Chapter 7
Welsh Rugby Union Club (the 1970s)
Although the Baseball Section had struggled to run two sides in the summer of 1971 it did not dampen the enthusiasm as the Club looked forward to its first season in the Welsh Rugby Union. Pat Dacey became the first Chairman of Selectors to sit on the Management Committee but the main officials of the Club were unchanged. There were plenty of players available and it was expected that there would be more strength in depth than before while a fresh start was to be made with a Youth team. The 1st XV took the field on 1st September, 1971 at Gilfach Goch for a mid-week match confident that it could make a success of its new status. Within the hour disaster had struck!
The game was closely contested as St. Peter’s failed to find the sort of form which had been prevalent the previous season. Early in the second half a small fracas broke out among the forwards. The referee, who was officiating at his first W.R.U. game, blew his whistle twice and then waved his arms in the air and abandoned the game. The players and spectators were dumbfounded whilst the St. Peter’s officials were horrified. I remember rushing back to Cardiff to inform Les Spence. He claims to recall what I was wearing to this day and insists on relating the story at every opportunity. He contacted Bill Clement, the Secretary of the Union to break the news. The Club had not even been in the Union sixty minutes yet it was in the sort of trouble Committees have nightmares about.
When the referee’s report was received it stated that the match had been played in good spirit up until the incident. In fact not even one penalty had been awarded for foul play. The report stated that the captains had been involved in the fracas but the St. Peter’s captain was fullback Mike Thomas who could hardly have been further from the problem and had no chance to intervene. Both Clubs replied explaining in like terms the position as they saw it. In the case of St. Peter’s, the Club was at pains to illustrate its fine disciplinary record as a District Club.
Whilst it was plain to those who were there that an inexperienced referee had not known how to react when faced by a relatively small incident, there was the fear that the Union would take strong action since all reasonable administrators are inclined to support referees. It was with considerable relief that the Club received the news that the Union had decided to take no further action other than deplore the sort of scenes described in the referee’s report. Sadly the referee resigned shortly afterwards but the affair did help to cause a tightening up of the procedure of accepting referees onto the W.R.U. list. Years later Bill Clement was fond of telling me that the St. Peter’s discipline record was second to none but what he must have thought when his experience of us was limited to one hour I shudder to think.
After this dramatic beginning the Ist XV began playing consistently well. Joe Crocker, who was injured when the Gilfach Goch game took place, was captain for the second time and he was part of a fine three- quarter line which included Andy Laver and wings Lawrence Camilleri and Frank Sullivan. Mike Thomas continued to score freely helped by the change in the law which increased the value of a try to four points and reached 180 for the season. However he was overtaken by Chris Corsi who set a new record with 276 points. Corsi developed the habit of insisting on taking any goal kick near the posts on the grounds that he was more accurate than the siege gun boot of Thomas. It was difficult to argue against this since in truth he never missed. He also developed a drop kick normally from the base of scrums and was hugely successful scoring 18 in all, a record that still stands. With two such prolific points gatherers available and with Camilleri scoring 33 tries the side easily passed the highest ever number of points scoring 919 in all. They won 31 and lost 10 of their games in a magnificent start to the period as a Union Club.
The 2nd XV led by John O’Brien also scored a record 466 points and won 22 and drew 1 of their 37 games while the 3rd XV led by Dick Golledge, not to be outdone, reached a record of 385 points and won the majority of its games for the first time with 15 wins and 1 draw from 29 games. So many players were available particularly in the early part of the season that a 4th XV was raised on seven occasions. Although 4th XVs are not uncommon today they were virtually unheard of at that time in Wales and the Club was delighted to form one. However it was probably stretching itself and there was a lack of experienced players available. At the end of the season several of the players in the 3rd and 4th XVs decided to leave and form a new club, Cardiff Cossacks, and it was some years before the Club ran a 4th XV again.
For the first time visitors from America were entertained when Columbia University were beaten 44-4. They proved most popular tourists and the party, which included ladies, were hosted by members. In fact Chairman Tom Regan who organised the hosting decided to ask a few too many hosts just to make sure. When everyone met at the C.M.S. on a Sunday morning to collect the guests and take them home to a traditional British Sunday lunch the last to arrive found there were no visitors left and had to explain the position to their wives or mothers who had been making special preparations. For months afterwards Tom became used to being accosted by irate St. Peter’s ladies but he remained imperturbable. The Club again visited London at the time of the Twickenham international and beat Old Harrodians in the morning.
At the end of the season St. Peter’s were able to enter the East District Sevens section of the National Tournament and did well before losing to the eventual winners in the semi-final.
The Youth team played 26 games and although they won only 5 the main thing was that they were playing regularly. Jack Doyle was Secretary and Peter Nolan Assistant. In order to encourage the team the qualifications for a Club tie which had always been 30 matches played for the senior sides was widened so that two Youth games were to count as one senior one. The Committee decided by a large majority to vote against a proposed Welsh Youth tour of South Africa. The Club has consistently seen the South African question in moral terms and has never altered its initial stance.
