When Richard Hibbard played for the Barbarians against England in 2019, he wore his Taibach RFC socks.
The Port Talbot club was where the man who went on to scale the heights with Wales and the British and Irish Lions played his early rugby.
Other former Wales internationals to have cut their rugby teeth with Taibach include James Hook and the late Billy Mainwaring, renowned hard-man who also figured for Aberavon in the 1960s and 1970s.
But last weekend was a tough one for Taibach.
They fell to a 104-0 defeat at the hands of Aberavon Green Stars in Division 3 West Central of the Admiral National League. It rained opposition tries from the first minute to the last and the visitors to Darwin Road were powerless to do much about, hard though they tried.
The story of the setback will resonate with many in Wales this season, where many clubs have been struggling for players.
Somehow last week, Taibach managed to get 15 players on the pitch. But one got injured in the first minute and there was no-one on the bench to take his place.
Club secretary John Daniel takes up the story: “We had only 13 players on Thursday. I couldn’t see us getting any more unless we permitted in some boys.
“I rang the Stars and they did help us. We started off with a bare 15 — no-one on the bench — and they scored in the first minute. Our winger did his Achilles while trying to tackle the boy who crossed for them, so he last only 60 seconds.
“We had only 14 players and they were cutting through us like a knife. I don’t know how many tries they scored. I lost count in the end.
“The Stars thanked us for coming down. If we hadn’t turned up, it would have ruined their day as well.
“They are going for promotion, want to end up as champions and tries count. So we understand they were keen for the game to be played and we managed to get down there and play it.”
Taibach stand 10th in the Division 3 West Central table, with just two clubs, Cwmgors and Cwmllynfell, below them. You You can read here about the Test referee who turned up to take charge of a Welsh U7s match between Tonna and Taibach.
The club had seemed in decent shape at the start of the campaign.
“At the beginning of the season, we had a kit incentive — you pay half, and we’ll pay half," said Daniel.
"We gave out 45 kits. So there were 45 players we had on our books on day one. You tell me where they are now. Some have been injured, some have been working, some probably don’t want to know. It’s just one of those things.
“It’s a sign of the times and you just have to do your best to get on with it.”
The signs are that Taibach shouldn’t have the same problems this week as they had in the run-up to the game against the Stars.
Already they appear to have a team for the trip to Cwmllynfell, with the potential for a contingent of reserves, too.
"It is looking better," said Daniel.
“Fair play, the boys who played last week stuck at it right until the end. What I wouldn’t want is for those players not to turn up this weekend.
“So I turned around and said to them after the game with the Stars: ‘Boys, we’re up in Cwmllynfell next Saturday. Let’s all get on the bus together, I’ll take some money up and we’ll have a few beers afterwards, perhaps stop off or whatever.’
“We thanked them for making the effort against the Stars. No-one likes to lose and no-one likes to go down by that many points.
“The good news is we have 16 players confirmed for Saturday with five more ready to be confirmed.
“Fingers crossed, we’ll have a team and we’ll be able to go up to Cwmllynfell and produce a good performance.
“The way rugby is, it’s not easy for a lot of clubs. Hopefully, we can start to pick up.”
It would take a heard heart not to wish them well.
READ MORE:
