One of the world's oldest school boy rugby trophies has been restored to its former glory. In BBC's The Repair Shop's viewers got to see a team of restoration experts bring the Dewar Challenge Trophy back to life.
The large mahogany shield, which dates back to 1904, was adorned with nearly 100 small silver plaques detailing the name of each season’s champions. As explained on the programme, the rugby trophy was played for by under-15s sides from 26 districts all over Wales every year.
During the programme, presenter Jay Blades and silversmith Brenton West, who was responsible for restoring the trophy alongside newcomer Lou Bainbridge, got to meet Lyn Howell from Barry. As secretary of the Welsh Schools Rugby Union Intermediate Group, Lyn explained that he was the custodian of their prestigious trophy and would transport it each season to the final game.
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"My responsibility is to get this to the final every year," Lyn said. "The final is played on the Principality Stadium, which is the national stadium of Wales, where the senior team play. It’s a great experience.
"And at the end, obviously, they’re presented with this trophy… It’s been won from all over Wales - east, west, Rhondda, Neath, Swansea. All the main stars now who you see on the TV - George North, etc. - they will have played for this trophy.
"When they start playing for this, that’s when they start progressing onto rugby as a career, basically. Every time I see it, it sort of brings goose bumps to me because when I think of all the people that have gone before, it’s very special."
In response, Jay Blades said: "It sounds like you’ve devoted a lot of your time to rugby." Lyn explained he had been a school teacher for nearly 40 years in a boys’ secondary school and added: "I’ve been very much involved since that time, really. It’s a very very special trophy and I wouldn’t entrust it to anybody else, I assure you. It means that much.”
Lyn also said that the important piece of Welsh rugby history was in dire need of expert attention. A large crack had appeared in the wooden shield, and several silver pieces of the main decorative centre panel had gone missing.
When asked what he would like Brenton to do with the trophy, he said: "I think it’s in danger of falling apart. I think of of the letters is missing there. There’s a gap in the middle here that we have never got to the bottom of, whether there was something there or not. There’s small four holes there."
Jay said that it would be a "real honour" to have it at The Repair Shop, while Brenton confirmed that there would be "a lot of work to do" on the trophy. During the programme, viewers got to see Brenton - with the aid of Lou who focused on the trophy's woodwork, restore the piece.
The small shields and plaque were in need of polishing, re-silver-plating and the removal of small dents on their surface. Brenton concluded it was “probably the biggest piece [he’d] had in The Repair Shop”.
In the meantime, Lou, who was a self-professed rugby fan herself, was focusing on the trophy’s crack right at its centre and aimed to “put it back together and it’ll be good for another 100 years”.
Reattaching nearly a 100 plaques back on the trophy proved to be a test to Brenton’s Welsh geography. While reattaching, he said: “If I get Welsh towns in a quiz, I’m going to know all the names by the end of this. Maesteg, Newport. I really hope I’ve done Lyn and all the young people that play for this trophy proud and that they will look forward to playing for it in the future.”
At one point of the restoration process, Brenton decided to create and include a rugby ball right at the centre of the trophy. When Lyn returned to The Repair Shop, he came with two players who had won the current season - Joss and Rhys.
When asked why the trophy was so important to them, Joss said: “Well, it’s one of the oldest schoolboy trophies in the world.” Lyn added: “I’m hoping that it will be there and there for another 100 years, I hope.”
Once the big reveal took place, a clearly moved Lyn said that the repaired trophy was "absolutely perfect", and even questioned Brenton if it was the same shield.
The two players were also impressed, with Rhys saying: "Everything looks so clear and it’s kept its originality as well. You can tell that this is an old trophy. I think that’s what will mean the most to everybody. Just to think that the team we play for is going to be on this shield for years to come is amazing."
At the end of the programme, Lyn said: “I think the trophy looks absolutely spectacular. The boys and myself are here representing all the players and staff who have played for it, been involved in it since 1904 and ‘05. I can’t thank Brenton enough. Diolch yn fawr.”
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