It was in 1971/72 that the Club began training at the National Sports Centre at Sophia Gardens under floodlights. Before then the Lady Mary High School gym had been used.
The current tie was introduced and brought to an end a popular past time with the Committee of designing a new tie every few years. The word ‘Cardiff’ was omitted for the first time.
On the social side a Dinner Dance was held in December to celebrate the achievement of W.R.U. status. Constitutional discussions with the C.M.S. began again and there were even attempts to hold small dances in the top bar of the C.M.S. premises. These were abandoned when one of the Committee, a builder, advised that the floor could collapse. I have never felt safe in the top bar since.
At the end of the season the Club supported moves to form a league among East District clubs. In order that all eligible clubs would participate the system eventually adopted was one based on existing fixtures but St. Peter’s support for the league concept has never wavered.
In the summer of 1972, the Baseball team with Cecil Bingham still Secretary, was led by Alan Mitchem who had returned to the section after several seasons with Penylan.
For the 1972/73 season the only changes among the officials were the elections of Cecil Bingham as Chairman of Selectors and Pat Daly as Match Secretary. It became the custom that cards were sent to players informing them of match details only by exception. Hence Pat found his reduced burden sufficiently light that he was to remain as Match Secretary for the next decade. There was a tendency in these years for the captaincy to alternate between Joe Crocker and Chris Corsi and the latter was elected captain. The Club expected to do as well as in the previous season but things did not turn out that way. There was a series of injuries to key players and the team never quite captured the rhythm of 1971/72. It still managed to win the majority of the games with 21 wins and 3 draws from 42 matches. Mike Thomas scored 155 points and Michael Morgan 136. With Lawrence Camilleri missing much of the season his younger brother Chris appeared for the first time and scored 20 tries. The 2nd XV were led by John O’Brien after Bernard Lewis resigned but only won half of their matches.
Dick Golledge led the 3rds for the second year to 9 wins from 23 games. His ability as a negotiator is illustrated by a story of scrum half Pedro Spiteri. Pedro fell foul of a referee who kept penalising him for putting balls into scrums crooked. The more he was penalised the more exasperated Pedro became and the more crooked he put the balls into the scrums. Eventually the referee threatened to send him off if he offended again. At this point Golledge took the referee aside, apologised and explained that the scrum half was playing in that position for the first time. The referee relaxed, the threat was removed and Pedro carried on putting the ball in crooked! It is only when one realises that Spiteri had been playing at scrum half all his career that one appreciates that Golledge’s talents have today been put to use as the Regional Secretary of a major trade union.
The Club played in the W.R.U. Cup for the first time and won through the preliminary rounds to lose 7-10 to Burry Port in the first round. Avia, a team from Brussels visited the Club in November and an Easter Tour to Belgium followed. The Club had chartered an airplane only to find that the Charter Company collapsed with some £76 of St. Peter’s money going with it. A coach/ferry trip was arranged at short notice and a great tour ensued marred only by Avia’s inability to arrange more than one fixture. Cardiff Youth and several of the Cardiff Schools representative teams were in Brussels at the same time and many will remember the epic St. Peter’s sing song at a barbeque to which all were invited.
The first East District team played that year and included Billy O’Keefe and Peter Mitchem. Chris Camilleri was to join them by the end of the season.
In 1973 the Baseball team struggled to stay in Division 2.
The 1973/74 season opened with Cecil Bingham as Vice Chairman for a year and Joe Crocker returning as captain. The side was luckier with injuries than its predecessor and enjoyed a fine year with 27 wins, 2 draws and 9 defeats from 38 games, scoring 659 points. They finished fourth in the new East District Championship. Mike Thomas was now playing with the second and third teams but both he and Michael Morgan scored over a hundred points each. Chris Camilleri scored 20 tries in his last season before joining Cardiff and Frank Sullivan scored 14. Chris Corsi and Billy O’Keefe were in the East District team and Alan Leaman played for Glamorgan ‘B’. At the end of the season St. Peter’s won the Pontyclun Sevens for the first time with Chris Camilleri becoming the Player of the Tournament.
During the year teams from Ashington and Berwick were entertained while the visit to Twickenham included a match against UCL. All these games were won. A party of Japanese supporters who were visiting Wales for the Wales v Japan international visited the Club and contacts were established which were renewed years later.
The 2nd XV led by John Sweeney had a record year with 30 wins from 37 games and the best ever points total of 661. They gave the Club the strength in depth it required. The 3rd XV were led by Alec MacCormac and won half their matches.
A no train/no play rule on a one in three basis was introduced but had to be shelved when the oil crisis limited the opportunities of training under floodlights.
The Planning and Development Committee, as it was now called, continued to explore ground or Clubhouse possibilities. It was a frustrating period in this respect and several leads were pursued without success.
