Around the Touchline Feature:

 


 

Steve Holmes – a gentle giant at The Obs!

 
Steve Holmes was a very good rugby player for many years with Milford Haven RFC and the Pembroke County RFC and now, as a sprightly 76 year old is still a great supporter of The Mariners as he and wife Janet watch as many games as they can - and it is a pleasure to chat to him afterwards as he provides us with his expert view as a former player and lover of the game.
 
He played until close to his 40th birthday as a 6 feet 2inches, 18 stone second row when he gained a job in 1975 as a Maths and PE teacher at the old Milford Haven Central School. Even then he still was called up for a few matches because the club had second and third teams and was always glad of a bit of experience with the youngsters playing there.
 
Coming to Milford Haven to teach was a case of very much returning to his roots because he had been a student at the old Milford Central School, where most of his former teachers were still teaching, and whom he says had been very good at chasing him around!
 
When he left school it was to become an apprentice draughtsman in Llanelli, where he was immediately roped in to play for The Scarlets for the season - and then moved to Dudley Teacher Training College in Birmingham, where he not only played rugby for the college but also captained the Universities Athletics Union.
 

Interesting early career choices!

 
Then he taught at Exmouth Comprehensive, where there were 2,200 pupils and whilst there played for Exeter, who were nicknamed ‘The Chiefs’ even then, with six teams at the club and the seconds being dubbed as ‘The Bucks’. He was playing regularly alongside John Scott, who became a very famous England No 8and it was at this time that Steve was selected for a combined Devon & Cornwall team to play The Fijians in front of a big crowd; a game which still ranks as one of the highlights in his playing career.
 
Then Steve joined the Royal Navy as a lieutenant on a three-year short-service commission where he was an instructor officer to new recruits and enjoyed his time in uniform - but then the school leaving age was raised from 15 to 16 and a vacancy occurred at The Central School and he jumped at the chance of applying for, and getting, a return to his home town.
 

Other Sports

 
Steve was a bulky lad in his second row days but it belied the fact that he was also active in other sports, especially athletics, where he was school and county champion in shot, discus and javelin. His record throw in the 1962 county discus championships remained as the longest-standing record in any event until fairly recently and also helped earn him a national title as a bonus!
 
He was also a more than useful basketball player who played in college and where he scored more than his share of points per match as he used his natural hand-eye co-ordination alongside deceptively quick feet and athletic strength that kept would-be opponents at bay until he had dunked the ball into the basket!
 
Throw in the fact that he had been a good swimmer since his school days, so that when he was in The Midlands he represented his college and the surrounding area, it is easy to see how much he enjoyed his other sports!
 
He played rugby in school in his latter days there but before that it was very much known as a football-orientated establishment and he played left back, with a natural affinity for big tackles and an aerial ability that was as good as any.




 

Early start to senior rugby – and lots of success

 
When he left school he was soon involved in rugby at Milford Haven and since there was no youth team in those days he made his debut as a 16 year old back-rower in a ‘friendly’ against The School of Artillery in Manorbier, where he was nursed along by John Elliott (No 8) and Louis Knight (flanker), plus some other experienced campaigners who could also look after themselves.
 
But Steve was a regular in the first team whilst still in his teens and was part of arguably the best team in the club’s history as they won the league title on one occasion, played in three KO Cup Finals (winning one of them), and played against top-class team Ebbw Vale in consecutive seasons in the last 16 and then quarter-finals of the Welsh Cup, losing both narrowly as the opposition included Welsh caps Clive Burgess and Arthur Lewis - and a Pembrokeshire lad in Andy Grey.
 
Their league championship success came in 1976/77 when every team in the county, including top Narberth, Tenby, Whitland and Aberystwyth were all beaten, home and away - and their only two defeats came at home to Pembroke and Pembroke Dock Harlequins!
“That was a great team filled with characters and my old pal Barry Kingston played second row with me and other forwards included Norman Phillips, Ianto Davies, ‘Flimpo’ Jones, Bob Prior, Kenny Wonnacott and Paul Fletcher.
 
