Brian Isaac is Aber through and through
This week PembrokeshireSport.co.uk is delighted to go to the northernmost rugby club in District H to continue our popular series about people who have graced the game and can now be found still supporting their club – and in Aberystwyth RFC we could of no-one better to chat to than Brian ‘Stacky’ Isaac, who was hugely respected as their first-team hooker for many years and more recently as their coach (for 15 seasons) and Hon Secretary.Brian Isaac played his first game for Aberystwyth Rugby Club as an 11 year old and now, over 50 years later, he is just finishing a stint as the long-serving Hon Secretary of the club, having been a player until for almost 20 years up to 1993 and also represented Cardiganshire (now Ceredigion), far more times than he cares to remember!
Known to all as ‘Stacky’ (he can’t remember why but it goes back to the time he was 11 and something daft happened in school which he can’t remember) – and it was at that age he played his first game for Aber as they were one of the first clubs to play any junior rugby – and when they formed a youth team in 1975 he was the first one to captain them at that level.
Played at a very successful time for Aber
He played as an openside flanker throughout his youth days but after a couple of seasons in the first team there was an injury to the hooker and respected coach Huw Powell drafted him into that position, where he stayed until a neck injury against Haverfordwest in 1993 saw him decide it was time to step down – but proud that he had been club captain for a number of years and helped them to three Pembrokeshire KO Cup Finals, where they won once against Pembroke Dock Quins at Haverfordwest.“It meant that year we won the coveted treble of league, KO Cup and Pembs’ Sevens, followed by a second league title a year later,” said Brian, “which I was very proud about.”
In that time, he was a regular with Cardiganshire as they did quite well in the Welsh Counties Cup, winning it once, and he also played three games for Llanelli (now called ‘The Scarlets’.)
“I made my debut against Leinster over in Ireland and my props were Welsh internationals Laurence Delaney and Anthony Buchanan so I was in good company – and I also played against Maesteg and Ebbw Vale as I was delighted to help out.”
And finally . . .
Proof of Brian’s loyalty to the club can be gauged from the fact that once he stepped down from playing, he became youth team coach for five years and then first team coach for an amazing 15 years when Aberystwyth were recognised as one of the top teams in District H – and he is now the club’s Hon Secretary for almost a decade but is going to step down after one more season.
“I’ve been very lucky to be involved with the club for so long and will still continue to support them whilst having a breather,” he told us – and we are sure he is hugely appreciated at Aberystwyth RFC and Brian Isaac fully deserves this small tribute on our web-site today!