In the last 12 months Billy Wood has made giant strides at Crickmarren with Pembroke Rugby Club and across the road at Treleet with Pembroke Cricket Club, playing as a strong-running centre with the local Scarlets and a cricketing all-rounder who has recently found a rich vein of form with both bat and ball.
Ask Pembroke CC captain Paul White about his young all-rounder and he would say,
"Billy has made huge strides this season because he has worked so hard after a couple of spells in the seconds.
“He uses the nets three times a week and it has paid dividends - as proven in our match against Burton, where we chased 202 for 6 and needed 110 from the last 11 overs.
"Billy batted really well to finish with five fours and a six in his 64 not out - and finished the game in style with a boundary!"
Doing well this season
Billy joined Pembroke three seasons ago after playing at Pembroke Dock alongside his father Andrew, who has been at Imble Lane since he was a boy, and having a best score there of 49 not out for the seconds, plus a few 40s for the junior team.
But most of his pals play at Pembroke and so he joined them and enjoyed himself ever since in a first team that has Paul 'Chalkie' White as captain, Barry Evans as the 'old man' of the team and other youngsters of the calibre of Sam Davies, Phil and Andrew Hay.
Since he broke into the first team he has that top score of 64 not out - and in the league game against Whitland he claimed 4 for 16, and in the win over Haverfordwest scored 36 and picked up three vital wickets.
Battling back from injury
He has had to work hard in both sports because a year ago he suffered a really nasty left shoulder injury sustained in a schools' sevens competition.
It came from an innocuously-gentle tackle but as he put his arm out the pressure on it dislocated his collar bone so badly that when he tried to use his arm to lever himself back up he almost passed out with the pain.
It necessitated a new plastic ligament which took a week to arrive and during that time he used pain-killers aplenty because of the 'horrendous pain'.
It has left Billy with an angry-looking scar down his left shoulder which can be fixed in time with plastic surgery but he is just happy that he is now back in action in both sports.
In cricket he runs in from just five paces so uses his shoulder a great deal but it has stood up to the pressure really well - and at the end of last rugby season he had overcome his understandable concerns about strong tackling and was a fixture in the Pembroke team which forced its way into third place in the Division Three (West) B table.
Family matters and other sports
On the family front, Andrew and mum Sarah Stockwell have always supported Billy to the utmost and his younger brother Archie (11) is already showing great promise in rugby, cricket and football. Billy would also nominate grandparents Pearl and Alan Stockwell as great taxi drivers because when he was playing for the Scarlets at under 16 level they were a great help
Billy also played football as a nipper with Martin Aries and the late Harry Sillence at Lamphey Football Club and they were unbeaten for one whole season when they won the league and cup, and were league champs the other times.
He played in goal for the county team under the guidance of Angie Nicholls and enjoyed being involved in football.
Rugby started with Mr T
But then he had to choose between rugby and football - but rugby has always been Billy's main sport after starting out in Year Seven with Mr. Neil Truman.
"He was great with us and I also played at No 8 with the county team organised by Johnny Llewellin, as well as with the Quins' team coached by Dai Halstead.
"But then I moved to Pembroke Rugby Club for the same reasons as cricket and in my second season they were short of a centre so I volunteered to give it a try - and enjoyed it from the start, although I still played at 6 or 8 for the county team.
First team call-up
"I was playing for the Scarlets' Youth when I was called into the first team coached by Geraint Lewis and Kyle Davies just after Christmas and I was delighted to keep my place until the end of the season. I even managed to score my share of tries, including two in a very good win at Laugharne."
Billy is only 19 years of age and uses his 6'1" frame and 14 stone to good effect as he looks to burst through opposing defences and set team-mates clear with his short, well-timed passes.
He is very committed to the club cause and helps out there whenever he can, as well as across the road where he uses the nets three times a week and can sometimes be seen sitting atop the tractor, helping to keep the grass short.
College involvement now
Last year saw Billy set out on his higher education at the University of Glamorgan, where he is studying for a BSc in Sports Science, but he travelled home from Pontypridd each Saturday to play for Pembroke after missing the college trials through his injury.
But in September he will return for his second year of looking at topics like Physiology, Sports Psychology, testing of fitness levels etc - and is going to the rugby trials as well - and it would be an ideal season for Billy if he could play midweek for the college and at weekends for the Pembrokeshire Scarlets.
He is already training hard in the gym, going for three or four sessions a week as he fits it in alongside his cricket practice!
And there's one thing for sure: Billy Wood is a very modest and unassuming young character who has already provided excellent service for both Pembroke Cricket and Rugby Clubs - and is sure to continue to make giant strides in both sports because he makes such an effort to improve in both of them!