At the A.G.M. Dennis Norman was presented with a trophy to mark his 25 successive playing seasons with the Club, a remarkable achievement.
In the summer Mike Rohman became Baseball Secretary but there was no 2nd XI this year.
Dick Golledge became Vice Chairman in 1974 and his place as Fixture Secretary was taken by Maurice Bingham. The former 1st XV hooker, Brian Drane, was elected for the first of five years as Chairman of Selectors and a Youth team was formed after a lapse of three years with Alan Mitchem returning as its Secretary.
Joe Crocker was captain for a record fourth term and the Club was now a full member of the Welsh Rugby Union. However the 1sts won only half their games and the 2nds led by Dennis McCarthy and the 3rds led again by Alec MacCormac did not quite manage that. Although Michael Morgan again scored over a hundred points and Lawrence Camilleri scored 20 tries the lack of major points scorers was a problem.
The Easter Tour was to Bournemouth while the Youth went to Ruthin. The Youth team did not struggle as some of its predecessors had done and they won half of their matches. The previous season Jeff Addicott had made the most appearances for the senior Club with 40 but in the summer he had been tragically killed in a car crash. His family presented a cup to the Club in his memory and the Committee decided that someone with his zest for life would best be remembered with a cup for Youth Player of the Year. Hence the Youth captain Michael Evans became the first Youth Player of the Year when he won the new Jeff Addicott Cup. A new Clubman of the year Cup was also presented for the first time and the winner was Eric Mitchem who had organised the after-match raffles for many years before and, for that matter, since.
Vice Presidents were introduced for the first time since the war and among those accepting the Club’s invitations were prominent men in the political, social and business spheres of life in Cardiff. They included Sir Julian Hodge who had strong connections with St. Peter’s and who was to prove a decisive supporter in the years to come.
The Club Press Officer, Alan Jones, made contact with the Tongan team who toured Wales in 1974/75 and arranged a visit to the Club. Forever willing, he also promised to find accommodation for Miss Tonga who was accompanying the party! The Committee were left worrying over hotel costs after rejecting hospitality offers of a somewhat dubious nature from various players. In the event the young lady was installed in a suitable hotel at the expense of the Welsh Rugby Union who were left wondering who the hell had agreed to the arrangement in the first place.
Ever since the late 1960s the Annual Dinners had been held at the Cardiff Athletic Club but the 1975 Dinner was held in the Parish Hall. Although it was successful, the Club decided to return to the Athletic Club and were to remain there until 1984.
The search for a ground had been focusing on the Harlequins Ground in Roath. The Harlequins possessed unrivalled attributes as far as St. Peter’s was concerned. Other than Roath Park itself the Harlequins was the only ground within the Parish and was to be the home of St. Peter’s School which was moving to the old Cardiff High School site in Newport Road, a few hundred yards from the ground. However the Club’s informal offers to rebuild the vandalised dressing rooms on the ground did not secure a response and the offer was put into writing in 1974. At that stage the South Glamorgan Council were still hoping to rebuild the dressing rooms themselves but promised to consider the Club’s application for use of the ground when the time came.
Constitutional talks had begun again with the C.M.S. The Rugby Club was concerned that fewer of its members were using the C.M.S. regularly and felt that a change in voting rights was desirable. One of the alternatives put to the C.M.S. Council was to turn the Club into a Parish Social Club but the Council preferred that things should stay as they were. Ironically in 1986, three years after the R.F.C. left, this solution has now been adopted for the premises. In November 1974 the Rector Fr. Jones confirmed that the C.M.S. did not want to change and he saw no reason to press them. Even with the ground question still unresolved the Rugby Club decided at a Special General Meeting to seek its own premises.
Being Rector, Fr. Jones was also the R.F.C. President and at a meeting with the Club officers the possibility of the Club taking over the old Scout Hall in Bedford Street was discussed. The plan at that time was that the scout and guide activities were due to be moved to the old school site opposite the church. Fr. Jones gave permission for the Club to proceed with outline planning permission. It was likely that a favourable deal could have been arranged if the necessary permission was received. The hall would have required a great amount spent on it and was somewhat limited in size but it might have been a short-term solution to the R.F.C.’s needs. There was considerable doubt about receiving planning permission in a residential area for a site without a car park but the good will that existed towards St. Peter’s in the area gave it some chance and the Club made the application. Although the residents association was approached and did not object there were some individual resident objections and as expected the plan fell foul of the planners. It was eventually rejected in December 1975. Soon after, the Harlequins Ground possibility opened up again and the Club decided not to pursue the Scout Hall project. In recent years the Hall has been renovated with a grant and remains as a splendid facility for the St. Peter’s scouts and guides.
Mike McGrath became the new Baseball Secretary in 1975.
Tom Regan insisted on resigning as Chairman in 1975 after threatening to do so for the previous two years. His health was worse than most members realised and he no longer attended matches. Nevertheless his wise council was as valuable as ever and the other officers were most reluctant to accept his decision. For a quarter of a century only two men, John Twomey and Tom Regan, had been the Club Chairman and there was no wish to change a tried and trusted system. Regan saw that the time for change had come and refused to be persuaded otherwise. The new Chairman elected was solicitor John Cottrell and Tom Regan was made the sole Life Member of the Club.
The triumvirate which had shared the coaching duties for eight seasons was breaking up. Bart O’Brien had resigned the previous year and Peter Stone and Bert Byard were finding it difficult to continue to give the time. The author took over for most of the 1975/76 season. Peter Mitchem was captain for the second time and the 1st XV won 21 and drew 1 out of 40 games scoring 584 points. Although Michael Morgan scored 108 points the lack of a steady kicker was a problem. The team was successful in the various competitions winning eight out of ten Silver Ball matches and the same number of East District games. The later was sufficient to take the side to its first East District final were they lost to a very fine Taffs Well team 4-17. With more consistency an even better set of results could have been achieved.
The 2nd XV under Pat O’Brien had a fine season with 30 wins from 39 games and a record 666 points. It enjoyed the services of Mike Thomas for most of the year and he scored 169 points. In the Harry Parfitt Trophy they won eight out of ten matches and won the Trophy by beating Pentrych 2nds in the final 12-9. Thus this Trophy won in its inaugural year of 1970 by the 1sts was now captured six years later by the 2nds. Tony Muston was 3rd XV captain and his side won 11 and drew 3 out of 27 games while a 4th XV played on three occasions. The Youth team for whom Chris Nicolson scored 63 points and Michael Chadwick 10 tries, won 12 and drew 1 from 29 games. The Youth Committee consisted of Alan Mitchem, Peter Nolan and Alec MacCormac. They arranged a tour to Southend for the team. They were pleased to note that Lawrence O’Brien who had played with the team a few years before won a Youth International Cap while playing with Cardiff Youth. However the days when players would have to leave St. Peter’s to gain Youth honours were coming to an end.
The usual trip to Twickenham included a match against High Wycombe when a scratch side lost heavily. At the time of the Wales v France match a side from La Rochelle was entertained at Blackweir. The new Chairman covered himself in glory by welcoming them in French and Tom Regan explained to everyone what a smart move they had made in electing Cottrell.
Playing at this time was a huge, young second row by the name of David Nicholls who had been nicknamed ‘Bonehead’ by his fellow forwards when in the Youth. When he graduated to the ranks of the seniors a captain referred to him as ‘Blockhead’.
‘My name’s not Blockhead, its Bonehead’ said a resentful Nicholls.
On the Twickenham trip the party solved the problem of stopping every few miles for members to relieve themselves by using a bucket which was kept at the front of the bus. Eventually it was full and none other than David Nicholls being next in line was told to empty it out of the door (the bus was in the inside lane!). As he prepared to do so bets were being laid that he would throw the bucket out as well as its contents and possibly fall out with it. Those in the immediate vicinity rushed to the back of the bus for a less dangerous view. David disappointed the prophets of doom by emptying the bucket without any difficulty but could not shut the door because a curtain had become caught in it. He placed the bucket on the step, stood on one leg to reach the curtain and loosened it with one hand while shutting the door with the other – feats of coordination and dexterity unheard of from a second row. However as the door swung shut he brought his second leg to ground and caught the edge of the bucket which fell out of the bus as the door shut behind it. It was for comic timing such as this that Charlie Chaplin was paid a fortune! A row followed as those who had bet on him throwing the bucket out tried to claim their winnings.
At the Annual Dinner presentation tankards were given to the various cup winners and the practice continues today. During all these years they have been donated by one of the club’s Vice Presidents, Keith Allen.
In 1976 the first Nazareth House Sevens Tournament took place at Blackweir organised by the Club as part of the traditional Fete on Spring Bank Holiday Monday. It was felt that the Fete needed something in addition to the Catholic School sports, which had always taken place. The Sports had once been a major event but by 1976 had been curtailed to cover the Junior schools only. The Sevens Tournament was to give a new impetus to this charitable Fete and the Club was grateful to the Welsh Rugby Union for giving permission. In its inaugural year the Trophy, kindly donated by Gemini Ltd., was won by Cardiff who beat Newport in the final. The man of the Tournament was none other than Chris Camilleri who had also won the equivalent award at that season’s Snelling Sevens.
Brian Drane and Maurice Barry were running the baseball team in the summer of 1976.
For the 1976/77 season the Committee decided to appoint a new coach and were fortunate to be able to obtain the services of John McCarthy. John was a W.R.U. coach who had served Llandaff North R.F.C. with distinction for many years. He appointed Brian Mitchell, who had joined the Club the previous year, as his Assistant. John was to work closely with the new captain Kevin Snook. At their request the Committee introduced a stronger no train/no play rule for the 1st XV. However things did not work out well and the team failed to win as regularly as in previous seasons. It was certainly nothing to do with the quality of the coaching. The new rule may not have helped and it may be that St. Peter’s had become a little in-bred and reluctant to accept a newcomer. It was also the year of the summer drought, which in turn caused the Cardiff Parks Department with their usual caution to cancel all matches in September. This worked to the disadvantage of St. Peter’s compared with most of its rival clubs who did not suffer from such restrictions. In any event for the only season since 1953/54 more games were lost than won with 11 victories and two draws from 33 games. Glamorgan Wanderers were played in the W.R.U. Cup and although the St. Peter’s forwards more than held their own the backs were unable to cope with a fine Wanderers back division and the game was lost 6-36. It was not the season for such an encounter. Stephen Cooper, Tony Edwards and Frank Jones played for the East District during the season.
Pat O’Brien led the 2nd XV for the second time to a good year with 21 wins from 32 games while the 3rds also did well under Terry O’Brien in winning 11 from a rather truncated list of 17 games. Numbers were a problem and as injuries increased no 3rd XV matches were played in April. Brian Mitchell playing for the 2nds was top points scorer with 124. The 2nds again won six of their eight Harry Parfitt Trophy games but this time it was not enough to reach the play-off stages.
The Youth team was extremely successful with Peter Nolan as Secretary, Jock Pritchard as Fixture Secretary (this year was the first when the Youth fixtures were arranged separately) and Alec MacCormac as Coach. Alec’s son Stewart was captain and the side won 22 of their 30 matches scoring a record 499 points. Several of its players were selected for the Cardiff and District Youth team. As in previous years the highlight of the season was the tour, which this year was to Cornwall.
The senior tour was to Holland and matches were played and won against Hilversum and Rotterdam A.C. Whilst sampling the delights of Amsterdam several of the party were enticed into a ‘red light district’ establishment. After paying a fee they were admitted to one room but it soon became clear that a second door led to the more interesting part of the building. A senior member of the group in his excitement at the prospect of what lay behind the second door got confused and rushed back through the original one. The ‘bouncers’ guarding the door refused to admit him a second time and he remains none the wiser from that day to this! No doubt they thought anyone capable of such an error was likely to cause a riot in a monastery.
The Club decided to join the growing trend of running junior and mini teams and training began at Roath Park in January, 1977 and immediately 50 to 100 boys were involved. One of the reasons was that the St. Peter’s School did not have a master available to run the rugby teams in 1976/77 and there was considerable pressure from parents for the Club to fill the gap. When it applied to the Parks Department for use of Roath Park on a Sunday (Blackweir was not open on Sundays) the Club was told that it was against the by-laws. Since Sunday soccer had been strongly established for many years this seemed a strange by-law and after protest the Department agreed not to apply it. The new junior section, with Cecil Bingham as Secretary, was to flourish over the next few years.
The author, Des Childs was elected as East District Vice Chairman and has held the position ever since.
The Club were shocked when Mike McGrath, who had been Baseball Secretary two years before, died tragically.
The Welsh Rugby Union asked for applications for its second issue of Debentures. Remembering the lost opportunity of the first issue, the Club applied for nearly two hundred and received twenty four, the second largest number allocated with Cardiff R. F. C. getting twenty five. The ticket rights were sold at a profit for ten years and the Debentures remain available to ensure a secure financial future for the Club.
South Glamorgan Education Authority’s investigation into rebuilding the dressing rooms at the Harlequins Ground was running into difficulties regarding cost and the vandal problem which had grown during the years that the ground had been left unused. St. Peter’s assumed that they would eventually start using the ground and even began training there without dressing rooms in September 1976. The Council called a meeting in December and invited several clubs who had by now expressed an interest in the ground. St. Peter’s were taken aback in view of their offers to rebuild the dressing rooms made years before. The Clubs were asked to submit their proposals in writing and the Council decided to offer a deal to St. Peter’s R.F.C. associated with two rugby pitches and to Cardiff Cosmos A.F.C. with one soccer pitch. The Council felt it would not be reasonable to restrict the ground to rugby alone. The Leisure and Amenities Department of the City Council was to maintain the ground and the Clubs would maintain the dressing rooms. The Clubs accepted the deal, which involved them in rebuilding the dressing rooms by using their own labour but with a £6,000 grant from the Council. In the summer of 1977 the task began of preparing plans for the dressing rooms to meet with Council approval.
In April 1977 it was decided by the Management Committee that all Youth games were to count equal to senior matches when awarding Club ties.
Bart O’Brien became Baseball Secretary in 1977 and Mike Lloyd a former St. Peter’s schoolboy and Welsh Baseball international became captain. The team had its best year for some time and finished third in Division 2.
The Club supported an application by Vice President Arthur Thomas for a certificate for a club on the former premises of the B.B.C. in Newport Road. The certificate was granted in December 1977 and many St. Peter’s people joined the new Key Club the name being linked to the St. Peter’s keys. No one realised it at the time but these premises were eventually to become the R.F.C. Clubhouse five years later.