“Behind them we had Dai and Peter Griffiths, Peter Mitchell AND Keith Fletcher, to name but a few - and it really was a Golden Age of rugby for the club.”
 
Their KO Cup victory came after drawing 9-all against Narberth at Pembroke but they won the replay and set up tremendous celebrations at The Obs - and these are just a few of the club memories treasured by Steve from his playing days.





 

Admin work with club and county

 
He was also a regular at county level and received his county blazer badge for regular representation over a long period. When he eventually retired from playing, Steve maintained his association with the club in a range of jobs that included being membership secretary, fixture secretary, vice chairman, chairman and trustee, a role he still fills now after more than a decade.
 
He has also represented The Mariners on the management committee of the Pembrokeshire County Club and is currently in his fourth year as chairman - and has been a selector for the county team for many years at a previous time when representing Pembrokeshire was a huge honour as they completed in the Welsh Counties’ Cup.
 
He was part of the team which picked the county squads for high-profile matches against Fiji and the American Eagles and his only rugby regret was the fact that he was still playing at the time and being on the selection panel precluded him from being considered for the matches!
 
 

Other Sports (2)

 
It is good to report that towards the end of his playing days he had also found other sporting interests – and he is now a regular on the bowling scene at The Meads Leisure Centre, where he started out playing because his cousin, Mike Burgoyne, is Hon Secretary and finally managed to persuade Steve to play last year.
 
“It is a big regret that I left it until I was 75 before I took up bowling and I love it! I play outdoors in the summer and indoors throughout the winter – and with Steve Lewis I have recently tried short mat bowls and am engrossed in that too.
 
“At the moment I am playing on the indoor green at The Meads and play at least twice every week – and learning the tactical differences between singles, pairs, doubles and rinks as we play in unofficial leagues and entered the Meyrick Owen Shield, where we did quite well.
 
“I was also amazed to reach the indoor singles final but was really put in my place by Roy Thomas, who showed me I still have a huge amount to learn but was very nice after he had hammered me out of sight!”
 

Other Sports (3)

 
Up until about a decade ago Steve was also a very keen sailor in off-shore racing yachts where old rugby pal Barry Kingston and Dave Moir (whose son Craig played rugby for Scotland) were skippers out of Gellyswick and sometimes Neyland.

“They were the old hands who could read the sea whilst big lumps like me used to man the winches that raised the various sails; the brawn behind the brains, if you like.
 
“We sailed across the Irish Sea to compete in big races at Cork and also took part in the Tenby Passage – and with races lasting up to five hours they needed lots of stamina – but the after-race festivities were always worth it!
 
“It was always interesting when the winds were high and the worst part was getting becalmed because that was when sea-sickness crept in.”
 

Other Sports (4)

 
And to round things off nicely, Steve was also a very keen skier after starting out with school trips to the slopes of Europe, ably assisted by Ryan Hackett, who worked at The Meads Leisure Centre, and after a few lessons was soon in the swing of things as he moved with a rhythm that belied his size.
 
“They were great times because the youngsters had morning lessons and were then allowed to try the novice slopes on their own before we all joined together for a last ski before we went for our meal – I’m not sure that would be allowed now!
 
“I used to go twice a year but stopped about a decade ago because my knees weren’t quite to being given a bounding on some of the steeper slopes so I decided discretion was the better part of valour and found my other, less demanding sports!”





 

And finally . . .

 
Luckily, rugby has always remained on his radar and so we know that a visit to Milford Haven RFC’s superb facilities at the Observatory Ground is usually a chance to bump into someone who was a former teaching colleague and friend for over 50 years.
 
We enjoy a real ‘Walk Down Memory Lane’ in both academic and sporting matters and I am able to tease him that he is ten days older than I am – which he always counters with the rejoinder that he looks ten years younger!
 
It is also nice when I started the ‘Sports Folio’ articles  in the old West Wales Guardian, and later in the Western Telegraph, he was the first ever to be featured and I was able to mention his outstanding rugby alongside his sailing and skiing.”
 
Steve Holmes is still a gentleman of sport in general and rugby in particular and I still love the chance to bump into him on the touchline!