There really isn’t a factory just outside Bridgend which churns out international rugby players, complete with a production line that never stops, quality control officers and continental shift patterns. It just seems that way.
How do they do it in Pencoed? Scott Gibbs, Gareth Thomas, Gareth Cooper and Gavin Henson all came through the Pencoed RFC youth system en route to winning honours for Wales and the British and Irish Lions.
Now local boys and best friends Tommy Reffell and Sam Costelow are flying the flag for the club.
Read more: Wales duo miss captain's run and star in whirlwind after becoming a day
A rib injury has sidelined Reffell since Wales’ Test with New Zealand on November 5, but Reffell’s fellow Pencoed minis and juniors’ product Costelow is in the matchday 23 to face Georgia on Saturday, having made his Test debut against the All Blacks a fortnight ago. It’s possible there may be the odd cheer in the Pencoed clubhouse if the 21-year-old fly-half takes the field at any point. For neither player has forgotten his roots.
“They’re both great lads,” Pencoed's first-team manager Dean Moore told WalesOnline. “We take an enormous amount of pride in their achievements. It shows that our club are still churning out the players. From the minis and juniors all the way through the club, we are elated.
“I must say, too, that the pair of them keep a very close connection with the club. They are busy people, but whenever they have time they keep in touch with the players, they visit the club and they fit in, like every other player. That’s the biggest thing for me. They still come here, they still associate with the club, they still mix with the current players and the younger boys. We are massively proud.
“I didn’t coach them but we all knew about them when they were coming through, obviously, and we’d go and watch them when they played age-grade stuff for the Ospreys. You could tell they were special talents. It is unusual, two players coming through the same club at the same time. All of us are pleased for them and their families that they've done so well.”
Pencoed do not claim to have a magic formula for nurturing stars of the future. But those involved in the process show huge enthusiasm and no little skill.
“There are lots of people who deserve credit for helping Tommy and Sam,” said Moore. “Lyndon Griffiths, for instance, our youth coach for several years up until last year, played a big part in the development of the boys. I could name others as well.
“We have a fantastic mini and junior section. For me, it’s been one of the best in south Wales for years. We have some committed parents and we keep on producing talented players. There’s something there. It’s difficult to put a finger on why it happens. But it does.”
Reffell and Costelow are entirely different players, of course.
While Reffell plies his trade on the openside flank, putting in stacks of tackles every game and trying to achieve turnovers and run support lines, his pal is a quicksilver No. 10, with an electric burst of speed over 20 metres.
But don’t believe ‘Costy’, as the fly-half is known at the Scarlets, is averse to putting himself in harm’s way. His old PE master at Pencoed Comprehensive School, for whom the pair played for five years before heading for pastures new, made that very point. “Someone pointed out the other day that Sam had made 13 tackles in a single game," said Simon King. "I thought that was too many for a fly-half, but that’s typical of him. He doesn’t shirk anything. I’d like to see him playing and opening things up, but he’s brave and will do whatever he feels it takes for the team.”
The school were also key to the twosome's development and King remains close to both players. “They are brilliant,” he said. “It was such a shame for Tommy to get injured in the first Test of the autumn. But that’s rugby. He plays in an area where there are a lot of bumps and I’m sure his chance will come again. He’s as down to earth as they come.
“Sam is the same, a lovely kid from a nice family. He went up to Leicester, of course, and Tommy is still there. Sam went to Oakham School, the same school as the cricketer Stuart Broad, and was extremely well thought of. Going to Leicester took him and Tommy out of the goldfish bowl and exposed them to different life experiences. But they've never forgotten the way home. They still love their home community and what it gave them.”
You can read here why Reffell decided to move to England at the age of 16.
Having come through the same club system, but not together as Reffell is two years older than Costelow, the duo achieved a dream of playing for Wales together on November 5. Reffell had left the field by the time Costelow came off the bench to announce himself on the world stage, but both nonetheless lined up next to each other before kick-off to proudly sing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.
"Both from Pencoed, both proud to be from there as well, we've come through the mini and juniors, not together as he's two years older than me, but nonetheless it's a big part of who we are," Costelow proudly told reporters at a recent press conference. "There's a lot of experienced and great players who have come from the club. Hopefully I can follow in their footsteps."
Costelow is clearly cut from a certain type of cloth, evident from the way he settled immediately against New Zealand — nerves controlled, down to business straight away.
“For a little guy, he’s quite a chopsy, confident individual,” laughed King. “He’ll run a game for you. I watched him playing for Leicester Tigers in an A game at Worcester. There weren’t many people there and you could hear him running the game, driving his side. Leicester rated him. I know Dusty Hare, the former England full-back, was very impressed. I’m just pleased to see the two boys fulfilling their potential.”
The pair merit huge admiration for their efforts. But so do Pencoed RFC: a club which knows how to make extraordinary rugby players.
Read more:
Jamie Roberts says Wales now have 'a massive weapon' as star nails down jersey for the World Cup
Wales v Georgia exact scoreline predicted - our experts say what will happen
Shane defends Alun Wyn Jones and England 'to risk Haka backlash'