Bert Byard was elected Fixture Secretary in 1977 and Paul Barry became Club captain for the first of three successive seasons. Paul was a St. Peter’s schoolboy who had played with distinction with Cardiff and Penarth before returning to the Rocks. His experience was invaluable in guiding the team to an improved season with 19 wins and 4 draws from 38 games and 603 points scored. The team finished third in the East District Championship. In those days only the top two sides played in the final and St. Peter’s had an unhappy knack of finishing third or fourth. Michael Morgan again passed a century with 171 points while Kevin Snook played for the East District. Brian Mitchell scored 167 for the 2nds whom he captained to 18 wins from 32 games. John Sweeney captained the 3rds to 10 wins from 27 games.
Sadly a problem of discipline arose during the season when foul play occurred during a 2nd XV cup match. The Club had always prided itself on its discipline record and the Committee was furious. Of the two players deemed to have been responsible one was suspended for the remainder of the season and the other was banned from ever playing for St. Peter’s again. Many thought that the Committee had overreacted but the Club was determined to show that it would not tolerate foul play and signs of weakness then may well have led to further difficulties in the future.
The Youth enjoyed their best season with 22 wins and 6 draws from 34 games and a record 581 points scored for. They were led by Garry Hawkley and five of their number played for the Cardiff and District team – David Batchelor, Stephen Stuart, Bobby Matthews, Tim Tuesley and Mark Elliott – whilst Simon Cooper was capped for Wales Senior Schools. A team consisting entirely of Youth players was entered for the senior District Sevens and won the Plate. To ensure continuity an Under 16 side was run by the Youth Committee on Sundays and they too were successful.
The junior section played almost 60 games at various age groups and only lost a handful. The under 11s were unbeaten and won the new Cardiff and District and the Llandaff North tournaments. The Cardiff and District Junior Rugby Alliance was formed after St. Peter’s had called a meeting at the C.M.S. in June 1977 and Cecil Bingham became its first Secretary.
The social highlight of the season was the visit of the Wak Wak Over 40 team from Osaka, Japan. Press Officer Alan Jones was the link man with the contacts having been established four years before when some of the Japanese had been entertained at St. Peter’s. Apparently Over 40s rugby is well established in Japan and the custom of the Wak Wak club was that over 40s wore black knicks, the over 50s wore white knicks and the over 60s wore red knicks. They brought two sides to Wales and there were three red knicks in evidence. St. Peter’s were not used to such practices but the idea caught on and there were plenty of old warriors willing to risk it on the Friday afternoon the games were played. Among the many dignitaries present was Les Spence who had managed the Welsh team which toured Japan in 1975. The Japanese were much fitter than the St. Peter’s veterans and played with an awesome commitment but the experience of the Rocks and liberal use of substitutes carried the day in both matches. At a dance the previous evening in honour of the visitors, St. Peter’s had made a few presentations of Club ties and a shield to the Wak Wak team and were amazed to receive a treasure trove of gifts which included a magnificently carved wooden rugby ball now on display in the Clubhouse as well as bottles of Santory whisky and a whole series of other gifts. It reminded me of the old western films when the cowboys gave the trinkets to the Red Indians only the Japanese gave expensive presents. The potential interest in veterans rugby was clear in spite of the vague disapproval of the W.R.U. However St. Peter’s were not to raise another veteran side until the 1985/86 season when several games were played.
At the end of season Old Penarthians Sevens, the Club won for the first time with a side which included three Cardiff players in Paul Rees, Lawrence O’Brien and Bob Newman. The Player of the Tournament was Michael Morgan who captained the side. A few days later at the Club’s own Nazareth House Tournament the team lost to St. Joseph’s in the final but Youth player Anthony Hadley became Player of the Tournament after an outstanding display.
The financial position was being helped by support via St. Peter’s Church from Sir Julian Hodge. Also the C.M.S. increased its donation to R.F.C. funds to £100, a small but valuable contribution.
The plans for the dressing rooms were finally approved and work began late in the 1977/78 season. Dennis Norman was the main organiser for the Club and his outstanding efforts were recognised when he was awarded the Clubman of the Year Cup. Now that the dressing rooms were under way the Club felt safe to begin discussions on the Clubhouse project and meetings took place with Ward Councillors and Mr. Ewart Parkinson the Planning Director of South Glamorgan Council. Several sites were investigated but the favourite was next to the dressing rooms. It was clear that the Club would have to present a good case in spite of the willingness of Councillors to help.
In the summer of 1978 both a youth, and a ladies baseball teams were formed in addition to the senior side. Bart O’Brien remained Secretary and the team finished joint second in Division 2. Trophies were now being presented and Alan Jones won the batting averages, Chris O’Brien took the most catches and Neil O’Brien won the Tom Riley Cup for Youth Player of the year.
