ONE of the founder members of St Clears RFC has been selected out of over 800 entries to be named Clubhouse Champion and be part of Principality’s ‘Unofficial Squad’.
Jeff Davies, 72, from St Clears has been awarded the honour of Clubhouse Champion after being nominated by his local community in a competition run by Principality Building Society.
As a hero of St Clears RFC’s clubhouse, it was his tireless dedication to the club that saw him selected for a place in the Unofficial Squad. From cleaning the exterior grounds, helping to run and decorate the clubhouse, cleaning the pipes and managing staff, Jeff was nominated because no job is too much for him and he is considered a true local hero in the community.
Wales’ largest building society, as proud sponsors of the Stadium and partners of the Welsh Rugby Union, launched a search for the country’s Clubhouse Champions ahead of the Guinness Six Nations starting. Principality was looking for individuals who have worked hard to make their local clubhouse feel like home.
Jeff is one of 15 people named to be part of the Unofficial Squad who will be given VIP treatment by Principality at Wales vs Italy on 19th March at Principality Stadium, including watching the match from a hospitality box and a meet and greet with Welsh international, Ken Owens.
Jeff, along with the other 14 winners will also be presented with their own framed Welsh shirt for their clubhouse, as a memento of being selected in the Unofficial Squad.
Jeff said: “I’m one of the founder members of the club, which we started back in 1984. I started as a player, then I became treasurer and then chairman. Now that I’ve retired, I run the bar, clean the club, and mark the lines before the game on a Saturday. I can’t describe how it feels to be picked in as a Clubhouse Champion, it means so much. It’s an indescribable experience.”
A panel of judges – including Wales’ top try-scorer Shane Williams – were responsible for choosing the 15 winners to form the Unofficial Squad.
Shane Williams MBE said: “The clubhouse has always been at the heart of the community and it’s the community that makes the clubhouse. We were thrilled to see hundreds of nominations and it was a big challenge trying to pick the winners, but Jeff’s and the other 14 winning stories really stood out to us.
“After reading Jeff’s nomination I can comfortably say that he would be my captain of the squad. This was a great opportunity to shine a light on the Clubhouse Champions and one I was honoured to be a part of.”
Vicky Wales, Principality’s Chief Customer Officer, said: “As title sponsors of Principality Stadium we wanted to celebrate the deserving club heroes across the country for the continued effort they give to their home club.
“From the grounds person to the cleaner, to that person who works hard behind the scenes, the Unofficial Squad has been named with individuals whose dedication and commitment makes a massive difference to their local club. Clubhouses and the fans in them are the foundation that Welsh rugby is built upon and the glue that holds rugby communities together.”
