a Frenchman, but others believed that the sentry had astutely decided that Germany would be better off with Ted on this side of the Channel. After that Ted seemed to think he had a charmed life and certainly drove a car as if he had. Others were less sure of the future and he had difficulty persuading anyone to join him.

Several ladies were in the party and one shy courting couple were kissing in a quiet corner of Moores Hotel when a group crept up on them. A player pinched the girl’s bottom at an appropriate moment in the hope of provoking a row but it had the opposite effect and the courtship blossomed. The couple are now married and it would not do to reveal the offending player’s name but suffice to say that he holds a prominent position in St. Peter’s Parish!

Other liaisons were made with Irish girls and Jim Ellery was so entranced by one colleen that, overcome by a mixture of love and Guinness, he stripped to his underpants as the boat was leaving Cork and had to be restrained from diving into the River Lee to return to her. Connie O’Brien had worries of another sort as he had badly damaged his cartilage in the last game and spent the return journey in agony as players walked him around the deck and filled him up with alcohol to ease the pain. Someone suggested it was best if they knocked him out but Connie sobered up rapidly and threatened dire consequences if anyone tried that remedy. He was met by an ambulance when the boat docked and was rushed to Haverfordwest Hospital.

The precarious financial position was illustrated by the 1955/56 accounts which showed a profit of £2/13/9 out of an income of over £579. This minute profit did however increase the Club’s accumulated surplus to the princely sum of £13/12/3. That is what you can safely describe as operating from hand to mouth.

Mike Sweeney was captain in 1956/57 and led the lst XV to another successful season with 23 wins and 3 draws out of 33 games, scoring 297 points and conceding 116. David Ions set a new try record with 16. The 2nd XV also won the majority of their matches for the first time with 15 wins. and 1 draw from 28 games. The Youth Committee were Gerry Davies and schoolmasters Pat Elliot and Dennis Twomey who had now stopped playing. Something unexpected happened to the finances when a profit of £102 was made for the season which increased the balance to £116! Even by the end of the decade it had barely changed when it stood at £126 – hardly a healthy surplus.

That year when playing at Cymmer, Arthur Thomas had split Jim Sweeney’s eye with his head when they were both trying to win a lineout ball. Jim Holden was acting as ‘untrained’ trainer but had left the first aid kit (vaseline!) in the dressing rooms which were at the bottom of the mountain pitch. Jim, somewhat reluctantly, set off down the mountain. Sweeney stood alone on the touchline for a while but with the result hanging in the balance and no replacements in those days he soon came back onto the field only for Arthur Thomas to repeat the accident and Jim’s other eye was cut together with Arthur’s lip. When an exhausted Jim Holden arrived back at the pitch with his tin of vaseline he found a bloody scene reminiscent of a horror movie.

One feature of these years was, of course, National Service, which deprived clubs of their younger players for two years at the start of their senior careers. St. Peter’s had a policy of always playing national servicemen when they were home on leave even though this frequently led to some disruption of the sides.

In 1957/58 Peter Stone became captain for the first time. Peter is today the Club Centenary Secretary one of several former captains to serve on the current Management Committee. The team won 18 and drew 4 out of 30 games with 271 points for and 144 against. Peter Dale captained the 2nd XV to 12 wins and 3 draws out of 24 games. The Club’s third Easter Tour to Cork again proved to be the main sporting and social event of the season while the seven-a-side team did well to reach the finals of the Cardiff and District and Bridgend Open Tournaments. In general the Club had not shined at the sevens version of the game until that year.

In the semi final of the District event St. Peter’s met R.A.F. St. Athan who, in those days of National Service, could field a side of first class players and were normally favourites for the Tournament. Their tearn included Onllwyn Brace, Brian Williams (Swansea), Alun Rees (Maesteg), Malcolm Price (Pontypool), Leighton Davies (Bridgend) and G. John (Swansea) – four of them were later to become Welsh internationals. St. Peter’s won 6-0 with a try and penalty by youth player Eddie Hunt, now the Rumney R.F.C. coach. The others in the seven were Dennis Cross, Alan Mitchem, John O’Brien, Jim Sweeney, Brian Drane and Mario Carpanini. The anti-climax was that they lost in extra time to Canton in the final.

Brian Drane was the hooker of this era and a very fine one too. He had the habit of consuming a couple of pints before each game, a practice which would be frowned on today but seemed to do him no harm. On one occasion he went too far and kept falling down in the scrums. The referee threatened to send him off and the props were instructed to concentrate on holding him up. Even then he won all his own ball and a few against the head as well.

In 1958/59 Connie O’Brien, capped as a schoolboy eight years previously, was elected captain and appointed Mario Carpanini as his vice captain. Another successful set of results followed with 16 wins and 3 draws out of 30 games played. Frank Johnston was 2nd XV captain but had to resign and was replaced by Jack Doyle half way through the season. The disruption did not stop the team winning 16 and drawing 3 out of 25 games, their best season since the war.

In a District sevens Tournament at Blackweir, Mario Carpanini was concussed but refused to go off. The next time he got the ball he raced 60 yards with two of the opposition chasing him all the way to the line. Mario obviously thought he had scored a winning try but he had run in the wrong direction and a puzzled referee had to award a minor while Mario was led away for treatment.

In 1959/60 Peter Stone returned to captain the lst XV to another good season winning 16 and drawing 6 out of 32 games. Connie O’Brien and Bruno Carpanini made the most appearances with 31 each. In these years of the late 1950s St. Peter’s were to provide many players for the Cardiff and District XV. However the Club never entered the Mallett Cup. There was some concern about the standard of sportmanship in Cup matches. In the 1960s the growing strength of the fixture list meant that the Club was reluctant to cancel games against W.R.U. opponents to play a Mallett Cup match. These were in the days before the Mallett Cup was used as a means of entry to the following season’s W.R.U. Cup. Hence St. Peter’s did not enter the Mallett Cup from the fatal day in 1934 until the 1985/86 season when, for the first time, the 2nd XV were entered for the competition.

The 1959/60 season was when the Peter Williams Cup was awarded for the first time. Peter Williams was a former player who had died tragically at sea and the Cup was presented to the Club by his family in memory of him. Peter had been something of a character. Once when playing at Abertillery the side had changed at the local swimming baths and after the game Peter led the way by jumping into the pool – only to find it empty of water! The Cup was given to the Player of the Year and the first recipient was Terry Edwards who had been outstanding in helping the 2nd XV to their best ever season scoring 122 points including 11 tries. Terry had returned to the Club from Currans, where he was a director, to play for the 2nds. With Jack Doyle as captain they had won 20 and drawn 4 out of 30 games with 377 points for and 147 against. In the years that followed the Cup was almost always awarded to a 1st XV player but there was no better choice than its first winner. Terry was later to become the Youth Secretary for several seasons in the 1970s. Efforts by Dennis Twomey, Jim MacClancey and Gerry Davies to run a youth team in 1959/60 were frustrated and the side was disbanded half way through the season.

At the end of the decade Peter Nolan retired as Secretary after seven seasons which had seen the Club grow in strength. Peter had cycled around the players houses for all those years delivering selection cards. Pat Daly replaced him in 1959/60 and Albert Tyler returned to replace Tom Keane as Treasurer. ‘Boss’ Twomey was still Chairman and Tom Regan Chairman of Selectors and the Club was destined to build on its achievements and prosper in the decade to come.