John McCarthy retired as Coach in 1978 and the author took over for a season. In his final year as a player Joe Crocker became Assistant Coach. Paul Barry remained as captain and after an indifferent start the side did well winning 20 and drawing 3 out of 35 games. The 2nd XV under Stephen Saleh had a similar set of results with 18 wins from 30 games. They finished with 6 wins from their 8 Harry Parfitt Trophy matches. Terry Johnston led the 3rd XV to a record season of 18 wins and 1 draw from 26 games with 443 points scored. One 4th XV game was played but there were not sufficient numbers to continue the experiment. Mike Thomas played mainly for the 3rds but still was top scorer with 120 points while Frank Sullivan scored 20 tries. Kevin Snook and Bobby Diamond were in the East District team and Snook became the first St. Peter’s player to win a District cap.
The Youth had another good side, which won 19 and drew 2 of its 33 games scoring 570 points. Chris Bird scored 174 points for them and Bobby Matthews 18 tries. The Under 16 team was also very successful and the junior section continued to prosper. John Sweeney was awarded the Clubman of the Year Cup for his work with the Juniors.
John’s determination is best illustrated by the story of one of the trips to Twickenham. John had arranged to meet the coach at the top of Rumney hill as it was leaving Cardiff. After a short wait he saw the coach coming along Newport Road but was furious as it sped past him without stopping. A lesser man would have given up but John immediately stepped into the road and flagged down an astonished motorist who was persuaded to chase after the coach. They caught up with it near Castleton but the coach driver was reluctant to stop and did so only when John insisted on the car driver pulling up in front of him! A livid Sweeney rushed to the coach cursing the organisers for having forgotten him only to be faced by a party of puzzled and somewhat apprehensive holidaymakers. Meanwhile the St. Peter’s coach was searching for him throughout the Rumney area and eventually gave up only to come across him walking back disconsolately to Cardiff from Castleton. Today John Sweeney’s talents are used to the full as Secretary of the St. Peter’s Parish Social Centre, which has replaced the old C.M.S. Club in Richmond Road (they do not let him organise any coach trips).
The Club did well at the various seven-a-side tournaments. They lost narrowly in the semi-final of the Worcester Sevens to Coventry but only after losing a man with an injury and then having to play most of the game with six because of the rules of English Tournaments at the time. The Youth lost to Glynneath in the youth final of the same Tournament. The Club won the Pontyclun Sevens and, for the first time, the Nazareth House Tournament. But perhaps the best team the Club raised was in the Old Penarthians Sevens when, in defence of the title won the previous season, Chris Camilleri led a team with three other Cardiff players in Paul Rees, Lawrence O’Brien and Bob Newman and including club players Chris Murphy, Anthony Hadley and Geoff Wyatt later to play with Glamorgan Wanderers. Surprisingly they were beaten by their old sevens adversaries St. Joseph’s 4-6 in the semi-finals when they seemed assured of coasting to the title. A club sevens was organised for the first time that season and 9 teams took part.
An Easter Tour to Bournemouth was arranged at short notice when the original trip to France was cancelled and it proved successful in spite of the lack of preparation.
The building of the dressing rooms had resulted in one of the Harlequins Ground pitches being used in the 1978/79 season and when the National Sports Centre closed its outdoor pitch for the installation of an artificial surface the Club transferred its training to the Harlequins in January 1979. The dressing rooms were not finally completed until the summer of that year and, after a dispute over charges was resolved, a 25 year licence agreement was agreed from April 1980.
Clubhouse plans were prepared and solicitor Richard Arnold came onto the Committee to head the Development Committee, which was now rapidly becoming a Clubhouse Committee as the position at the Harlequins Ground cleared. Discussions with interested parties continued throughout the year and the plans were modified as a result of them. The basic concept included two squash courts.
Although the ladies Baseball team was defunct in 1979, a second mens XI was formed and the Youth won Division 2. David King was top of the batting averages and Martin Daly took the most catches.
As expected, Joe Crocker was appointed Coach in 1979 while Dennis Norman became Chairman of Selectors when Brian Drane retired. Pat Dacey resigned from the Committee after several years as its representative on the Cardiff and District when he took up the appointment of Steward at the C.M.S. Paul Barry was captain for the third year and the team was to enjoy an outstanding season with 30 wins and 2 draws from 42 games and 757 points scored. This was in spite of the lack of a consistent kicker. In the Silver Ball 8 wins were recorded in the 10 matches. The prowess of the side was illustrated when they equalled the highest ever score in a match by reaching 72 against Pentyrch. Geoff Wyatt scored the most points with 171 and Michael Chadwick collected 17 tries. Anthony Hadley in his first season out of Youth proved a very swift full back. Paul Barry, Geoff Wyatt, Bobby Diamond, Stephen Cooper and Garry Hawkley all played for the East District while Michael Chadwick, Chris Murphy and Wyatt were selected for Glamorgan County.
