A 17-year-old rugby player who has been diagnosed with cancer has been overwhelmed by incredible support from his rugby community.
Ebbw Vale RFC youth scrum-half Ryan Jones was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma just a few weeks ago. It is a type of cancer which develops in the lymphatic system.
Clubs he has played for have rallied to stage a fundraising rugby match, in which Ryan came on to score a conversion with the last kick of the game amid jubilant scenes on Wednesday. He has also received messages from the likes of rugby legend Jonathan 'Jiffy' Davies and former Wales coaches Shaun Edwards and Byron Hayward. A whopping 28 team-mates also shaved their heads so Ryan would not be alone, having lost his hair due to treatment.
Just a few months ago Damien Jenkins, who is a volunteer and first aider at Ebbw Vale, first noticed that Ryan was a bit off the pace with his rugby. The "feisty" No. 9 didn't recover fully after contracting Covid earlier in the campaign, but fought back and continued to train after a brief lay-off.
However, Damien was convinced that Ryan actually played on while his cancer was undiagnosed. "He has played through it, the boy has played this season with that in him," Damien told WalesOnline. "He has definitely played games with it, that's a fact."
Damien explained that he pulled Ryan away from training when he became visibly uncomfortable, before the bad news arrived. "Kerry, his mum, text me to say that they were going in for scans and the news came that there was something found. Within days, the call that nobody wants to hear, and they found something, they were getting down within the next 24-48 hours to the Teenage Cancer Trust in Cardiff to start his treatment."
This is where Ryan's best friend Brandon Williams comes in. He is captain of Ebbw Vale's youth team, and has grown up with Ryan through school and played with him in various rugby teams through the age grades. Brandon, who is a school year above Ryan, formed a group chat with some of the Ebbw Vale staff and players, with an idea on how to help his best mate. His message read: "I've left Ryan out of this group, because I don't want him to see that I want to start raising some funds for him. I want to get a game together."
As the rugby club shares their ground with the local cricket club, there were concerns Ebbw Vale wouldn't be able to host the game - but there need not have been. Damien said: "The guy who runs the cricket club just said 'yeah, without a doubt'. Get the posts down and get it lined, just get a game on."
After three weeks of rigorous planning from Damien and the team, Ebbw Vale, Abertillery and Newbridge - who Ryan has played for - came together to form two mixed teams which would eventually be joined by Wales U18s international Harri Ackerman.
The Dragons also reached out to the club and invited them down to Rodney Parade to do a collection and spread awareness of the cause in their hospitality room, where Aaron Wainwright and Will Rowlands observed Damien's speech about Ryan's diagnosis and what their plans were to help. The Welsh region also supplied the players with a home and away kit for the game.
The night before the game, Damien and the players learned that Ryan was starting to lose his hair, and decided he wanted to shave his off too. In truly inspiring fashion, 28 team-mates went down to the club to shave their heads so Ryan wouldn't be the odd one out.
"All 28 boys from the mixed team, all shaved their heads," Damien said. "We were expecting 10 or 12 boys and they just kept coming. I had two barbers there, one from Ebbw Vale called Connor Walker, one from Tredegar called Jordan Davies. To give up two hours of their time to shave all these boys' heads, that bit was touching."
Ryan turned up in the last 10 minutes of the hair-cutting, and couldn't contain his emotions after a display of compassion and togetherness from his friends.
Damien explained that the quality of rugby at Ebbw Vale's Eugene Cross Park that night was unbelievable. Three referees officiated the game across three 20-minute spells, and said it was the quickest rugby they had ever dealt with.
"The talent on the field was ridiculous," he said. "A couple of Wales U18s boys were playing, like Harri Ackerman. It was just unbelievable, for our boys to be playing with them, to see them all interacting together, the camaraderie on the field was outstanding.
"I can't even tell you how many people there were. I was getting everyone ready in the changing rooms, someone came in and said 'the club is rammed, the stand is full already'. You could hear the buzz."
Representatives from the Welsh Rugby Union turned up along with the Dragons, who auctioned prizes in support of Ryan. Damien said of the generosity shown: "Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous, people were pouring in, gifts and raffle prizes and donations. People just throwing money at you, it was amazing. It was a magic, magic night."
At the end of the game, Ryan came on to take the last conversion. It sailed over the posts, and he was hoisted into the air and onto the shoulders of his friends.
"They scored a try and then you could hear Ryan saying through the DJ's microphone, 'I'm coming on to take the conversion'," Damien explained. When the MC announces "here's the man himself Ryan Jones", Damien said "the place went bonkers, I've got goosebumps now, it's ridiculous".
"The boys started doing the old Icelandic clap. He kicks it, both sides run in to him and pick him up and one of the lads puts him on his shoulders and carries him off and I blamed it on the onions from the burger van, there wasn't a dry eye!"
Damien added: "I'm getting upset thinking about it now. I spent a minute in the dugout with him, I put my arm around him and said, 'you will never ever forget this, all these people coming out for you'. A massive day, very proud of the club and very proud of these boys."
Ryan actually acted as taxi driver for his friends after the game. Damien explained: "Him, Brandon and my son Sam shot off, I think Ryan was driving actually, still taxiing the boys, that's just what he's like. He's a determined feisty little nine."
The official figures are yet to be confirmed, but the expectation is that a whopping £10,000 has been raised to support Ryan, mum Kerry and dad Alwyn, with more fundraising activities planned too.
"He's a feisty boy, he's got the heart of a lion," Damien added. "If anyone is going to nail this, it's Ryan, I've got no doubt that he's going to nail it. He's going to nail this and we're going to nail it with him, simple as that."
Damien would like to pay a special thanks to those involved, including Shelley Walsh (EVRFC), Claire Davies (Newbridge Youth), Emma Gay (Abertillery RFC) and Katie Williams (EVRFC).