The 2nd XV led by Billy O’Keefe won 18 and drew 5 out of 38 games and the 3rd XV led by Bernard Fowler won 11 out of 25 games.
Terry Edwards became the new Youth Secretary when Peter Nolan retired and during the season Jim Sweeney replaced Jock Pritchard as Youth Fixture Secretary. With Alec MacCormac these were to form the Youth Committee for the next few years when success was common place. In 1979/80 the team won 23 and drew 1 out of 36 games and scored a record 632 points. David MacCormac, Andy Ryan and Stephen Matthews played for the Cardiff and District Youth team and MacCormac was selected for the Wales Youth Squad but sadly failed to get a cap. Andy Bird scored 175 points and Stephen Matthews crossed for 22 tries, both records at the time. The Under 16 team was also successful which was a pointer to the future.
At sevens the Club won the East District Tournament held at the Diamond Ground of Cardiff HSOB and Geoff Wyatt became Player of the Tournament. They went on to represent the District at the National Finals held at Pontypool Park where they lost narrowly to Pontypool themselves. The Pontyclun Sevens was won again and Wyatt again was the Player of the Tournament. In the final of the Old Penarthians event they lost 22-30 to Old Illtydians after seeming to be coasting to victory but revenged the defeat by beating the same opponents in the final of the Nazareth House Tournament 26-4 two weeks later, Michael Chadwick becoming the Player of the Tournament. Thus it was the most successful series of sevens results in the Club’s history.
The junior section was under some pressure since St. Peter’s school had started playing again and the new sports master, Pat Mansfield, a St. Peter’s player, was not keen for the boys to play for both school and Club. With one of the original reasons for forming a junior section no longer valid, the Club concentrated on the older age groups although even here it was clear that some schools were opposed to Club involvement and, with their close connections with the schools, St. Peter’s were not happy to conflict with their wishes. Although there was concern at the apparent decline of the game in the schools, a decline which has continued to this day, there was also worry over the approach of some Clubs to junior rugby and doubt about whether it was the right way to go. After an early season trip to London Welsh, which involved no less than six teams the Club reduced its involvement and by the end of the following season had decided to organise an Under 16 side only. During 1979/80 it helped Lady Mary High School by providing members to run one of the school’s teams.
An unusual incident took place when the 1st XV visited old friends Taibach and decided to stay for the evening at their club. As the club was closing, one of the party was at the top of the double flight of stairs involved in an affair of the heart with one of the local girls (cruder members of the Club suggested other parts of his anatomy were involved!). She gave him a playful push and he stepped back into the void and fell down the first flight of stairs. He landed halfway down on Taibach’s one arm bandit with such force that it moved a few feet and, after rocking for a brief moment on the edge of the second flight of stairs, it descended and fell apart at the bottom spilling its contents all over the hall to the delight of some passing members of the public. The player concerned was none the worst for wear except for injured pride and worry over the cost of one arm bandits.
The Clubman of the Year was Pedro Spiteri in recognition of his many years of service as 1st XV trainer, a service which still continues.
The Club were delighted when Chris Camilleri was selected for the Welsh Rugby League team in 1980.
The agreement regarding the Harlequins Ground was completed in July and applied for 25 years from 1st April 1980. The second rugby pitch was in use in 1979/80 and new metal posts were erected for both pitches. The second pitch was alongside the old disused railway bank at the edges of the ground. The brambles were so thick that several rugby balls were lost without trace in the jungle. In the summer a party was sent to burn them and ended up with a fire so powerful the Fire Brigade arrived and put it out before it became a danger but also before many of the brambles were destroyed. The Brigade refused to allow another attempt and the Club asked the Leisure and Amenities Department to use chemicals to deal with the problem. The Department feared that this would poison the nearby Roath Brook and via it the Rumney River and the Channel. Hence the brambles remained undisturbed and along with them the colony of rabbits located in the bank. The rabbits kept burrowing holes on the second pitch to the fury of the groundsman. Fortunately no one was hurt as a result of their work but they defied all attempts to remove them. It was not until 1984 that the railway bank was demolished to make way for housing development and with it went the brambles, the rabbits and the lost rugby balls.
As the decade came to a close the remaining problem for the Club was the lack of a Clubhouse. The Development Committee held a series of meetings with the South Glamorgan Council and local Councillors to discuss its ambitions and it was agreed that the Club conduct a survey of residents to establish support for a Clubhouse alongside the dressing rooms in Minster Road, the favourite site at the time. It was clear that while Councillors were sympathetic they were worried about resident opinion and the survey would have to identify significant support. By the end of the 1979/80 season the Club was drawing up a survey form for approval by the Council.
The Club entered the 1980s having made vast improvements since reforming after the War but with the Clubhouse project still at the talking stage. It continued to enjoy the use of the C.M.S. premises in Richmond Road and even receive financial support from them (it reached £250 in 1979/80) but the Clubhouse needed to be established if the Club were to progress further.
